Read your dental associate offer before you sign it.
Upload your contract from Aspen, Heartland, Pacific Dental Services, Smile Doctors, MB2, or a private practice and get a 60-second read on the daily guarantee, production vs. collections, non-compete, and buy-in.
What we check on a dental associate offer.
Eight clauses do most of the damage in dental associate contracts. PactScout finds them and tells you what they actually mean for your paycheck and your next move.
Daily guarantee
The floor you actually get paid against — and the period after which it disappears.
Production vs. collections
Paid on what's billed or what's collected? The difference is real money on a slow-paying patient base.
Non-compete
Distance × time × state enforceability. Flagged against the dentistry-specific case law in your state.
Restrictive covenant scope
What counts as practicing dentistry under this contract — and whether ortho, perio, or implants are carved in or out.
Buy-in clause
The path to partnership: valuation method, timeline, and whether it's a real promise or marketing language.
Specialist referral clawback
When the practice claws back compensation on referred specialty work. Quietly common in DSO templates.
Sign-on bonus repayment
Trigger, schedule, and whether it's prorated. The fine print that decides if it's really yours.
Lab fees, supplies, and overhead
Which costs are deducted from your production before you're paid. Often the biggest hidden line.
Here's what a real review looks like.
A real dental associate offer (Virginia practice, anonymized) reviewed by PactScout. Yours takes 60 seconds.
Real dental associate contract, scored 75/100 — High Risk.
- Non-compete flagged Critical (90/100): 2 years, 5-mile radius from every employer office — applies even if you're terminated without cause.
- Liquidated-damages clause: $2,000 per day of breach OR one-third of your annual collections, whichever is greater. Easily exceeds $100k.
- IP & records: patient lists, charts, x-rays, and all work product belong to the employer with no carve-out for your portfolio or professional development.
ChatGPT vs. a dental contract attorney vs. PactScout.
Honest comparison. Pick the right tool for the moment you're in.
ChatGPT
Free
- Always available
- Decent at summarizing
- Doesn't know state-specific non-compete law
- Misses missing clauses (only flags what's there)
- Different answer every time you ask
Dental contract attorney
$300–$1,000 per review
- Accurate, state-specific
- Can negotiate on your behalf
- Privileged advice
- 1–2 week turnaround
- Cost is meaningful on a $300k debt load
- Hard to find one who knows DSO templates specifically
PactScout
Free first scan · $49 full report
- Tuned for dental associate offers
- State-specific non-compete flagging
- 60-second scan, structured output
- Tells you when to escalate to a lawyer
- Not a substitute for legal advice on high-stakes terms
Pricing built for new grads, not law firms.
The first scan is free because most of what you need is in the top five flagged clauses. The full report exists for the offers that warrant deeper review — at less than a tenth of a typical attorney review.
Free first scan
Top risks, missing protections, and a one-page summary.
- Risk score for the offer overall
- Top 5 flagged clauses with plain-English explanations
- Missing-protection check against typical dental associate terms
- No credit card. No account required.
Full report
Every substantive clause, with negotiation language you can send.
- Every clause reviewed, not just the top 5
- State-specific non-compete enforceability notes
- Suggested redlines and negotiation language
- PDF export for your records or your lawyer
- Anchor: typical dental contract attorney review is $300–$1,000
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal advice?
No. PactScout is a screening tool that helps you understand what's in your offer before you talk to a lawyer. We flag risks and missing protections in plain English; we don't represent you or render legal opinions. For high-stakes negotiation, see a licensed attorney.
Do you store my contract?
No. The contract text is processed for analysis and deleted. The structured analysis (risk scores, flagged clauses) is saved to your session so you can come back to it, but the original document is not retained.
Does this replace my lawyer?
No. It helps you decide whether you need one and what to ask. Most associate offers have two or three clauses that materially change your downside. PactScout finds them so your lawyer time is spent on the things that actually matter.
What states do you cover?
All 50. Non-compete enforceability varies widely — California, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Minnesota effectively bar them; others enforce them with significant restrictions. We flag the rule that applies to your contract's governing-law clause.
How is this different from ChatGPT?
Three things: prompts tuned for dental associate contracts (not generic employment), state-specific non-compete logic, and structured output you can compare across offers. ChatGPT gives you a different answer every time and misses what's not in the contract.
Don't sign blind.
You have 10–14 days to decide on most offers. Spend two of those minutes uploading the contract.