Successful First Three Years in my Career

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p4cific2012

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Hi everyone,

One of the undergrads shadowing me pointed out that she uses this website and that there appears to be a lot of "doom and gloom" about a career in dentistry.

I'd love to share my experience with you all, and hopefully lay any fears and reservations to rest.

About me:
Graduated UoP 2012. I'm from CT originally, but my wife got a temporary job contract in Cali so I went there with her for dental school.

Took a no-contract job at a corp after graduation; $500/day and minimal benefits; did this for four months while I surveyed where to practice.

Purchased my practice four months out from a retiring dentist- located in a relatively affluent part of CT (my home state- we moved back); about 100K population.
At least 50-60 other practices in my area.


Total student debt: 400K.
Total practice debt: 100K. (This practice was really not living up to its potential, so I got it for a steal)

Take-Home figures:
Year 1- Adjusting to the area, firing some of the old staff, hiring new people, etc. Made 150K.
Year 2- Took over a neighboring practice with another retiring dentist- purchased his charts and brought in 250K.
Year 3- Didn't do much different except switch from a 5 day workweek to a 4 day workweek. Income went up a bit to 270K due to more efficient scheduling and referrals.

Next/this current upcoming year, I'm on track to break 300K. I find that the most important thing is to focus on treatment presentation. So many of my classmates were introverts and couldn't explain things to people.

I focused on case acceptance in dental school and have over a 95% case acceptance rate.
I do all phases of dentistry: invisalign, CEREC, endo, OS, everything.

My current remaining debt is about 150K (for both practices) and 250K (for student loans). I'm 29 and life is GREAT. I would say everything will be paid off in four years, and then the sky is the limit. My wife is already dropping hints that she wants to become a stay-at-home mom soon. It's good that we won't have to worry about money.

ONE NOTE REGARDING DEBT: I had some classmates who were scared of the debt so they went military or NHSC. They regret it right now because I've already got my practice established and I'll have paid off my loans by the time they get started with private practice. Dentistry is still a wonderful profession and don't let anyone scare you otherwise.

That said, if you LIKE the military or NHSC, do it sure. But you can succeed on the outside.

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:laugh: Gotta love these conflicting posts!

Seriously though, thanks for logging on and talking about your experience. Any perspective helps, good or bad, because it all does the same thing: better prepare us for a future in dentistry.
 
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Where did you get your business experience from? Did UoP prepare you for buying a practice? Can you elaborate on how you were able to buy a practice 4 months out of school?

I read a LOT of dentaltown during dental school. There were a bunch of fluff classes we had to take, and I'd just take my laptop and go through a series of practice management threads one-by-one. Probably should have focused more in class- I graduated with basically Bs and Cs.

During my brief 4-month stint at the corp, I took the office manager out to lunch every few days. He was a very efficient administrator and got me up to speed on insurance, consultants, staff management, etc. in return I would pick up the tab for the lunch.
 
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:laugh: Gotta love these conflicting posts!

Seriously though, thanks for logging on and talking about your experience. Any perspective helps, good or bad, because it all does the same thing: better prepare us for a future in dentistry.

My pleasure.

Keep posting your questions. My lunch break is over and I've got a few more patients coming in. I'll try to check this site tonight.
 
Thanks for this. I have four relatives that are <6 years out of dental school and this is much, much closer to their experience than the doom/gloom 'I suck as a dentist and so will you' posts that have been popping up on here. Obviously there will be people who are good (congrats OP!) and people who are not so good (you have seen the posts) at this, just like there are people who are good and not so good at any career that requires a ton of practical skills, medical knowledge, business savvy, leadership, etc etc.

I love the fact you did the no-contract corps job, I didn't even know that was a thing but it really shows how smart you are that you took some time to find the smartest place for you to be rather than just rushing into the first 90k associateship, feeling trapped, and then bitching about how the profession is dying. Mad respect to you and best of luck in your future.
 
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I like threads like this. We know the fight we face. Finally someone who tells us how to make it!!!
 
I read a LOT of dentaltown during dental school. There were a bunch of fluff classes we had to take, and I'd just take my laptop and go through a series of practice management threads one-by-one.
I think this is huge.

