If you are like me, you love doing dentistry, but have some long days in the practice. Treating patients, leading team members, incorporating technology, running a business… Just this week I had to stop working on the patient that I had in the chair because the guy helping us with the air conditioning system needed me (yes, the owner of the practice and the guy who built the office). How many other professionals have to deal with the day-to-day management of their practices while trying to provide optimal care for their patients? But we all do it, every day. We become skilled at treating our patients while simultaneously managing the practice. Even if we have the most skilled and dedicated office manager and team members, there are some things that only the owner of the practice can manage.
Sometimes, it can feel like we are on an island. Our friends and family who are not in dentistry really cannot understand the demands and stresses we face in our daily practice (then again, it’s not like we can understand what their day-to-day stresses are either). If you are practicing on your own, or even if you are in a small group practice, sometimes you feel like what just happened, only happens to you. Fractured root tips during extractions, implants that fail, veneers that pop off, bonding that chips, employees that don’t show up to work…sometimes it’s difficult to have perspective. So, what do I do to keep my head on straight? Let me give you my two recommendations for professional support: listening to podcasts and being active in study clubs.
In this blog I’m going to talk about my favorite dental blog – Dental Hacks. I love ‘the Hacks,’ emcees Alan Mead and Jason Lipscomb, because they are down-to-earth, ‘wet fingered’ dentists that get the day-to-day successes, and struggles, of the everyday dentist. People like you and me. So, Alan and Jason interview dentists on any number of subjects and get their perspective on everything from implant dentistry to airway management to controlling the overhead in your practice. I mean these guys will talk about any subject in dentistry (and plenty of stuff not related to dentistry!). The podcasts are typically anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour, so depending on your commute, or your workout schedule, there is probably a podcast to keep you engaged while you are sweating on the stationary bike or stuck in traffic after a long day at the office.
I’ll be touching base on episodes that I find interesting, and share other podcasts that I think are helpful for my practice. In the meanwhile, give Dental Hacks a listen – they have over 25,000 listeners, so they must have something good to say!
Yours for better dental, and mental, health,
