dentist

associate dentist

dental assistant

dental hygienist

dental office assistant

Ideal Dental

During my time with this organization, I worked in a fast-paced, high-volume environment where efficiency and productivity were strongly emphasized. The patient flow was consistent, and the pace made it possible to quickly build speed and comfort in a corporate clinical setting.

That said, I found that increased effort and output did not always feel meaningfully connected to professional or financial growth in my role. While expectations were clear, the overall structure made it challenging to feel a strong sense of long-term upside from consistently high performance. The experience was educational in terms of learning how to work faster, but less so in feeling rewarded for doing so.

Operational support varied by location and day. At times, limited staffing or inconsistent access to resources required frequent adjustments to workflow. This often meant doing the best possible work within the constraints of the environment rather than practicing with maximum flexibility. Productivity expectations, however, remained unchanged.

Staffing levels were another recurring challenge. Managing full schedules with minimal clinical support was not uncommon, which contributed to longer patient wait times and added pressure on the provider. Doctors were generally expected to remain on site regardless of schedule volume, while non-clinical roles appeared to have more flexibility.

Over time, it became clear that this role is best approached as a short-term learning opportunity. For early-career dentists looking to gain experience in a high-volume, structured system, it can serve a purpose. For those seeking autonomy, consistent support, or long-term professional fulfillment, it may be less sustainable.

This company has a near 100% turnover rate for anyone past 3months. The average employee (including regional managers and doctors) is only 3-6 months! From a professional standpoint this company is unstable to offer stability. Meaning ythis company does not believe in lunch breaks nor breaks! You are encouraged to drink alot of water or bring chips or something to snack on while working because you are literally not allowed to take full lunches. 2 employees were fired for going to a family funeral! With that being said working here has to be the most important thing in your life or you will be fired. They have fired another employee for being sick and having to need surgery! This company typically ONLY hires retail or fast food people and then attempt to train them to be dental professionals. Obviously this is not a very good idea, and therefor all of the managers, assistants, and trainers are all undereducated and underqualified!
One word of advice....RUN!

The offices have nice decor ad do feel very inviting. It has a quaint feel that some like and the locations are conviently by the highway for easy access. Those are the positives.

This is a wonderful organization focused on the people and creating a positive experience for our staff and patients. The onsite and corporate teams offer an unparalleled level of support - far greater than any other dental groups I have worked for. 

We have several local offices in Jacksonville, each with wonderful doctors and support teams. The teams are great with communication and working through any challenges that present themselves, and the level of knowledge from the support teams is excellent. 

This is  a great place to work if you want a positive and supportive environment. Admittedly it is not an environment for negative people or those that want to create drama, as we focus our energy on providing great patient care and supporting each other as team members.

They also have incredible rates on healthcare and an entire benefits team that is committed to saving employees as much money as possible. They have a new program that provides $1000 in co-payment support, dramatically reducing out of pocket expenses. They also have a phenomenal dental benefits program, unlike most dental practices. 

I was hired under the “dental assistant apprenticeship program.” We were offered paid training and promised to be placed at a clinic near us. It ended up not mattering- we were all (nearly 70 of us) fired with 2 day notice due to Ideal not actually having any jobs for us! Corporate has yet to return correspondences inquiring about why they hired so many of us, only to terminate us less than two weeks before Christmas.

Additionally: many of us were placed in clinics 30+ minutes from our residence. Upon arriving at clinics, we were treated like garbage. Sent home early for “asking too many questions” after only two weeks of classroom learning. Called “incompetent” for not knowing their systems and policies. Not allowed to do anything in the office, then being penalized for being “useless and lazy.” We were promised free dental benefits- but, oh, you can only use them on Saturdays during free time, of which there is NONE due to being fully booked weeks or months in advance. Health insurance options were awful. Many were requested to clock out “on time” and continue working well past operating hours. Lunch breaks were infrequent at best and outright denied at worst.

Be smart and run, don’t walk, away from this circus of buffoonery.

I have worked for Ideal for years. I came from a poorly run corporate competitor. I was excited to leave my previous place of employment for the nicer, clean offices of Ideal. Although Ideal Dental has nicer offices, their benefits are horrible and each office is entirely different. Starting with the benefits; after you reach eligibility for PTO, you're only allowed 5 days/year. If you have a competent OM, then you just may get your days off if you requested in advance. Additionally, if you are required to travel, don't even think about compensation. It's not going to happen. Also, if you are a dental assistant or work in the office, the health insurance is horrible. If you have any type of ailments or if you're looking for real insurance, this place doesn't offer it. Overall, the job is not hard, however, with other companies providing better benefits, I question why I stay. As long as you are dependable, have a willingness to learn, and take accountability for your actions, you'll be fine. Expect the bare minimum benefits-wise. 