Nice refreshing thread, thanks for holding the sky up a little longer OP.
 
I think the biggest point to note out here is that this dentist was prepared. He knew what he wanted to do out of school aka own, and he had the business sense and model to go after it. I think a lot of doom and gloom comes from the new grads who don't think ahead in this way. Associateships have a very limiting cap in terms of income; however, as an owner if you go out work hard, you can make it very well as seen by this poster here. There are alot of posts on dentaltown about associates turned owner and the huge increase in income and paying off debt. I would say that this is the case here, and associateships are great to hone skills, but being a business owner is where it's at. I think alot of people think that once you graduate with a DDS that the world owes them, but in reality, you still have to work hard to get the successful 4 day work week as seen above.

The number one advice I see given on dentaltown to associates is to go out and own a practice, do your due diligence and build a business and you will financially happy and also have that nice "dentist" lifestyle.
 
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Total student debt: 400K.
Total practice debt: 100K. (This practice was really not living up to its potential, so I got it for a steal)

I focused on case acceptance in dental school and have over a 95% case acceptance rate.I do all phases of dentistry: invisalign, CEREC, endo, OS, everything.

Congrats to the OP- carving his own path and making things happen. I agree with @Rainee. This guy was prepared, and I'd say hes an outlier. When you read his success story, just be prepared as much as you possibly can.

OP had several things go his way:
1. He was able to find a practice for 100K. That is a steal!! Buying the right practice is certainly less risk than doing a startup.

2. He does EVERYTHING. I know some associates who haven't done endo in 2 years, some who refer to have baby teeth extracted.

3. He gets a really high case acceptance. Maybe this guy looks like Brad Pitt and people say yes everytime he smiles.

If you could/had all these things off the bat, then hell yea, you predents have nothing to worry about.

Just to compare, I used to work with 2 of his classmates who graduated the same year as the OP. One of them is still an associate, but has a good gig because he works for his friend.

The other ventured out to do startup in January 2015. He works 7 days a week and its a grind. He has no choice when he wakes up every morning because its up to him to make his office successful. He didn't do complicated procedures when he was an associate, so its difficult for him to do it in his office, PLUS there are lots of specialists around. He's had trouble finding quality assistants, and said the days when there's only 1-2 patients is really hard on him. He says he doesn't regret his decision to go out, but who the hell would say otherwise? He has no choice now.
 
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These success stories require being prepared and lots of luck.
 
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Purchased my practice four months out from a retiring dentist- located in a relatively affluent part of CT (my home state- we moved back); about 100K population.
At least 50-60 other practices in my area.

This is key. Starting a practice in a small town where there isn't much competition. I would have gone this route however the SO wanted to stay in the major city where it is much more saturated and nearly impossible to find a practice for 100k.

p4cific2012, great to hear you are doing well and your success is continuing to grow.

I do all phases of dentistry: invisalign, CEREC, endo, OS, everything.

This is also key, keeping everything in house and not referring out. I find too many dentists referring out simple procedures such as biscuspid or anterior root canals. Ultimately it is the dentist's decision on what procedures s/he wants to do however don't expect to be taking home $250k+ if you refer out half your cases.
 
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So basically, dentistry is one big gamble. May the odds be in our favor;)
 
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If you have good business acumen it isnt that big of a gamble.
 
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Congrats to the OP- carving his own path and making things happen. I agree with @Rainee. This guy was prepared, and I'd say hes an outlier. When you read his success story, just be prepared as much as you possibly can.

OP had several things go his way:
1. He was able to find a practice for 100K. That is a steal!! Buying the right practice is certainly less risk than doing a startup.

2. He does EVERYTHING. I know some associates who haven't done endo in 2 years, some who refer to have baby teeth extracted.

3. He gets a really high case acceptance. Maybe this guy looks like Brad Pitt and people say yes everytime he smiles.

If you could/had all these things off the bat, then hell yea, you predents have nothing to worry about.

Just to compare, I used to work with 2 of his classmates who graduated the same year as the OP. One of them is still an associate, but has a good gig because he works for his friend.

