A dental associate agreement may affect your career long after you leave the practice.
One of the most important provisions to understand before signing is the noncompete, sometimes called a restrictive covenant or covenant not to compete.
A dental noncompete generally restricts where, or sometimes how, a dentist can practice for a period of time after leaving the employer. Depending on the language, it could affect whether an associate can join another dental office, purchase a nearby practice, open a new practice, or continue treating patients in the community.
Dentists should review a noncompete based on the entire restriction, not simply whether a five-mile or ten-mile radius sounds reasonable. Duration, geography, restricted activities, practice locations, termination circumstances, patient restrictions, and applicable state law can all matter.
What Is a Noncompete in a Dental Associate Agreement?
A dental associate noncompete is a contractual provision that restricts an associate dentist from engaging in certain competitive activities after the employment relationship ends.
For example, an agreement might prohibit the associate from practicing dentistry within a specified distance of the employer’s practice for one year after termination.
A hypothetical provision could therefore restrict the dentist from practicing:
- for 12 months after employment ends;
- within a specified radius of the practice; and
- as an employee, owner, contractor, or other provider of competing dental services.
But the details matter.
A restriction measured from one office where the dentist actually works can be dramatically different from a restriction measured from every office operated by a multi-location dental group.
For a full break down on dental associate agreements, see our dental associate agreement post here.
Are Dental Noncompete Agreements Enforceable?
Whether a dental noncompete is enforceable depends heavily on applicable state law and the specific language and circumstances of the agreement.
There is currently no effective federal rule categorically banning all employee non-competes nationwide. The Federal Trade Commission adopted a broad Noncompete Rule in 2024, but a federal court stopped the rule from taking effect. The FTC subsequently dismissed its appeals, and the rule is not in effect.
That makes state law especially important.
Some states significantly restrict or prohibit certain employee non-competes. Others permit them under particular circumstances, often subject to limitations concerning reasonableness, legitimate business interests, duration, geography, profession, compensation, or other factors.
Dentists should therefore be cautious about generalized statements online that a particular noncompete radius or duration is always “legal” or “illegal.”
The answer may be very different from one state and one factual situation to another.
How Long Can a Dental Noncompete Last?
Dental non-competes often specify a period during which the restriction remains effective after employment ends.
For example:
12 months following termination.
But there is no universal duration that is appropriate or enforceable in every dental associate agreement.
A dentist should consider both the applicable state law and the practical effect of the restriction.
Even a one-year restriction can be significant if complying with it requires the dentist to leave an established community, commute a substantial distance, move their family, or abandon an opportunity to purchase a nearby practice.
The ADA similarly cautions employee-dentists that the combination of duration, geographic scope, and the circumstances of termination can substantially constrain their post-employment career options.
What Is a Reasonable Geographic Radius for a Dentist Noncompete?
There is no universal “reasonable” radius for every dental noncompete.
Five miles may have an entirely different practical effect in a dense metropolitan area than in a rural community.
Instead of asking only:
“Is a five-mile noncompete reasonable?”
a dentist should also ask:
“Five miles from what?”
That distinction can be enormous.
Consider an associate working for a dental group with ten locations.
Agreement A
The associate cannot compete within five miles of:
the office where the associate primarily practiced.
Agreement B
The associate cannot compete within five miles of:
any office owned or operated by the employer.
Both agreements technically contain a “five-mile noncompete.”
But Agreement B could potentially eliminate a much larger geographic area from the dentist’s future employment options.
Is a 10-Mile Dental Noncompete Reasonable?
A ten-mile restriction is not automatically reasonable—or unreasonable—simply because of the number.
Its enforceability may depend on applicable state law and facts such as:
- population density;
- the practice’s actual patient draw;
- the dentist’s specialty;
- the number and location of practice offices;
- the employer’s legitimate business interests;
- availability of other employment opportunities;
- duration of the restriction; and
- the activities the agreement actually prohibits.
A ten-mile radius around a single rural practice is very different from overlapping ten-mile radii around numerous offices in a metropolitan area.
The radius should never be reviewed in isolation.
