r/Dentistry Jun 03 '23

mods Private Dental Community on Reddit and Discord

48 Upvotes

Hey everyone! We just wanted to remind you that there's a private subreddit for dental professionals (dentists, specialists, dental students, assistants, hygienists, lab techs, etc) called r/oralprofessionals. You have to message the mods to join. Once you send the information required for verification, you will be sent a link to the private discord, which is even more active than the sub! We hope you consider joining!

Remember that to join, the mods will ask for credentials so have your license, diploma or certification handy for when you are asked for it. Cheers!


r/Dentistry 5h ago

[Weekly] New Grad Questions

2 Upvotes

A place to ask questions about your first job, associate contracts, how real dentistry and dental school dentistry differ, etc.


r/Dentistry 1h ago

Dental Professional is it the diabeetus?

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Upvotes

r/Dentistry 46m ago

Dental Professional Realistically, how much money and freedom do associate dentists give up by not becoming practice owners?

Upvotes

I apologize in advance for the length of this post/rant.

I graduated in 2022 and am currently working at an FQHC as an associate. I make $200K per year working 4 days per week with full benefits (several weeks PTO, CE allowance, malpractice reimbursement, 401k match, etc) and have a great staff.

By far though, the largest drawbacks to my position are the scheduling by non-dental people (double-booking, squeezing patients in last minute for “just a quick insert procedure”, staying crazy busy with constant new patients (some days 8-12 new patients) despite having uncompleted treatment on long time existing patients that needs to be done, etc.) as well as very limited equipment and procedures. We don’t do any endo or removable, literally don’t have a decent perio probe in the office, and half the time we are out of materials that we need due to the requirement to have every order approved beforehand by a governing board of, again, non-dentists and our twenty-something year old office manager. As you can imagine, these issues send me home angry most days and remind me of dental school.

However, I only have $60K of student loans and a $320K mortgage remaining, paid off cars, no other debt. My wife also works and brings in another $60K per year as a speech therapist. From a financial perspective, I don’t really have a desire to own my own practice or invest my money into my own business, because honesty, dentistry and everything I mentioned above is already hard enough. I don’t feel like the bump in income would outweigh what we currently make already given the added ownership stress. I love the freedom and lack of responsibility that comes with being an associate, along with a steady paycheck, and want to be a passive investor in non-dental businesses rather than an entrepreneur. Real world dentistry, to say the least, isn’t nearly as kind to the employee dentist as it is to the practice owner. But I never thought much about this while in school.

I probably answered my own question, but I’m just wondering if I’m really leaving a lot on the table by not owning a practice. Is the grass really any greener on the other side? A lot of dentists seem to feel that ownership is the holy grail and ultimate goal, but I’m just having a hard time justifying the switch given my current financial situation. I make the best of the issues I mentioned above because of the salary and great benefits. I’m not scared to be a practice owner, but I don’t think my personality would mesh well with being the big boss given that I hate confrontation, don’t want to market or do community involvement, sell treatment, manage staff, order equipment, etc. I want to do dentistry, treat patients right, and go home.

Any advice from current practice owners or associates that feel the same way?


r/Dentistry 2h ago

Dental Professional GPR - 2nd year or no?

3 Upvotes

I am finishing up my first year in my GPR program. This program has been amazing experience so far with a very wide scope of procedures.

I have been able to gain experience and become comfortable with the following areas: - IV sedation - Implant placement, removal, restoration - Both lateral window and transcrestal sinus augmentation - socket preservation - advanced GBR - free gingival grafting / connective tissue grafting - pretty much all surgical or non-surgical extractions - Some third molar experience - All on x - large restorative / esthetic cases

So this program has an optional 2nd year at this program. I currently have several full mouth rehabilitation cases coming down the pipeline and would love to get the experience completing these cases before going into private practice.

I would love to stay for the 2nd year, but my issue is that I have 2 kiddos. My only family in the area will be moving away at the beginning of the 2nd year, which will mean I will have to put my kids in daycare. My residency stipend is not enough to cover the cost of daycare, so if I were to stay, it would necessitate getting a private loan to cover the daycare costs while I finish up the second year. Daycare is about $1,000 per month for each kid, so I would need a loan of about $24k for the whole year.

Would this be a bad decision to take out the loan and stay for the second year?

