Hiring an associate dentist is meant to create leverage, free up your time, and help your practice grow. But when an associate becomes unproductive, the opposite often happens. Many practice owners find themselves working harder than ever, still carrying the bulk of the load, and wondering why the associate model isn’t delivering the freedom they expected. In this episode, Jesse explores why unproductive associates are such a common challenge, the patterns that lead to poor performance, and how practice owners can respond when an associate isn’t contributing as expected.

In this episode:

1. [00:00] Why hiring an associate often feels like the “freedom move” that backfires
2. [00:30] The moment practice owners realise they’re more involved than ever
3. [01:19] Why full appointment books don’t always equal productivity
4. [02:22] The hidden problem that causes patients not to come back
5. [03:09] What’s really happening when associates say patients won’t accept treatment
6. [04:18] Why confidence matters more than explanations when presenting treatment
7. [05:35] How perfectionism and slow dentistry quietly burn out your team
8. [06:20] The expensive impact of poor case selection and inefficient workflows
9. [07:57] The three choices every practice owner faces with an unproductive associate.

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