Pay Attention to Which Practice Locations Trigger the Noncompete
This is one of the provisions I would examine particularly carefully in a dental associate agreement.
Suppose a dental organization operates 15 locations but an associate works regularly at only two.
The agreement could measure the noncompete from:
- the associate’s primary office;
- every office where the associate provided services;
- every office where the associate provided services during a specified period;
- every location owned by the employer;
- every current or future employer location; or
- any location at which the associate worked even once.
Those formulations can produce dramatically different restricted territories.
An associate should understand exactly which locations become geographic anchors for the restriction.
From a Dental Contract Attorney
When reviewing a dental noncompete, I don’t look only at the number of miles. I look at how many circles the contract lets the employer draw on the map.
A five-mile restriction around one office may be manageable. Five-mile restrictions around ten or fifteen offices may effectively prevent the associate from practicing throughout a substantial portion of a metropolitan area.
That is why the definition of the restricted territory can matter as much as the radius itself.
What Activities Does the Dental Noncompete Actually Prohibit?
Geography is only part of the analysis.
Dentists should also determine what the agreement defines as competition.
For example, does the provision prohibit:
- practicing general dentistry;
- practicing any form of dentistry;
- owning a dental practice;
- working for another dental practice;
- working as an independent contractor;
- providing specialty services;
- managing a dental practice;
- investing in a competing business; or
- working for a DSO?
A general dentist should be particularly cautious about language that prohibits activities much broader than the services actually performed for the employer.
Does the Noncompete Apply If the Dentist Is Fired?
This is one of the first questions I would ask when reviewing the provision.
Read the noncompete together with the termination section.
Some agreements apply the restriction regardless of why the employment relationship ends.
That could mean the dentist remains restricted even if:
- the employer terminates the associate without cause;
- the practice eliminates the associate’s position;
- the employer materially changes compensation;
- the practice closes the associate’s location; or
- the employer breaches the agreement.
Whether those provisions are enforceable depends on applicable law, but from a negotiation perspective, dentists should understand the consequences before signing.
An associate may seek to negotiate circumstances in which the noncompete does not apply—for example, following termination by the employer without cause.
What Happens If a Dentist Violates a Noncompete?
The consequences depend on the agreement and applicable law.
An employer seeking to enforce a noncompete could potentially pursue contractual remedies and, in some circumstances, ask a court to prevent the dentist from engaging in the allegedly prohibited activity.
Some agreements also contain provisions addressing:
- monetary damages;
- liquidated damages;
- injunctive relief;
- attorneys’ fees; or
- other remedies.
That means a dentist considering a new opportunity that may fall within an existing restriction should generally have the agreement reviewed before accepting the position, purchasing the practice, signing a lease, or otherwise committing substantial money to the new opportunity.
What’s the Difference Between a Noncompete and a Nonsolicitation Provision?
A noncompete generally restricts competitive activity, while a non-solicitation provision generally restricts efforts to solicit certain patients, employees, or other relationships.
For example:
Noncompete:
May prohibit the dentist from practicing within a certain territory.
Patient non-solicitation:
May prohibit the dentist from encouraging patients of the former practice to follow the dentist to a new practice.
Employee non-solicitation:
May prohibit the dentist from recruiting employees of the former practice.
An agreement may contain all three.
And eliminating or narrowing the noncompete does not necessarily eliminate the non-solicitation provisions.
Can a Dentist Tell Patients Where They Are Going After Leaving?
This question can involve more than the noncompete itself.
The answer may depend on:
- the associate agreement;
- patient non-solicitation language;
- confidentiality provisions;
- applicable state law;
- professional obligations;
- patient-record requirements; and
- the circumstances surrounding the communication.
There can also be an important distinction between soliciting patients and responding to a patient who independently asks where the dentist will practice next.
Dentists anticipating a departure should therefore review the agreement and applicable legal and professional requirements before communicating with patients about the move.
Can a Dental Associate Negotiate a Non-compete?
Yes. A noncompete is a contractual provision, and its terms may be negotiable.
