Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Dr. Gabriela Flores: Financial Mistake
50 Plays10 months ago
Dr. Gabriella Flores exposes the alarming truths behind dentist debt in the form of student loans and the questionable DSO compensation tactics! Have you ever imagined having to pay back your earnings if you don't meet production targets? Join us as we uncover these pressing issues and more, shedding light on the unique financial challenges facing today's newer dentists. Tune in and get the insights you need to navigate the economic aspects of your dental career.
About the Guest:
Gabriela Flores is a practicing dentist based in Miami Beach, Florida. With roots in the University of Florida for her undergraduate education, she transitioned to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine for further studies. Post-graduation, Gabriela garnered a wealth of experience by working in distinct environments ranging from DSOs and PPO practices to holistic clinics before taking a leap into entrepreneurship by acquiring her own practice in Miami Beach. Notably, she embarked on this venture only a year after completing dental school, setting her apart as a new entrant in the field with a practice owner’s mindset.
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Tanya Sue Maestas engages in a candid conversation with Gabriela Flores about the financial pitfalls and learning opportunities in the world of dentistry. Prompted by insightful questioning, Gabriela reflects on her own professional journey, sharing personal anecdotes and hard-earned wisdom that emphasize the importance of financial literacy in dentistry. The discussion delves into the repercussions of student loans, the challenges posed by certain workplace compensation structures, and the impact of one’s alma mater on career trajectory.
Gabriela stresses the significance of understanding the business and sales aspect of dentistry—a sector where interpersonal skills can often be as crucial as clinical expertise. She accentuates the need for mentors in guiding emerging dental professionals, especially in an environment where financial decisions can profoundly affect long-term career satisfaction and success. The episode is loaded with valuable insights for not just dental professionals, but for anyone looking to balance their vocational aspirations with the practicalities of personal finance.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the full scope and repayment capabilities of dental school loans is crucial, given the high costs of education in the field.
- The complexity of compensation structures, such as draws in DSOs, can significantly impact a dentist's financial well-being.
- Choosing the right dental school involves considering not just education quality but also the consequences of debt accumulation.
- Having robust people management skills and an inclination towards business can markedly increase a dentist's success.
- Aligning with a mentor and reading recommended business books can provide invaluable guidance for upcoming dental professionals.
Connect with Gabriela Flores: @doctorgabiflores
Connect with Ignitedds: @ignitedds
Connect with Tanya Sue Maestas: @tsmaestas.dds
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Dental Fuel Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Dental Fuel, the podcast that focuses on what no one else is talking about. Mistakes. The dental world is full of before and afters and no one is talking about the middle. Dental Fuel brings you the unspoken in-between.
Interview with Dr. Gabriela Flores
00:00:14
Speaker
Dental Fuel is brought to you by 90 Day Jumpstart, a program to help you increase production and break free from financial stress.
00:00:22
Speaker
Dental Fuel is back with Dr. Gabriela Flores talking about a financial mistake. Dr.
Importance of Financial Awareness in Dentistry
00:00:29
Speaker
Flores reflects back on her professional journey and talks about the importance of financial literacy in dentistry. On the topic of finances, I would love to know, and it may just be this, but I would love to know a financial mistake that you've made in your career and how you have learned from that. All right. A financial mistake that I've made in my career.
00:00:52
Speaker
What do you think? Yeah, it can be anything from working at that DSO and maybe not knowing what you were going to expect. That's good. I had an answer for that, but I like that prompt better. Definitely
Common Financial Mistakes by Dentists
00:01:07
Speaker
the first biggest financial mistake is even going as far back as your loans is understanding how many loans you're taking on.
00:01:17
Speaker
really understanding how payable that is, what your future is going to be after dental school, because the reality is the way insurances are going, it's very hard to just
00:01:31
Speaker
do the bare minimum and make enough to pay back your loans. So that's definitely the first financial mistake I would say I made was under, or I was overestimating how much I would make straight out of dental school. Oh yeah. Because the story is, oh, dentists are fine. I've never met a broke dentist this, but we're talking about dentists that paid maybe a hundred thousand dollars total for their dental school.
00:01:54
Speaker
Not half a million or more. So that's the first financial mistake. I would say
Understanding the 'Draw' System in DSOs
00:01:59
Speaker
the second would be not understanding what a draw was completely and letting the DSO just kind of tell you, no, if you're going to be fine, this is our best location. You will not have that problem.
00:02:09
Speaker
Why did I believe it? Thank goodness I know how to sell and I know how to produce and I know how to work on my toes because if not, I mean, that would have been a disaster. I don't know what that is. Can you tell me a little bit more about what it's a draw? Is that right? Yes, a draw is when they pay you a daily rate. But if you don't, so basically, and then it's kind of on a system where let's say,
00:02:30
Speaker
Theirs was tiered, so let's say it's 28% of collections. So if you're not making whatever, so it was $500 a day, right? If you're not making enough for your commission to be $500 a day, you end up owing that money back. So they pay you $500 a day, but at the end of the month, they'll take back the money that you didn't produce to meet that $500 a day.