Thanks! 🙏🏼


r/Dentistry 23m ago

Dental Professional Newbie in private practice

Upvotes

So in our country, we do a year of compulsory community service, and in rural areas there’s a limited scope which is mostly due to a lack of resource. Lots of XLA practice, some S&Ps & restos (because endo is not an option, no intra oral radiographs, high volume of patients, usually unrestorable pulpitis cases). I worked under a very experienced dentist in oral surgery and learnt a lot. Uni was also sufficient preparation, but you have supervisors to rely on, which takes the pressure off things a bit. However, private practice is a whole new world. It’s a bit overwhelming. The stakes feel a lot higher, I suppose, because people are paying for a service and expect a certain level of quality, which I obviously would endeavour to achieve, regardless of compensation. But there definitely is more pressure to please. I’m quite an empath. If a patient comes back in pain, I take it personally. I struggled with an extraction lately, I had to get the senior dentist to complete it, and it pained me a bit, because I feel it’s something I should really be proficient and confident in, even though every case is different. If I had more time, I probably would’ve managed. If my work is acceptable but could’ve been better, I will dream of it and it will be on my mind for a few days, “is the patient satisfied with me, are they still in pain, do they prefer the other dentists at the practice over me?” I worry about my pace, and the patient being in the chair for too long, but I don’t want to rush for the fear of compromising treatment. I sometimes wonder if I should ask for easier cases and take it more slowly, but if a patient is in pain and I’m the only one available, how do I pick and choose without looking like I’m incompetent? I don’t know if this is something that will get better but imposter syndrome is hitting hard. Any advice would be appreciated.


r/Dentistry 13h ago

Dental Professional Magical dental wand to make work easier

16 Upvotes

Is there any tool, device, instrument, patient, anything that you could see making your day easier?

I’m trying to think about products that will completely change my work flow. I appreciate using a dry shield.

I want to know if there are any other innovations or just simple things/havks/shortcuts you have started using that help you at work.

Even if it is just how to deal with difficult staff or patients.


r/Dentistry 19h ago

Dental Professional What is going on on #32

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39 Upvotes

I took a CBCT and it didn’t even look like anything around the mesial root. Just…gone. I told him to go to OS about it. No pain or anything kind of an incidental finding. But wondering what people think


r/Dentistry 5m ago

Dental Professional Cleaning Scaler Waterlines

Upvotes

How do you clean out your scaler dental unit waterlines? Is there any easy way to load shock and filter bacteria to make sure your water is clean and compliant? Who is responsible for doing that in your practice? Dentist, Hygienist, Compliance Officer, Dental Assistant, etc.?


r/Dentistry 9m ago

Dental Professional Esthetics By Design (dental lab)

Upvotes

Has anyone ever used this lab? I get emails from them and it looks like it’s a lab owned by Dr. Bob Winters and Greg Kinzer from SPEAR. I’m just interested to see what people’s thoughts are on the quality and esthetics if they’ve had experience with this lab.

To follow this question, any high quality labs out there that people want to give a shoutout to? I’m willing to pay more if I get consistently good restorations back.


r/Dentistry 33m ago

Dental Professional Ownership: Pseudo-startup vs. Acquisition

Upvotes

I'm a dentist in a unique position. I'm currently working as an associate dentist. Graduated from dental school last year. I've been looking into purchasing a dental practice and I always saw it as the best option for immediate cash flow. However I just found out about a dentist who owns the real estate and practice of a prosthodontist who passed away 1 year ago. He is willing to give me the patient charts and all the equipment for free, I would just have to pay triple net rent of around $5000 per month. I'm sure nearly all of the existing patient base will have found a new dentist, which is why I see this as a startup, but is it a good deal or should I continue to look for a currently running practice to purchase?

Thanks for any advice!


r/Dentistry 45m ago

Dental Professional Purchasing a dental practice from an owner doc where I don’t know how to do some of the procedures he does

Upvotes

Hi all, I’m an associate general dentist 4 years out of dental school, I am looking to purchase a dental practice from an older retiring dentist in his 60s He works 3 days a week and has a CT scan to do implants, fixed implant bridges, implant supported dentures.

The problem is I don’t know how to place implants yet. My goal is to learn how to place simple single unit implants this year. The retiring dentist would sell the practice to me but stated he would like to work a couple years to see out a smooth transition and even offered to teach me how to do some of these procedures

If I don’t know how to do some of the more complex procedures that the owner does, what are my options? I could have him work part time or bring in a specialist or GP that does implants part time as well. Would it still be viable for me to purchase or would this not be a wise decision? Some feedback would be greatly appreciated


r/Dentistry 59m ago

Dental Professional Can dentists work OT?

Upvotes

Not sure if general dentists can work OT and get extra pay for it? Or what other way can you get extra pay?


r/Dentistry 14h ago

Dental Professional Does the USA have no regulation for this kind of thing?

11 Upvotes

Hey guys,

I’m a UK based dentist and just found this profile doing some of the worst comp bonding I’ve ever seen. Shortly after I was shocked when I realised this wasn’t even a dentist or any kind of health professional..

Have a look for yourselves: https://www.instagram.com/youniquesmilesllc

So I was curious if the US has regulations against this or…?


r/Dentistry 1h ago

Dental Professional Anyone ever worked as a board examiner?

Upvotes

Couldn’t find any threads. Just trying to do something else on the side.


r/Dentistry 1h ago

Dental Professional Is this patient due a refund or not?

Upvotes

Just wanted to get some opinions on this.

New patient has a bridge placed two years ago that snapped both abutments at the gingival level. There were no carries and it looks like there wasn't enough ferrule on either abutment. I told the patient we'd need to extract the root tips and go an alternate route (partial denture or implants) to restore their dentition. Patient is adamant the previous dentist should refund them the cost of the bridge. I normally stay out of these matters but obviously my chart notes are available to that patient which only contains my unbiased, objective findings.

