Are You Ready to Actually Practice Dentistry?

Too often, associates are handed four columns of patients, one assistant, and a schedule designed to keep you busy — not to make you better. You're doing the leftover work, working through lunch, and wondering why your "adjusted production" paycheck never adds up. Corporate DSOs promise mentorship and deliver micromanagement. GPR programs promise training and deliver frustration. Sound familiar?

We built something different. And we'd like you to be part of it.

Pathway Dental Group is accepting applications for our next associate dentist in our Santa Maria and Lompoc locations on California's beautiful Central Coast, with a $212,000 annual salary guarantee — and the opportunity to advance beyond $525,000 annually.

This Isn't a Job. It's a Career Launch Pad.

Whether you're a seasoned associate ready for a better environment, or a new graduate who wants real private practice experience without spending a year in a GPR — we built this for you.

You'll have one dedicated point of contact for hands-on clinical mentorship — not a rotating cast of supervisors — plus the collective expertise of every specialist-trained doctor in the group whenever a case calls for it. Within months 1–3, you can expect to be placing guided implants. That's not a best-case scenario — it's the average. Our current associates place 10+ guided implants within their first year.

Here's what your clinical training path looks like:

- Guided implant placement (Months 1–3) — working alongside an AAID-credentialed doctor; 10+ cases in Year 1

- Grafting and PRF (Months 1–4) — hands-on, not just observed

- Full-mouth restorations and locator cases (Months 2–4) — mentored by a Kois graduate who has completed thousands of these cases himself, not someone lecturing from an ivory tower

- Clear aligner orthodontics (Months 2–5) — designed with a doctor who practiced as an instructor with POS

- Advanced prosthodontics (Months 3–5) — the kind you only read about in dental school textbooks

- Sedation dentistry (Months 4–6) — integrated into your actual schedule with an ASDA-credentialed doctor

- Comprehensive aesthetic makeovers (Months 5–7) — planned with an AACD-trained doctor who served on the organization's education committee

- Crestal sinus lifts, surgical extractions, and molar endo (Months 6–8) — and more

We treat your first year here the way a great GPR should be run — except you're in a thriving private group practice, treating real patients who keep coming back, and you're being compensated private practice salary for it. No HMO, Medi-Cal, or Denti-Cal here.

Private Group Practice. Not a DSO.

This matters. You will never be a production number here. You'll run two columns of a schedule, each with your own dedicated assistant, and you'll be scheduled with 4–6 new patients and 4–6 production patients a day — so quality of care never gets sacrificed for volume. Our doctors collaborate openly — sharing CE takeaways, flagging mistakes before they become failures, and building each other up. No one is hoarding patients or throwing colleagues under the bus. When everyone individually does better, the whole does better. That's not a platitude. It's how we operate.

We aren't in LA — and we like it that way. Our patients know you by name. You can own a move-in ready home here for roughly half of what a fixer-upper costs in a major metro. Live by the water, in wine country, or in a neighborhood that actually feels like one — and spend your time outside of work with the people who matter, rather than stuck in gridlock traffic while building a reputation for yourself in our communities. Want to take a hike after work? You can be up a mountain in 15 minutes — and we are too on most days.

The Integration Suite: We Remove the Friction of Moving Here

Relocating is the single biggest barrier to taking a better job, so we built a program to remove it. Our $15k+ Integration Suite is designed to set you up for success before your first day — including a Central Coast Experience Visit where you'll walk our practices, meet your mentors, and explore the community before you ever commit. Within your first year, we'll forgive your relocation expense loan, and you'll be formally evaluated for our Equity Partnership Plan — not a vague "someday," but a defined first-year milestone.

The Compensation Is Real.

Our associates make between $250,000–$525,000 annually — no smoke, no massaging of reports. You'll have the option to move to percentage-based compensation, typically between day 60–89 — our fastest associate made the switch in just 3.5 weeks.

- 3½–4½ days per week — no nights, no weekends

- Done by 4:00 pm most days; 1:00 pm on Fridays

- 4 weeks minimum vacation — your emergency patients are covered by your colleagues

- Medical and dental benefits, continuing education stipend, and 401(k) matching

- Partnership track available for the right person, with Year-1 Equity Partnership Plan evaluation

What We're Looking for in You

A doctor who wants to be great at dentistry. Someone who's curious, coachable, and genuinely excited to grow — whether that's day one out of school or year five in a practice that never let you reach your potential.

We take every new addition seriously. We're backing the right person with our doctors, our team, and a patient base that's eager to meet the newest member of the PDG family.

To apply, send us your cover letter, resume, and — most importantly — tell us what makes YOU different from the stack of identical applications sitting on our desk. We look forward to finding out.

Pay: $225,000.00 - $550,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Please confirm you have an active California Dental License
• Please confirm you are willing to relocate to our area

Work Location: In person