00:02:53
Speaker
interesting. Yeah, interesting. Okay, that's a that's a business model for you. Yes. And it seems doable on a regular practice. Oh, yeah, $2,000 a day is doable to make good money. I think my minimum I think was I ended up being like, for what my
00:03:07
Speaker
Commission was I think ended up being 1800 a day minimum. I had to make okay, but when you're making $20 on a class, right? Yeah, it's hard to get there. That's hard. We're not talking little boards class twos. We're talking about bombed out class twos. Yeah, things that that'll take you time, you know, yes. Wow. That's definitely a different structure. You know, being in public health law, I'm on the salary. So if we see one patient or if we see 100 patients,
00:03:35
Speaker
we get paid the same. So oftentimes I hear a lot of these terms and I don't really know what they mean, but I'm learning as I go and it's just so interesting. It's just a different kind of structure. Interesting. Interesting. And I love that you talked about loans. One of the
Choosing the Right Dental School
00:03:49
Speaker
things that I often get asked by pre-dentals is, you know, hey, I got accepted by XYZ school. You need these five schools. Where should I go?
00:03:57
Speaker
And oftentimes, I would argue that going where your loans would be the lowest and your cost of living would be the lowest almost is probably the best bet. You're probably going to get a great education wherever you go, but coming out with half a million dollars in loans is so hard to recover from. More than half a million. Yeah. I mean, yeah. That's because I didn't have undergrad.
00:04:19
Speaker
Yes, exactly. So if you have undergrad loans, you know, if you went to some kind of Ivy League school or somewhere where you change majors a few times, and you have loans from there just to stack that on top of your dental education loans can be really, really difficult. Yeah, that's hard.
00:04:33
Speaker
I think a good way to advise these pre-dental students would be, because in the end of the day, sometimes you have your dream school, and I see there's two sides of the coin. I have had a lot of situations where I was selected as the primary provider in a practice by a patient because of my education over someone else's education. I'm not saying that that's necessary. They're all amazing, but sometimes if you go to
00:04:58
Speaker
a university that resonates with the person a little bit more, especially in the Northeast. I would say if you're dealing with Northeastern patients, they're going to choose you based on your university. It's funny because in South Florida, they don't care as much, but the patients that are snowbirds, they do actually pay attention.
00:05:17
Speaker
people do comment. And also it just depends what you want to do if you want to specialize. So I think if you're going to specialize or own a practice, it's not as bad because specialty, you will be making more only a practice, you will have equity. So at the end of the day,
00:05:33
Speaker
you sell that and you can pay off all your debt, right? So
Mentorship and Financial Advice in Dentistry
00:05:37
Speaker
I think it just really depends on what course you're taking and I think what's lacking in dentistry are mentors to teach you these things because most of the people that are advising these students are people who have interest in their decision, whether it's a PSO or a physical practice broker, but it just really depends what's best for you. Sometimes the only school you got into was the most expensive one. And if this is really your passion and you're okay,
00:06:03
Speaker
If you do well under pressure and that financial burden won't weigh you down, then sure, you can do it. But I do agree with you in retrospect. I think that if I knew more, I would have considered maybe doing something like my associate did, where she actually, on her second year, she applied for in-state.
00:06:22
Speaker
and then not even lower tuition. Yes. Very smart. Very smart. There are people who, the reality is their parents pay for their dental school. Yeah. No, it's true. If they're paying for your dental school, then go for it. Go wherever it is. I definitely did not have that luxury. Same.
Dr. Flores' Business Insights
00:06:39
Speaker
How did you get so business, Abby? I feel like you've got the business under lock here a little bit.
00:06:44
Speaker
I've always inclined towards business. I've always worked in sales one way or another and then I married someone with an MBA. He's very entrepreneurial and that inspired me even more and I love the business aspect of it. I always knew I wanted to be a business owner. I always was pretty good at sales and I always loved interacting with people.
00:07:09
Speaker
I always wanted to be a business owner, but then marrying someone who has the business bug just made it even more. So I read a lot of books on business and that's something else that if you really want to perform above and beyond in dentistry these days,
00:07:23
Speaker
you have to take a couple of classes or read a couple of books. I don't take any business classes. I do just read books pretty much. Drop a book
Recommended Reading for Dentists
00:07:30
Speaker
for our listeners. Tell me one that you think is a good one for our listeners. Really, really, really basic that will help you in dental clinic is an old school book. And I feel like a broken record of it's how to win friends and influence people.
00:07:44
Speaker
people management. It's not even, if you can manage people, you're already 10 steps ahead of the game in dentistry because that's 90% of it because I know amazing clinicians that you would, that they just
00:07:57
Speaker
don't know how to deal with people. I've met doctors that are not even the best clinicians, but they were great people, persons, and they were so successful. That's a pattern. I observed these things, and that's something I saw. So books like that. If you really want to get a really, really salesy book, there's one called It's a Hundred Million Dollar Deals by Alex Parmozzi. That's a great one too.
00:08:18
Speaker
We will include those names in the show notes for sure for people to check it out. That's a great one. If you want to get real salesy, but it's kind of hard to apply in dentistry. You have to really take that one with a grain of salt. But I would recommend both that are on people. Yeah, dealing with people would be the best. Very cool. Very cool.
Episode Conclusion and Next Teaser
00:08:37
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Dental Fuel. We're back next week with Dr. Floodis and another mistake. Trying to reach your goals faster? Check out 90 Day Jumpstart on IgniteDDS.com. Be sure to check us out on Instagram, at Dental Fuel and at IgniteDDS.