Dr. Killeen tackles a common question from practice owners: when is it time to hire an associate? He explains why the answer has less to do with increasing production and more to do with capacity. An associate makes sense when your hygiene schedule is booked, your own schedule is consistently full, new patients are being pushed out, and you are regularly running out of time. Before hiring, you also need a plan for the capacity you are creating. If the extra time will allow you to do more dentistry or spend more time leading the business, great. If the schedule is not actually full yet, the better move may be to focus on filling the practice you already have.