The other ventured out to do startup in January 2015. He works 7 days a week and its a grind. He has no choice when he wakes up every morning because its up to him to make his office successful. He didn't do complicated procedures when he was an associate, so its difficult for him to do it in his office, PLUS there are lots of specialists around. He's had trouble finding quality assistants, and said the days when there's only 1-2 patients is really hard on him. He says he doesn't regret his decision to go out, but who the hell would say otherwise? He has no choice now.

Technically he bought his practice for $400K....

Your friends were not prepared, plain and simple. It's all what you put into it. If your friend didn't do complicated procedures when he had people around to help and teach, that is on him, not the industry. IF he is working 7 days a week and still isn't pulling in good money, he is doing something wrong...
 
Congrats to the OP- carving his own path and making things happen. I agree with @Rainee. This guy was prepared, and I'd say hes an outlier. When you read his success story, just be prepared as much as you possibly can.

OP had several things go his way:
1. He was able to find a practice for 100K. That is a steal!! Buying the right practice is certainly less risk than doing a startup.

2. He does EVERYTHING. I know some associates who haven't done endo in 2 years, some who refer to have baby teeth extracted.

3. He gets a really high case acceptance. Maybe this guy looks like Brad Pitt and people say yes everytime he smiles.

If you could/had all these things off the bat, then hell yea, you predents have nothing to worry about.
.

Thank you, I assure you I do NOT look like Brad Pitt. My wife wouldn't have married me if I did (She hates him).

Case acceptance is not hard to learn. What dentists need to realize is that they need to appeal to the heart of their patient. So many of my classmates would just go "You have a class 5 that we need to take care of, an RCT that we need to do, and a crown to prep." Like WHAT? What's an RCT? What the hell is a class 5?

What I did in dental school was that I would actually treat my patients as if they were in my private practice. I would pull up a couple of really simple, but accurate images and show the patient what's going on and why the treatment was so important. I'd use various analogies as well. Easy-to-understand language to establish a common goal. People thought I was taking things too seriously. But I am glad for that taught me how to interact with patients.

I bought an intraoral camera when I purchased this practice, and that's been a hit. A lot of dentists think it's a waste of a few thousand bucks- that it's just a "toy?"- well guess what? When you show a patient the huge cavity that's growing on their lingual on a 24inch monitor, that'll get even the most reluctant patient to sign off on treatment. It's been a hit, and I am ENJOYING my practice.

On the note of doing everything- I would recommend an AEGD/GPR to everyone here. I didn't do one, but I busted my butt with dentaltown case reviews, staying late at the school, and running between 2-3 ops at the corp. trying to get as much experience as possible. In hindsight, I wish I had done a one-year. It would have made me much more confident and would have made my skills develop less haphazardly.
 
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I think the biggest point to note out here is that this dentist was prepared. He knew what he wanted to do out of school aka own, and he had the business sense and model to go after it.

I'd concur with your assessment. I think what's more important than being prepared though is having the motivation. Just chasing the $$ and a 4-day workweek will do nothing for you.

I genuinely WANT my practice to be a signature of my community. I WANT to run a business. I WANT to build an amazing brand with a reputation for excellence. Do I see my patients as clients? Sure. But above that, my practice philosophy is to deliver the very best care I can, in an easily accessible way.

This is key. Starting a practice in a small town where there isn't much competition. I would have gone this route however the SO wanted to stay in the major city where it is much more saturated and nearly impossible to find a practice for 100k.

This is also key, keeping everything in house and not referring out. I find too many dentists referring out simple procedures such as biscuspid or anterior root canals. Ultimately it is the dentist's decision on what procedures s/he wants to do however don't expect to be taking home $250k+ if you refer out half your cases.

SOs....they can build you up or completely prevent your growth amiright?
As for procedures, I agree- it is nerve-wracking in school, but you just keep practicing and most importantly, if you screw up, NEVER ACT SHOCKED IN FRONT OF THE PATIENT. They want to see you confident, not scrambling or saying "sorry." In school, almost all of us had an accidental pulp exposure one time or another.

The difference was that my classmates would gasp and call for a professor in a worried voice. I'd study up on what to do in a pulp exposure beforehand, immediately go into damage control mode, and then call the professor and briefly mention what happened. They were surprised at my initiative and commended me for it.