Depending on the circumstances, an associate might seek to negotiate:
- a smaller geographic radius;
- a shorter duration;
- application only to offices where the associate actually worked;
- application only to the associate’s primary location;
- exclusion of future employer locations;
- exclusion of locations where the associate worked only occasionally;
- narrower definitions of competitive activity;
- an exception if the employer terminates the dentist without cause;
- an exception following an employer breach;
- limits on patient non-solicitation;
- a contractual buyout right; or
- elimination of the noncompete altogether.
Which changes matter most will depend on the dentist’s circumstances.
Don’t Negotiate the Radius Without Looking at a Map
This is a simple but surprisingly useful exercise.
Map the restriction before agreeing to it.
If an agreement contains a five-mile radius, put the applicable office locations into a map and determine what the restriction actually covers.
This becomes even more important with multi-location practices.
A dentist may discover that seemingly modest overlapping radii eliminate entire neighborhoods, employment centers, or communities where the dentist might otherwise want to work or purchase a practice.
For an associate who plans to remain in the area long term, that practical analysis can be more useful than debating whether five miles sounds reasonable in the abstract.
Think About Your Future Practice Purchase Before Signing
A noncompete does not matter only when switching associate jobs.
It can also matter when the dentist is ready to become an owner.
Suppose an associate spends four years building professional relationships in a community and later identifies an attractive dental practice for sale nearby.
The associate’s existing noncompete may affect whether they can purchase and practice at that location.
Dentists who eventually want to own a practice should consider that goal when negotiating their associate agreement today.
This is one reason restrictive covenants deserve attention even when an associate is excited about a new job and has no immediate plans to leave.
Dental Noncompete Red Flags
A dental associate should consider taking a closer look when a noncompete:
- applies to every employer location rather than locations where the associate actually works;
- automatically expands to future practice locations;
- uses overlapping radii that cover a substantial geographic area;
- lasts substantially longer than necessary to protect the practice’s legitimate interests;
- restricts services the associate did not actually perform;
- applies regardless of the reason employment terminates;
- combines a broad noncompete with broad patient and employee non-solicitation restrictions;
- contains significant liquidated damages;
- gives the employer broad discretion to expand the restricted territory; or
- is unclear about which locations or activities are restricted.
None of these factors necessarily determines enforceability by itself. But each deserves careful review before signing.
Are Dental Non-competes Different From Non-competes in Dental Practice Sales?
Potentially, yes.
A noncompete associated with the sale of a dental practice presents a different context from a restriction imposed on an employee associate.
When someone purchases a dental practice, a substantial portion of the purchase price may be attributable to goodwill. A buyer understandably does not want to pay for that goodwill only to have the seller immediately establish a competing practice nearby.
The legal standards applicable to sale-of-business restrictions may also differ from those governing employee non-competes, depending on state law.
Dentists should therefore avoid assuming that a restriction appropriate in a multimillion-dollar practice sale is necessarily appropriate in an associate employment agreement or vice versa.
Should a Lawyer Review a Dental Noncompete Before You Sign?
A noncompete can affect where a dentist works, whether they can remain in their community, and potentially where they can eventually purchase or open a practice.
An attorney reviewing a dental associate agreement can evaluate the restrictive covenant together with:
- compensation;
- termination rights;
- patient non-solicitation;
- employee non-solicitation;
- confidentiality;
- professional liability insurance;
- ownership opportunities; and
- other provisions affecting the dentist after employment ends.
The best time to understand and negotiate those restrictions is usually before the agreement is signed—not when the dentist is already trying to leave.
Dental Associate Agreement Review
Masters Law Group helps dentists review and negotiate dental associate agreements, including non-competes, non-solicitation provisions, compensation structures, termination rights, professional liability provisions, and other terms affecting the employment relationship.
If you have received a dental associate agreement and want to understand what it means for both your current job and your future career, book a complimentary consultation with us here to discuss an associate agreement review.
This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Noncompete laws vary significantly by jurisdiction and continue to develop. Dentists should obtain legal advice regarding their particular agreement and applicable state law.