Rant: New grad reaching a breaking point with my DSO - wanting out but don’t know where to go
I graduated May 2025 and have been working as a solo doc at a “decent” DSO for the last year. I say “decent” because there truly is no pressure to produce, I have full control of the office and what is/isn’t done. The payment structure is fine but my office is somewhat new so the production can be inconsistent as patients are still warming up to new name/face. I’ve enjoyed working alone and I’ve gotten plenty of CE and mentorship. I’d say I’m pretty confident but obviously still young and learning.
This company only really operates in my state and is a well oiled, trusted, respected place to be in other cities. But I am in a very saturated area where they are just starting to enter the market.
To say the company in my area has growing pains is an understatement. Staff is underpaid, staffing issues across the board, I’m starting to get taken advantage of by being nice and accommodating to requests (I covered an office temporarily when the old doc quit and that has turned into a semi-permanent coverage no matter how vocal I am about insisting I go back to full time at one office).
What initially felt like a supportive, productive, happy place to be has quickly turned into the DSO I tried to avoid when finding jobs. But I speak with other dentists in the group and it seems like I’m one of the only ones feeling this way
Long story short, I am in a very saturated area. But I want out and I want to join a PRIVATE private office. The issue is I can’t find that to save my life. Everything is corporate. I’ve gone to my local dental association meetings. I’ve looked at their classified ads. I’ve tried talking to other dentists. Everything listed online is corporate. I know I could leave this area, but it’s where I grew up and it’s where I’d like to raise a family hopefully sooner than later.
I just don’t know what to do