So basically, dentistry is one big gamble. May the odds be in our favor;)

It's only a gamble if you don't plan.
Planning and researching ahead is like stacking the deck in your favor. Trust me- you WANT in on that game.
 
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edit: mobile being done, will fix when on computer tonight
 
This is giving me life. Going to be some challenges up ahead and I'm more aware of the market conditions. Thanks for sharing Doctors!
 
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Location + practice ownership = success.
 
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Hi everyone,

One of the undergrads shadowing me pointed out that she uses this website and that there appears to be a lot of "doom and gloom" about a career in dentistry.

I'd love to share my experience with you all, and hopefully lay any fears and reservations to rest.

About me:
Graduated UoP 2012. I'm from CT originally, but my wife got a temporary job contract in Cali so I went there with her for dental school.

Took a no-contract job at a corp after graduation; $500/day and minimal benefits; did this for four months while I surveyed where to practice.

Purchased my practice four months out from a retiring dentist- located in a relatively affluent part of CT (my home state- we moved back); about 100K population.
At least 50-60 other practices in my area.


Total student debt: 400K.
Total practice debt: 100K. (This practice was really not living up to its potential, so I got it for a steal)

Take-Home figures:
Year 1- Adjusting to the area, firing some of the old staff, hiring new people, etc. Made 150K.
Year 2- Took over a neighboring practice with another retiring dentist- purchased his charts and brought in 250K.
Year 3- Didn't do much different except switch from a 5 day workweek to a 4 day workweek. Income went up a bit to 270K due to more efficient scheduling and referrals.

Next/this current upcoming year, I'm on track to break 300K. I find that the most important thing is to focus on treatment presentation. So many of my classmates were introverts and couldn't explain things to people.

I focused on case acceptance in dental school and have over a 95% case acceptance rate.
I do all phases of dentistry: invisalign, CEREC, endo, OS, everything.

My current remaining debt is about 150K (for both practices) and 250K (for student loans). I'm 29 and life is GREAT. I would say everything will be paid off in four years, and then the sky is the limit. My wife is already dropping hints that she wants to become a stay-at-home mom soon. It's good that we won't have to worry about money.

ONE NOTE REGARDING DEBT: I had some classmates who were scared of the debt so they went military or NHSC. They regret it right now because I've already got my practice established and I'll have paid off my loans by the time they get started with private practice. Dentistry is still a wonderful profession and don't let anyone scare you otherwise.

That said, if you LIKE the military or NHSC, do it sure. But you can succeed on the outside.
Thanks for this awesome insight. Although things worked out really well for you, I feel like this is a very lucky case. Or am I wrong, and are there a lot of practices available to purchase depending on the location?
 
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Thanks for this awesome insight. Although things worked out really well for you, I feel like this is a very lucky case. Or am I wrong, and are there a lot of practices available to purchase depending on the location?

Any GP making $200k+ in only a couple years after graduating is exceptionally lucky. OP didn't have to start from the ground up, since a lot of leftover patients probably stayed at the practice. If he bought a failing practice, it would most likely be a very different story.
 
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Wait, a post about success in dentistry? These exist?
 
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Snapping up these street smarts.
 
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Any GP making $200k+ in only a couple years after graduating is exceptionally lucky. OP didn't have to start from the ground up, since a lot of leftover patients probably stayed at the practice. If he bought a failing practice, it would most likely be a very different story.

http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/dentist/salary

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Dentist/Salary

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291021.htm This one in particular has some great data. Also keep in mind the COL in each area. If you make $180,000 in NYC, a comparable salary in say Chapel Hill, NC is 86K or 180K in the DC metro is $134K in Chapel Hill or 112K in Omaha, NE (small town of 800,000 people in the metro so pretty rural) or 125K in Sioux Falls, SD, or 127K in Orlando, FL.....http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
 
Thanks for the thread. Curious how you found the practice in CT? Did you use a broker? What kind of analyses did you make to determine it wasn't living up to its potential?

On an unrelated note, do you have friends who specialized? Any comments on how they're doing?
 
This thread is telling all the pre-dents what the want to hear... not what they "should" hear. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose...

