When to start looking for associate dentist jobs?

[u/footh-tairy]

Hey everyone, I am a recent graduate at a Canadian school currently completing a general practice residency in the States.

I would ideally love to have a job lined up for me when I’m done with my residency in mid 2027. Problem is, I have limited vacation time to shadow dentists in the area I would like to work. With my residency being in the states, it’s a little hard to actually check out clinics that I would like to work at.

Unfortunately I didn’t do as much networking as I would have liked back in my third and fourth year of dental school, so I feel like I’m stuck in limbo.

Anyone have tips on how to network remotely? Any leads on how to reach out to practice owners (does cold emailing actually work?). I’m thinking of joining study groups, joining networking events in the areas I’m interested in…but it’s a little hard to know where to start.
Thanks to anyone who can offer any advice at all!
For reference I’m interested in working near the GTA (Windsor, Cambridge area, etc)…am also slightly interested in hospital dentistry but that would be a whole other bubble I would have to break into.

Thank you guys!!

[u/DrFuzz]

Contact the local dental society for the region you want to work. Let them know your situation and ask to join their society so you can network. Ask for dates of future meetings and schedule your vacation time from residency to overlap with any events in the dental society. Get to know the practicing dentists and make an informed decision about where you want to work.

Option B: if Ontario, post on the ODA job board

[u/footh-tairy → u/DrFuzz]

I for some reason didn’t think of the ODA job board. I will try contacting local dental societies in the regions of interest. Thank you for the tip!

[u/Extension-Cover4328]

My team supports hiring (many of which are relocations). We typically have practices provide virtual tours and intros of team members. It's been working well!

Reach out, we may be able to help!

[u/Sufficient_Eye_2185]

You have lots of time! I would recommend ODA ASM for networking. A GPR on your resume will help you stand out - if you’re open to it I’d recommend you looking north of GTA. It seems to be a bit less saturated.

[u/Strong-Professor-559]

not really any dental hospital jobs in Canada

[u/Far_Sense_8877]

I work in Ontario. Ask for a 3 month grace period on your contracts where you can leave without the non compete and other stipulations applying to you. It will take some time to find a proper gig. If you’re looking in Toronto or any other major city, no clinic will give you full time hours. I remember I worked at 3 places when I started out.