Most contracts in dentistry include some type of non-compete included in the form of restrictive covenants.
The industry seems to be moving away from this. For now, however, it’s a concept with which the associate must gain familiarity. The restrictive covenant will appear during the onboarding process. It will be located in a specific section of the employment contract or as part of a separate agreement.
Imagine an associate has worked in a practice for a few years and has built a trusting patient base or has cultivated good rapport with the office staff. Maybe they feel that they could be paid more in a different neighborhood or dental office. Maybe they have saved up enough money to start their own dental practice. What the restrictive covenant does is prevent the associate from working somewhere close by, usually for a number of years. The number of years will often depend on how long they’ve been working at the current office. Restrictive covenants are in place so that the associate does not establish loyalty and their patients don’t walk out to a new practice.
In other words, the employer is trying to protect his own practice from the associate who has gained contacts and experience through his employment. The owner has invested time into building a practice. As such, he doesn’t want to create a detrimental situation to his business. When the associate establishes a competing practice, the employer wants that practice to be far from his own.