Adding an associate is one of the biggest financial decisions an endodontic practice makes, and the outcome depends far less on the person than on the math behind the offer.
The common models are a percentage of collections, a percentage of production, a flat salary, or a base plus percentage. Each shifts risk differently. Percentage of collections aligns the associate with what the practice actually gets paid; percentage of production can pay them for work that never collects.
The number that decides whether an associate is accretive is the fully loaded cost against the collections they generate. Fully loaded means comp plus payroll taxes, benefits, added supplies, and any staff time their schedule requires.
An associate paid on production while your collections ratio is soft is a margin leak: you pay them on the promise and collect less than that on the reality. Tying comp to collections closes that gap.
Run the model before you hire, not after. The right structure turns added capacity into added profit; the wrong one turns a busy schedule into the same take-home with more overhead.