EDIT: http://landman-psychology.com/ConfirmationBias.pdf <- This forum in a nutshell. Rather interesting read, actually

As I said, some people going to dental school will do very well. The OP is well above average, so it's like buying a lottery ticket: there's a chance you will do well, but most likely not. Of course, most seem ok with gambling on that one.
 
Purchasing two practices in a good area for that little seems to be a lottery ticket
 
This thread is telling all the pre-dents what the want to hear... not what they "should" hear. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose...

EDIT: http://landman-psychology.com/ConfirmationBias.pdf <- This forum in a nutshell. Rather interesting read, actually

If I tell you that pre-dents should hear that they will suffer, isn't that what you want to hear, and thus more confirmation bias?

Bottom line: If it sounds too good to be true, it might be false. Conversely, if it sounds too bad to be false, it might be true.
 
I bought an intraoral camera when I purchased this practice, and that's been a hit. A lot of dentists think it's a waste of a few thousand bucks- that it's just a "toy?"- well guess what? When you show a patient the huge cavity that's growing on their lingual on a 24inch monitor, that'll get even the most reluctant patient to sign off on treatment. It's been a hit, and I am ENJOYING my practice.

My current boss is so far the only dentist I know that has/uses one, and having patients actually see their tooth condition makes it much easier to convince them to get the treatment they need.
 
I bought an intraoral camera when I purchased this practice, and that's been a hit. A lot of dentists think it's a waste of a few thousand bucks- that it's just a "toy?"- well guess what? When you show a patient the huge cavity that's growing on their lingual on a 24inch monitor, that'll get even the most reluctant patient to sign off on treatment. It's been a hit, and I am ENJOYING my practice.

My current boss is so far the only dentist I know that has/uses one, and having patients actually see their tooth condition makes it much easier to convince them to get the treatment they need.

Same over here. My boss also uses the intra-oral camera and it's great! Definitely worth the purchase and gets the point across to the patient. Visuals always work +1
 
Thanks for this awesome insight. Although things worked out really well for you, I feel like this is a very lucky case. Or am I wrong, and are there a lot of practices available to purchase depending on the location?

Well the economy has done a great job recovering.....the dentists who postponed their retirements should be hanging up their drills soon...I'd say that by the time you pre-dents graduate dental school, it will be a buyer's market.

Thanks for the thread. Curious how you found the practice in CT? Did you use a broker? What kind of analyses did you make to determine it wasn't living up to its potential?

On an unrelated note, do you have friends who specialized? Any comments on how they're doing?

How did I find the practice? I scoured for listings that interested me from several practice transitions websites and called their respective agents, signed non-disclosure agreements, got the real numbers. This gave me a list of about 8 practices. From there, I started disqualifying based on my analysis, which is your second question.

Here are some of the analyses I used:
1) 18-month active patient count, 12-month, and 6-month active patient count. I like this because it gives you a sense of how the practice has done recently. If the numbers are declining, don't panic, but it's not really a good sign either.

2) Last five years of gross revenue. ALSO, the types of procedures the dentist does. What is referred out? What isn't?

3) Is the seller willing to stay on or not? For me, the seller didn't stay on (medical issues) but wrote a very nice letter to his patients recommending me.

4) Overhead- staff wages, etc.

5) Local economy- I don't want all my patients to be from the same industry/field. That's asking for a disaster when there's a problem with the industry. Also, I checked out the local per capita income.

6) Amount of dentists in proximity/Saturation- Yes, I have saturation here. But at the same time, I'm buying a practice = I'm buying goodwill from the selling dentist = I have patients from day one. Word of Mouth is very powerful- I treat my patients like kings and they reciprocate by referring their friends to me.

Re. specializing, most of us went general...so I can't help you there.

How are your friends in the military doing otherwise?

They are grateful they have no student debt, and are enjoying a mildly slow pace of practice. Most of them did a 1-year residency, so this is their last year of commitment (1 yr AEGD + 3 yr UoP payback = 4 yr total)

PM me and I can put you in contact with them.
 
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Thanks for the input.

Do you still keep in touch with the rest of your UoP classmates who arent in the military? How are the rest of them doing?
 
This thread is best of this forum thus far. Thank you very much!
 
