Contract Watch: Odd Dental Contract Clauses, Oct 2026
Every month we read through associate agreements and pull out the terms that made us stop and reread a sentence. October's batch leans heavily on money owed when you leave and money owed when a case needs redoing. None of these clauses are illegal, and most are negotiable, but several of them shift risk onto the associate in ways that are easy to miss on a first read.
Disputes get decided in a court far from where you work
In five contracts we've analyzed recently, the dentist lives and practices in one state, but the agreement requires any legal dispute to be filed and heard in a court in a different state. This is called a forum selection clause, meaning the contract picks the courthouse in advance no matter where the work actually happened.
Why this matters: distance costs money. You may need a lawyer licensed in that other state, travel for hearings, and pay for depositions far from home. A disagreement that might have been worth fighting locally can stop being worth fighting at all once you add the travel and the second attorney. That imbalance is often the point.
What to ask for instead: have disputes heard where you actually practice. If the employer won't move, ask that the clause apply only to them suing you, or ask for mediation close to home as a required first step before anyone files anything.
A set dollar amount charged for every day of notice you don't work
In five contracts we've analyzed recently, leaving before your notice period runs out triggers a flat penalty for each unworked day. In two of those, the figure was six hundred dollars per day. Lawyers call this liquidated damages, which means a dollar amount agreed in advance instead of proving actual losses later.
Why this matters: a ninety-day notice period at that rate is a five-figure exposure, and it applies even when the reason you left was outside your control. Family emergencies, health problems, and a spouse's job relocation don't usually come with an exception written into the clause. It also discourages you from leaving a bad situation quickly, which again is often the point.
What to ask for instead: cap the total, not just the daily rate. Add carve-outs for illness, family emergency, and any situation where the employer breached the agreement first. A shorter notice period also shrinks the exposure without changing the rate.
Your employer gets authority to sign documents in your name
In three contracts we've analyzed recently, the agreement included a broad power of attorney, which is a legal grant letting someone else sign papers as if they were you. In an associate agreement, that's unusually wide. The language typically covers insurance enrollment and credentialing paperwork, but as written it often reaches further than that.
Why this matters: credentialing documents carry your license number and your attestations. If something is submitted incorrectly under your signature, the board and the payer look at you. You may also not find out what was signed until a problem surfaces.
What to ask for instead: limit the grant to specifically named documents, require that you get a copy of anything signed on your behalf within a few days, and make the authority end the day employment ends.
Losing your malpractice coverage counts as firing for cause
In two contracts we've analyzed recently, becoming uninsurable is listed as grounds for immediate termination for cause. The twist is that the employer controls the policy. Whether coverage stays in place can depend on decisions you never made.
Why this matters: a for-cause termination usually cancels severance, can trigger repayment of a signing bonus, and follows you into future interviews. Coverage can lapse for reasons unrelated to your clinical work, including the employer changing carriers or missing a payment. You should know what policy you're under and what happens to tail coverage when you leave. If you're unsure where you stand, compare your malpractice coverage before you sign anything.
What to ask for instead: tie the clause to a loss of insurability caused by your own conduct, add a cure period, and get the right to buy replacement coverage yourself if the employer's policy falls through.
You pay for redos, including the other dentist's production
This is the one that concerned us most. In two contracts we've analyzed recently, the full cost of redoing a case is charged back to the associate, including the pay earned by whichever dentist performs the redo, with the employer deciding alone whether a redo was warranted. Two more contracts had the same mechanic with different wording.
Why this matters: ordinary chargebacks cover lab fees. This version adds another provider's compensation on top, so one remake can cost you more than you were paid for the original case. And because the employer is the only judge of whether a redo was necessary, there's no standard to point to when you disagree.
What to ask for instead: limit chargebacks to actual lab costs, cap them as a share of your monthly production, and require a documented clinical reason with a chance for you to review the case first.
How to protect yourself
Read the termination and compensation sections before the salary number. That's where the real exposure sits. Ask for every clause to be mutual where mutuality makes sense, so penalties that apply to you also apply to them. Keep your own copies of anything signed with your name on it. Before you negotiate, grade your contract free so you know which terms are outliers and which are standard for the market.
Most of these clauses came off a template, and templates get edited when someone asks.
This is general information, not legal advice.
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