I was hired in by a lady who was fired shortly after who had served the company for many years( First sign). The lead assistant in office hated his job but was a sucker to do anything he was told since he had a lot of secret relationships with lead Docs in company. Management  changed twice in one year. Company cannot keep regionals so the one heavy set lady that is left is messy and gossipy. She appears friendly but beware she is a witch. The company care more for money than security of workers in a pandemic. They post fake reviews here as well to make this job look real just reading a few you can tell the 5 stars are false. 99% of every manager and worker have all told me they were seeking other job options. If you ask for more than 16 or 17 hourly they really can't afford you and no matter your skill they will lay you off and hire in cheaper less experienced people to save money after a little so ask for low money. This is truley a cheap company beware no job security. They are not a equal opportunity employer. 

This company started off amazing! I advanced quickly and was told in less than a year I would be an office manager! That was a LIE!!! I was given two offices to manage and then at the last minute they were both taken away!!!! I reported the area manager for bullying and belittling the staff to the point of the staff crying at work and also reported her commuting a FELONY THAT I WITNESSED AND ALSO HAD MULTIPILE OTHER WITNESSES and there was nothing done besides moving her to an office manager!!! Where she still bullies people to this day. After working 90 plus hours every two weeks alone in an office that sometimes had 2 Drs and 4 DA’s I was let go for a misunderstanding that the manager said “we can not prove anything but we need to part ways” I had never had a complaint or a write up!!! This company is all about who you know and what your status is. There are many illegal activites happening here and no one will do anything about it. RUN AWAY FIND ANOTHER JOB!!! Ignore the five star reviews on here google, Facebook, and yelp! The area managers make them write them!!!!! They are family and friends and they are lies!!!!!!!!!! Save your time and sanity!!!!! Find another company!!!!!!!!!!!

I worked at DECA Dental for three years. The office team was generally supportive, and I enjoyed working with many of the staff and doctors. My experience with the initial office manager was positive, but the most recent office manager frequently did not fulfill her responsibilities, often spending time on her phone or eating snacks instead of managing the office. Management often focused on strict clock-in/clock-out rules even when the schedule was slow, while scheduling and workflow issues went unaddressed. Over time, increased scrutiny over hours, high turnover of management, doctors, and assistants, and the demands of working Saturdays created a stressful and unstable work environment.

My experience working here was extremely disappointing. I was wrongfully terminated despite having no prior write-ups or disciplinary issues. The reasoning given did not reflect my actual performance or the effort I put into my work.

The work environment can be very toxic. Management often makes employees feel like they don’t belong or that their voices don’t matter. Instead of supporting staff, they can be belittling and dismissive. It creates an atmosphere where employees feel uncomfortable speaking up about concerns.

Another issue I experienced was management attempting to be overly friendly with employees, only to later use personal information shared in conversation against them. This made the workplace feel very untrustworthy and unsafe on a professional level.

A workplace should value, respect, and support its employees. Unfortunately, that was not my experience here. I would strongly encourage leadership to reflect on how staff are treated and work toward creating a healthier, more respectful environment.

 DECA has been a great company to work with it . For my personal  experience, I would say that DECA always recognizes   employees for their dedication , commitment  and hard work.
 I have been with  the company for 5 years, but  since I started I met so many amazing doctors and mentors who can strive to guide you each and every step.   DECA gives us opportunities to their employees  be a  better leadership role and mentorship .

One thing I like about DECA we all work together under one roof and help guests to achieve optimum oral health and carry big smile on face once they leave office . I have personally met and actually worked with owner Doctors, I can not believe I have learned so many things about how to explain the guests about their treatment , how we can help the guests to work with their  Financial budget. 

DECA gives a positive platform and very friendly environment  to balance with life  and work.

I am very thankful being a part of DECA team!! 😊


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Dentist 2 salaries reported	$375,000 per year
Associate dentist 1 salary reported	$325,000 per year
Dental assistant 4 salaries reported	$22.75 per hour
Dental hygienist 20 salaries reported	$111,500 per year
Dental office assistant 3 salaries reported	$19.69 per hour

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