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Fred’s Answer
I am not an orthodontist. I am basing this off what I've seen and what I see when going to one.
All the orthodontists I know are in private practice. This means they own the business, and thus they are the boss. If that's the case, they can set their own hours, set their own schedule, and limit how busy they want to be. There are caveats.
The business makes money by seeing patients. So, if you see fewer patients, you will make less money. Some expenses vary depending on the number of clients - materials, payroll (assuming your staff is hourly), etc. But some costs are fixed - rent, student loan repayments, and so on.
The ortho we went to for years had probably 7-8 bays for patients. Each bay had an assistant who did much of the work with the patient. He would come in and check the work, give instructions, and chat with the client. Ultimately, he was responsible for all the work done by all his employees. So he did jump around from bay to bay, all day long, seeing lots of patients. He was busy, but not frazzled, if that makes any sense.
All the orthodontists I know are in private practice. This means they own the business, and thus they are the boss. If that's the case, they can set their own hours, set their own schedule, and limit how busy they want to be. There are caveats.
The business makes money by seeing patients. So, if you see fewer patients, you will make less money. Some expenses vary depending on the number of clients - materials, payroll (assuming your staff is hourly), etc. But some costs are fixed - rent, student loan repayments, and so on.
The ortho we went to for years had probably 7-8 bays for patients. Each bay had an assistant who did much of the work with the patient. He would come in and check the work, give instructions, and chat with the client. Ultimately, he was responsible for all the work done by all his employees. So he did jump around from bay to bay, all day long, seeing lots of patients. He was busy, but not frazzled, if that makes any sense.