Ahh, dentistry. What a noble profession. We put our hearts and souls into taking care of others. We invest much of our lives learning our craft and doing everything we can to make our patients comfortable. When our hard work pays off and gets great results, we celebrate with a deep sense of joy and satisfaction. And when our very best efforts don’t lead to the desired results; we feel defeated, disappointed that we couldn’t do more for our patients. We have such good intentions. Even when it comes to business, I always thought dentists incorporated a different level of...
Ever wonder if you should become a dentist? If so, knowing the REAL pros and cons of dentistry is crucial. For years, US News and World Report crowned the dentist as the #1 best job. I first wrote this post in 2013, and being a dentist won that designation for years. In 2018, something changed, and they caught onto what some of us already knew. It slipped to #2 and stayed there, but in 2021, being a dentist slipped all the way down to #9! Maybe they’ve started to see the pros AND the cons of dentistry. What changed? Could...
Help me celebrate the 10-Year Anniversary of 10 Reasons Your Dentist Probably Hates You Too! On November 17, 2011, I turned in my last key to the last dental office I ever worked in. It was a momentous day. I had spent 10 years as a dentist and hated dentistry and my life. For years I felt stuck in the wrong career, and I didn’t know how to change. I thought I had no other skills besides being a dentist. Couple that with the fact that no one in the field ever mentioned they hated dentistry as well. Thinking I...
There, I said it. I hate dentistry… sort of. When I was younger, I chose dentistry as my forever career because I loved smiles, and I wanted to work with people. I really liked people. I always considered myself social and friendly, and I was a good student who enjoyed math and science. Dentistry seemed like the perfect fit for me. As a patient, I always loved learning about my teeth, and the day I got my braces off, I loved the result. It seemed impossible that I would get to a point in my career where I would one...
I recently shared with you my dilemma about my cold cap. The question was whether I should allow myself to go bald, or whether I should suffer through the pain of wearing the cold cap for mediocre results. It’s amazing what writing down your thoughts can do to help you gain clarity. I had been struggling for a good month to come to a decision. It was weighing heavily on me, but in the days I put it in writing, a few things happened to help guide me in my decision-making process. I finally feel confident in my choice. I’ve decided to...
Most of us really value the importance of work life balance. Especially now, it seems to be more important than ever. My guest today is Andrew, a dentist in the UK. Andrew came to a crossroads in his career when he was forced to make a tough decision. He had to choose between continuing on in a very happy, successful dental practice or walking away from that to maintain the most important relationship in his life. See how it turned out for him… Three years ago, I came to a junction in my life where I really struggled. It turned...
It’s quite challenging to objectively see ourselves and our behavior, isn’t it? The different filters we use to see the world influence everything in our lives. It makes sense– if we don’t really see the world objectively, how can we see ourselves objectively? What do you see? We’ve all seen this drawing above. At first, most of us either see a young woman or an old lady. It’s not until someone points out what you can’t see, that you finally see it. It is amazing how your perspective changes when you change your perspective. The Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Assessment did...
Did you ever consider that what we perceive to be true might not be reality? Think about it. Take the comment “I hate the dentist.” Some of us shrug it off as if it’s nothing while others get peeved by it. What’s really going on here? Is the patient really being rude? Are they making a joke? Maybe they’re grasping for some compassion? What is the reality? The way we perceive a comment like this does create our reality. It’s normal. It happens because we all see the world through different filters. Our filters determine how we see everything in...
I am back with another wonderful guest today. Meet Barbara, a clever dentist who found a great way to stay in dentistry without the pressures of private practice. Barbara has a really cool and unique story. She practiced dentistry for 5 years before she decided to switch gears. What she does now will have you smiling. It had to be 15 years ago that we met each other. We share a close mutual friend, and it was always fun to share this connection. We instantly had a lot in common– especially our confessions that we weren’t loving dentistry all that...
Every so often we get a wake up call. It’s the call that jolts us into remembering perspective. It’s the call that reminds us how important self care is. We can get so caught up caring for everyone else, that sometimes we neglect ourselves. In 2014 it was Robin Williams’ shocking suicide. The man that brought happiness and laughter to so many suffered a struggle that no one could imagine. A year later came the death of Amanda Peterson, aka Cindy Mancini, the beloved ’80’s teen idol we admired from Can’t Buy Me Love. She fell victim to drug and...