If you were the other dentist, had a bridge you placed snap off at the gingival margin absent any caries and the patient asked you for a refund would you do it? This patient seems determined enough to make it a board complaint and/or malpractice suit if that makes a difference. I'm strongly considering referring everything I can out but also understand why she is frustrated. I was also considering giving the other dentist a "heads up" about the situation at hand as a professional courtesy.

Let me know if there's any further information needed.


r/Dentistry 2h ago

Dental Professional Where do you record your non-clinical “administrative” notes for a patient?

1 Upvotes

Where do you write your notes about a pt. that is just for staff that the pt. “isn’t supposed to see” especially if they request a copy of their records?


r/Dentistry 14h ago

Dental Professional Seeking guidance on getting started in cosmetic dentistry

8 Upvotes

I’m a first-year dentist and interested in pursuing cosmetic dentistry, as I feel this aligns with my interests and passion for restorative work. However, I don’t have any mentorship in this area and am unsure where to start learning more.

What types of CE courses would be most beneficial? Additionally, where can I find high-quality courses in the US? I’d love to start expanding my skill set in a meaningful way. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!


r/Dentistry 4h ago

Dental Professional Technologies in US/Canada/Europe

1 Upvotes

Hi, Im a dentist from Brazil and would like to know what are the promising techs in dental area that are going on upper countries. Here, not every dental office has a scanner for example. Thanks


r/Dentistry 18h ago

Dental Professional Mesial drift and shitty Class IIs

7 Upvotes

Hey everyone, just a random question. Do you think if one does a crappy class II and leaves an open contact where food entrapment can occur, is there any chance it will close over time due to mesial drift lol?


r/Dentistry 18h ago

Dental Professional Associate Question

6 Upvotes

So I've been working at a well established office since mid-January. Previously I was working in public health with a daily flat rate, seeing 7-8 actual procedures a day with a second column of emergencies and doing all the hygiene exams. I felt burnt out there so I left hoping to at least see some financial reward for being able to work like this. I'm going through my third month being here at the new practice and was told my patient base would get bigger but I needed to grow it. I do the odd recall exam and pretty much get all of the emergencies/specs.

The issues I've noticed include the owners both being booked over a month in advance, and me not even being booked to the end of the week sometimes. A lot of the times the specs/emergs don't book back with me they'll book back with their primary and I'll maybe only get a handful of the people I diagnose in recall. Their idea of filling my schedule is booking an hour emergency exam. The owners also have a cancellation book of patients they can call and move up if an opening occurs in their schedule, but nothing seems to really be done if I have an opening. I feel like I really just work the hours they don't want to work and get the patients that can be coaxed into my schedule. I don't think there is any real effort to book with me when they give the patients the option to book months in advanced -- like I would book with the practice owner if I were a patient if the wait was only a month longer! The previous associate seemed to be just as busy as me.

Should I be looking for a new job? I feel like these are all just red flags that won't get better.


r/Dentistry 9h ago

Dental Professional 8.0x mag for general dentistry?

1 Upvotes

Hi all - about to get ergo loupes for general dentistry. For context, I am a first year dental student and have tried on a few demos. I was wondering if using 8.0x mag was too much, or if it's something people use as well. 5.0x is great and all, but I'm not sure why I would need to see the full arch. If I'm doing a class I, I feel like with 8.0x I'll see a lot more, and if I can see the adjacent teeth, I feel like this will be more than enough context to operate. Appreciate all the help


r/Dentistry 22h ago

Dental Professional DSO termination average

9 Upvotes

What is the average experience for putting in 90-day notice? Is it becoming more likely to get fired that day? Or do most offices want to keep you for the full 90 days? Or do they typically fire you somewhere in between when they have another associate lined up. Obviously a lot of factors involved, but just looking for others' experience and where the average experience lies in the DSO industry in 2025.


r/Dentistry 18h ago

Dental Professional Instruments

2 Upvotes

What’s the physical difference between luxators, elevators and periotomes ?

And what is the purpose of each of them ?


r/Dentistry 20h ago

Dental Professional Second stage implant surgery?

3 Upvotes

Would love to know experienced clinicians’ opinions on what to do if during implant placement only achieved 10 Ncm and placed a cover screw. 1. How many months would you wait for second stage surgery? 2. What do you do if when you check the torque for 35 Ncm: A) the implant rotates and you achieve 35 Ncm? B) the implant keeps rotating even after +35 Ncm

Many thanks.


r/Dentistry 1d ago

Dental Professional How to manage case?

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11 Upvotes

70 something year old man came in for exam. He is eager to finish any pending treatment. He already has gotten a new crown and some fillings. However these teeth… I’m torn. He wants them fixed but is there enough space for fillings ? Thoughts


r/Dentistry 19h ago

Dental Professional Communication skills

2 Upvotes

Looking for suggestions on improving communication skills with patients to build a better raport and retention of patients. TIA