Scroll to Continue
What advice do you have for a new dentist?
The following advices are the responses that were provided from Dentists and their team specifically for you, the new Dentist!
Learn how to make a hamburger.
Know the basic dental services to the best of your ability. Most patients need basic dentistry (the hamburger). Don’t worry about making chateaubriand (cosmetic dentistry). Eventually, you will become a great chef!
- Keep using a rubber dam.
- Use a caries detector.
- Learn how to do excellent posterior direct composites.
Associate with an established group or private practice where you can be mentored. Communication is as important as clinical skill.
Think about living and working in rural or underserviced communities. It’s better than being in a major metropolitan area.
Save Your Sanity
- Don’t focus on cramming your schedule. Spend time to educate your patients and the value and money will flow.
- Book a half-day off a week to slot your emergencies. That way, your days won’t be overbooked and stressful.
Enjoy your profession. Find another passion and enjoy your life. Give 100 percent to your patients, but don’t forget to balance life outside of work.
Determine where you want to live and why you want to live there. The dentistry part will work itself out. Dentistry will consume 30 to 40 hours a week; the other 128 hours are for you and your family. Once you know where you want to be established, you can begin to invest with conviction in yourself, your family and the community.
Take care of the patient and you won’t have to worry about money. If you worry about money, you will have to worry about getting patients.
Focus on your people skills. To you, it’s a business, but to the patient, it’s about care.
Build trust.
Take baby steps.
Treat your patients as
people, not numbers.
Get a mentor.
Work with a good lab.
Learn to communicate well.
Not everything you were taught is practical knowledge. Continuing
Education and time will help you find answers.
Take Continuing
Education courses.
You’ve only just
begun your career!
“You don’t know what you don’t know” unless you continue educating yourself.
Your education
never ends! Keep
an open mind. Take
advanced courses.
Don’t think like a
dentist, think like a student.
Your dental knowledge is just beginning.
Dental school only gives you a fraction of what you need to know.
Continue learning after
graduation.
Seek the best clinicians. This is YOUR future.
Strive for excellence
Surround yourself with the best.
Never say “I know”. It will stop you from learning.
Get involved with your local dental academy. I highly recommend membership in your local component society and involvement with your provincial dental association. They liaise with your provincial government and, therefore, are the primary bodies to help influence the shape of dentistry’s professional mode.
Have a Positive Attitude
Dentistry is a relationship business. Remember a quote from Patch Adams: “Treat a disease and you will win some of the time…Treat a patient and you will win all of the time”.
Create a relationship with your client. Learn about their life, family and interests. Listen to them! It’s not just teeth you’re working on but a person. Educate them so they can make an informed choice about their health.
Be honest
Remember, good news about you and your treatment travels slowly,
but bad news travels fast!
Listen carefully to your patients.
Only do a treatment plan once you have fully heard your patient.
Use photos. Use photos!!! Smiles sell!
Stick to orderly techniques and methods. Don’t cut corners.
The singular tool that ensures success is a high powered (up to 8x) scope with coaxial lighting. It gives you the maximum amount of information, enabling diagnosis and successful dentistry.
Plan your financial future from day 1.
Save 10% of your income every year.
Don’t overextend yourself financially. Keep personal debt to a minimum. Pay off your student loans first.
Learn as much about business as you can.
Invest in management courses. It is very important to know how to run a practice. It’s not just clinical work.
Do quality work, not quantity work.
Work smart, not hard.
Keep your head down. Pay off your debt and don’t overextend yourself.
Become the best possible boss.
Please be kind to your staff. Always care and treat your existing patients well. Don’t worry about the patients you don’t have yet. Be a listener.
Treat the entire dental team as colleagues, not just employees. Collaborate with them. Take an interest in them as individuals.
Be good to your employees. We are not “staff”. Staff is
an infection. We are a team and we work together. You cannot achieve success without a team. Money is always an issue. Employees get it! Occasionally, be spontaneous. Buy a random lunch. Do nice things for your team just to let them know they’re appreciated.
Find a passion for dentistry and make it your life! If you don’t love what you do —go find it.
Join the AGD! Take lots of CE!
Work with a quality lab!
Ask successful dentists who they use as financial planners, accountants, lawyers, etc.
Network with successful dentists and ask them to be mentors to you.
Find someone as a mentor and associate with someone who will want to retire or transition in 5-10 years.
Don’t stay in the GTA. The most well off dentists are outside the GTA.
Keep your head down. Pay off your debt and don’t overextend yourself.
Thank you to all the doctors and staff who gave their advice to new dentists! This was created with success in mind. We hope these words of advice will help you in your journey through a successful dental career.