Question 1

What should I look for in a dental associate contract?

Accepted Answer

Start with the compensation model: production percentage (typically 28-32% of adjusted production) and any per-day daily minimum. Then check the non-compete (length, radius, specialty scope), the termination clause (mutual without-cause beats for-cause-only), the malpractice arrangement (who pays premiums and who pays tail), and any signing bonus repayment terms. Each clause has a standard market range and deviations from that range are where the negotiation is. DentalUnlock grades any associate contract A-F, free.

Question 2

How much does dental malpractice insurance cost in 2026?

Accepted Answer

A general dentist in a low-litigation state typically pays $500-$4,000 per year for $1M/$3M occurrence coverage; the same dentist in CA, NY, FL, or IL can pay $6,000-$15,000. Specialists usually run 2-3x the general-dentist rate. New graduates often qualify for first-year programs that significantly reduce the rate, then ramp toward the mature price over years 2-5. Claims-made policies look cheaper year-one but require tail coverage when you switch carriers (typically 200-300% of your last premium). DentalUnlock shops multiple A-rated carriers for your profile, free.

Question 3

What's the difference between claims-made and occurrence malpractice?

Accepted Answer

Occurrence covers any incident that happens during the policy period, no matter when the claim is filed — even years after you cancel. No tail coverage required when you switch carriers. Claims-made only covers if both the incident AND the claim happen during the policy period. If you switch carriers or leave the profession, you need to buy tail coverage (200-300% of your last annual premium) to stay protected for past incidents. Occurrence is usually the safer pick for dentists who plan to switch jobs. DentalUnlock surfaces which policy type your contract or quote uses, plain English.

Question 4

What's the average salary for a dental associate?

Accepted Answer

The 2026 national average for a dental associate sits around $190,000 base, though real take-home varies widely by state, specialty, and compensation structure. Mountain and rural states often pay $150K-$170K; metropolitan markets in NY, CA, and TX can push $220K+. Production-based associates on a 30% adjusted production model frequently outearn salary-only associates once their daily production exceeds roughly $3,500. Sign-on bonuses typically run $5K-$25K and most associates don't realize they're negotiable. DentalUnlock shows live salary and daily rate benchmarks for every state, free.

Question 5

Are dental non-compete clauses enforceable?

Accepted Answer

It depends entirely on your state. California, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Minnesota effectively ban them. Texas added a dental-specific cap via SB 1318. About 32 states allow them but require the radius, duration, and scope to be reasonable — courts routinely blue-pencil overbroad clauses. Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and several others enforce reasonable dental non-competes relatively broadly. The FTC's federal non-compete ban was abandoned in September 2025, so state law is the only fence around your contract now.

Question 6

Does PSLF work for dentists?

Accepted Answer

Yes — but only if you're employed full-time by a qualifying employer (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hospital or community health center, a federal/state/local government dental clinic, or certain teaching positions) while making 120 qualifying monthly payments on an income-driven repayment plan. Private practice and the vast majority of DSO positions do not qualify. The 2026 employer rule and the buyback rule changed the math for several edge cases, and the IDR tax bomb is back in 2026 after ARPA expired — plan against current law, not against a fix that may never come. DentalUnlock's loan optimizer runs the PSLF and IDR math against your real numbers, free.

Question 7

Is my contract data safe to upload?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your contract is analyzed by AI in seconds, then the raw text is deleted from our servers — we never store the contract text long-term, never use it to train AI models, and never sell or share it with anyone. The derived analysis (your A-F grade, red flags, and benchmarks) is yours alone, visible only to you when you sign in, or scoped to your browser session ID if you stay anonymous. All uploads encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Same posture for malpractice declarations pages — they're parsed by AI and the raw PDF is purged within 24 hours.

Question 8

Will my employer or DSO find out I'm using DentalUnlock?

Accepted Answer

No. DentalUnlock is your tool — built by a practicing dentist who works the same DSO landscape you do. We never contact your employer, never share your contract, your salary benchmarks, or your malpractice quotes with anyone outside our team, and you don't need to enter your employer's name to use any tool. Your account is gated to you (email + password); no one at your practice has a login. If you choose to negotiate, the email builder hands you the script — you decide if and when to send it.

Question 9

Is DentalUnlock the same as Unlock The PPO?

Accepted Answer

No. DentalUnlock (one word, dentalunlock.com) is a multi-product platform for individual dentists — contract review, malpractice shopping, salary benchmarks, and student-loan strategy. Unlock The PPO is a separate, unrelated consulting firm that helps dental practice owners negotiate insurance reimbursement rates with PPO networks. Different companies, different services, different customers.

Win the business side of dentistry.

Four free tools. One platform.

What dentists could save on malpractice.

We make the business side simple.

Tell us what you're stuck on

See the number in 60 seconds

Sign it, switch it, or walk

What dentists are actually getting paid.

What it actually looks like.

Dental contracts, malpractice, salary, and student loans — answered.

Most tools free.