When Asia Richardson, DMD, joined Coast Dental, she had been planning to open her own private practice.
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“I had found a dental space and was picking out operatory chairs, and I thought, ‘You know, let’s rethink this’,” Dr. Richardson laughed. “In a private practice, everything’s on you. You have to coordinate the hiring, firing, accounting, taxes, purchasing, billing, all of it. Then there’s the insurance bit of it – filing claims, making sure you’re in network and submit the right coverage, and just keeping up with everything. With Coast, I have a team of people handling all of that. And that gives me the time to do what I want to do, which is patient care. That’s why I went into dentistry.” |
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Now Dr. Richardson has the best of both worlds: she is the only general dentist at Coast Dental Sprayberry in Marietta, GA, with her name on the door and the private practice feel she desires. She has the clinical autonomy she wants, but she gets to leave after she sees her last patient of the day, and a working mom, that is very important to her.
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“Having a husband and an active three-year-old, it’s important that I have work-life balance,” Dr. Richardson said. “I show up, I do what I love while earning a great living, then I go home at the end of the day and don’t have to worry about any of the administrative duties. That’s what works best for me.” |
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Dr. Richardson is a huge advocate of Coast Dental, and that’s why it disturbs her when she hears the misconceptions other doctors have of dental management companies. Now she’s helping to set the record straight.
Compensation: “The perception is that Coast doesn’t pay a lot and there are a lot of deductions for labs, collection modifiers, et cetera. That’s not true. The new compensation plans are very simple and extremely competitive. Your pay is predictable, and you have the opportunity to earn bonuses,” Dr. Richardson said. Here are some of the highlights:
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No employment contracts
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Guaranteed daily rate for first 90 days
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Retention bonuses up to $20,000 annually
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Patient satisfaction bonuses quarterly
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No lab fees with preferred labs
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Compensation is based on production, not collections
Patients Per Day: “Some people tell me, they’ve heard Coast doctors see 15 to 20 patients a day, but it’s actually more like 8 to 12. The doctor has autonomy when it comes to that,” Dr. Richardson said. Plus, most of Coast’s practices are single general doctor practices. “Your patients are your own,” Dr. Richardson said. “You’re not competing for patients with other general dentists in your office, which is the case with some other large group practices. You get to develop caring doctor/patient relationships and treat them from start to finish.”
Production: Another misconception: Coast is numbers driven. “We never place production above patient care,” Dr. Richardson said. “When you offer your patients the optimal plan to improve their oral health, you’re doing what’s best for them. Quality patient care translates into production without you even having to think about it.”
Payor Base: The majority of Coast Dental patients in Georgia are PPO or fee-for-service. Less than a third are on managed care plans.
Facilities: Coast Dental wants each location to have the look and feel of a warm and inviting practice. The facilities department closely tracks the appearance of each office, renovating nearly two dozen practices every year with new carpeting, painting, signage, etc.
If you’ve considered Coast Dental in the past, it’s time to take another look. A new management team combined with Coast’s strong focus on excellent patient care and customer service make Coast a great place for doctors and patients.
Learn more about Coast Dental’s team of general dentists and specialists by emailing
DrRecruitment@CoastDental.com or calling 1-877-COAST17 ext. 35 to speak to a recruiter.
The compensation and benefits listed are for full-time, employee general dentists; terms and conditions apply. Independent contractors are not eligible. Ask us about opportunities for independent contractors.