What are some jobs that dentists can do?

I get this question all the time. We all wish we could get a hold of that top secret list of other jobs dentists can do, don’t we? It’s a good question, and creating a collective brainstorm with others is a great way to find new options.

But the question is flawed. 

It’s flawed because it’s the wrong question, and it doesn’t work. I see it all the time in my Facebook group. Someone posts the question, and a lot of people join this collective brainstorm. It’s great to see everyone come out to help!

But guess what? I often see the same people months later still trapped because they don’t know what to do or how to do it. They’ve collected all these ideas, but the problem isn’t really that they don’t know what to do. Instead, their mindset is getting in the way.

Ask me how I know this– that used to be me.

I spent years stuck in the Google trap, searching for “other jobs dentists can do.” I could never get past that step because nothing was good enough for me. So I poo-poo’d every option I came across. This would require too much time. That wouldn’t pay enough. Clients would be difficult doing this. I don’t have the skills for that, so it would be impossible to do anyway.

My list of excuses was endless, and I simply stayed stuck– for years!

You can see that getting ideas wasn’t the problem. The problem was me.

It was all in my head, and I needed to change my mindset before any other career option would ever pass my test.

I’m not alone here. I know you might do this too. That’s why the question, “what are other jobs dentists can do” doesn’t work. Because that isn’t the root of your problem.

The truth is you don’t have to fit into a box. 

Once you realize that you do have skills and that it’s okay to change careers, you can give yourself permission to explore other options. But without this permission, the question is pointless. Sometimes, giving yourself this permission can take years of your life.

Let me help you shave off a lot of wasted energy and time:

You can do anything.

Whether it’s consulting with a dental insurance company to maybe even teaching karate (on the beach, perhaps?)… if you can do something as difficult as dentistry, you can do anything.

Did you know that there was an NFL referee who was a dentist? And I know of a dentist who became a Cirque du Soleil clown. I know others who are actors and screenwriters, and I have a good friend who was a hygienist and now is a DJ! You see, the point is there is no single job dentists can do. The sky’s the limit!

You might be thinking, “but that’s not ME. I could never do that. Dental school was so specific that I have no other skills.”

You are no different.

You just need to build that belief in yourself. 

With the right guidance, you can build that belief and get what you want faster.

This doesn’t just apply to dentists and hygienists. It applies to many professions. As humans, we simply fear change.

Meet my cousins, Solomon and Matthew Brenner. We grew up in separate cities, so for years we never got to see each other. I didn’t even meet Matthew for the first time until a few years ago. It was amazing because when we met, we realized we had so much in common.

I discovered, that somehow we all share a common desire: we relentlessly want to build happiness and freedom into our lives and share that with others.

It must be a Brenner thing.

A few weeks ago, my cousin shared his podcast with me. In the podcast, he interviewed Jacque Scott, a woman with ZERO karate experience who started a successful karate dojo (with their help.)

She became severely burnt out in her work. Working in HR, you can imagine that she often had to give bad news, and that constant negativity started wearing on her. The bad news part sounds a little like dentistry, doesn’t it? She wasn’t feeling fulfilled, and she wanted more out of life. 

Jacque opened her mind, got curious, and took small steps to get the clarity she needed. Along the way, she discovered that she did have other skills and that she could be a business owner. Just like her, you have a lot of skills that can be shifted into something else.  

I know. Owning a karate studio seems so far out of your skillset, but it’s not.

Remember, if you can do dentistry, you can do anything.

If you don’t like the stress of running a dental business, and you worry owning a different business will be the same, it’s not necessarily true.

Take me, for example. I hated working with patients. The pressure that I felt from the dynamics of the doctor/patient relationship was too much for me. For years, I thought I hated people and that made me a bad person. But over the years I learned that I still like people. In fact, I love my clients. Even when there are problems (which is less often than in dentistry,) they are not nearly as difficult to deal with– for me! Not all businesses are created equal, and not all dentist are created equal.

You might find that nothing you do moving forward will ever feel as stressful as working in a dental business.

If you aren’t loving (or even liking) your career, you have options… maybe even owning a karate studio. Check out this inspiring podcast episode here. If it inspires you enough to learn more, let me know, and I’ll connect you with my cool cousins!

If not, then focus back on shifting your mindset. When you change that, then you’ll begin to see that there are many jobs dentists can do, and you may just be made for one of them.