This thread is telling all the pre-dents what the want to hear... not what they "should" hear. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose...

EDIT: http://landman-psychology.com/ConfirmationBias.pdf <- This forum in a nutshell. Rather interesting read, actually

Relax, negative Nancy. This post was made to advise people that being successful can occur with proper planning and hard work.
 
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Thanks for the input.

Do you still keep in touch with the rest of your UoP classmates who arent in the military? How are the rest of them doing?

I do.
We had a group of about 8 of us, myself included, that would go out for beers after exams and practicals. They're my closest friends and a few of them are in the military. The rest of them aren't, and they're also doing very well. Almost all of them are in their own practices now. I don't know all of their incomes (I wait for my friends to bring it up- don't want to be intrusive), but the ones who have shared it with me are all making over 200K three years out.

Dentistry is still a gold mine. That's the point I want to make with this thread.
 
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Thank you for your input.
UOP is a clinical god among D-Schools, so I might not have the same resources available to you. I'm a D2 and will venture in clinic in like June. I'm curious though as to what you think I should focus on during D-school? A lot of DDSs I speak to say to focus on endo and extractions?? I'm decent at endo, but obviously I'd like to get better. What do you think I should focus on in D-school and what do you think I should sort of NOT waste my time in (like freakin removable prosth lol)?? Thanks, and glad to see ppl doing well!!
 
Thank you, I assure you I do NOT look like Brad Pitt. My wife wouldn't have married me if I did (She hates him).

Case acceptance is not hard to learn. What dentists need to realize is that they need to appeal to the heart of their patient. So many of my classmates would just go "You have a class 5 that we need to take care of, an RCT that we need to do, and a crown to prep." Like WHAT? What's an RCT? What the hell is a class 5?

What I did in dental school was that I would actually treat my patients as if they were in my private practice. I would pull up a couple of really simple, but accurate images and show the patient what's going on and why the treatment was so important. I'd use various analogies as well. Easy-to-understand language to establish a common goal. People thought I was taking things too seriously. But I am glad for that taught me how to interact with patients.

I bought an intraoral camera when I purchased this practice, and that's been a hit. A lot of dentists think it's a waste of a few thousand bucks- that it's just a "toy?"- well guess what? When you show a patient the huge cavity that's growing on their lingual on a 24inch monitor, that'll get even the most reluctant patient to sign off on treatment. It's been a hit, and I am ENJOYING my practice.

On the note of doing everything- I would recommend an AEGD/GPR to everyone here. I didn't do one, but I busted my butt with dentaltown case reviews, staying late at the school, and running between 2-3 ops at the corp. trying to get as much experience as possible. In hindsight, I wish I had done a one-year. It would have made me much more confident and would have made my skills develop less haphazardly.

My current boss is so far the only dentist I know that has/uses one, and having patients actually see their tooth condition makes it much easier to convince them to get the treatment they need.

Same over here. My boss also uses the intra-oral camera and it's great! Definitely worth the purchase and gets the point across to the patient. Visuals always work +1

Is there particular company for the intra-oral cameras?
 
I'm curious though as to what you think I should focus on during D-school? A lot of DDSs I speak to say to focus on endo and extractions?? I'm decent at endo, but obviously I'd like to get better. What do you think I should focus on in D-school and what do you think I should sort of NOT waste my time in (like freakin removable prosth lol)?? Thanks, and glad to see ppl doing well!!

1. Learn how to work well with other people. Dentistry, and especially running a practice, is a team sport. Can't be successful if you're going it alone.

2. Procedure-wise, I agree with Endo and OS. Establish your niche. My niche is that I do everything. Many of my neighboring dentists don't do much endo at all. Some other dentists are unique because they provide IV sedation, etc. etc. It's different for everyone. Find what makes you satisfied and hone it. Success will follow on its own.

Is there particular company for the intra-oral cameras?

Just shop around for different models (DT is a good place to check out reviews on this kind of stuff).
Excellent, excellent patient education tool.
 
$6000??? Lawd have mercy.

There are cameras recommended on DT for ~$150-$200.

Amazon product


I actually didn't know the cost before you posted that lol. Though the benefits I see:

1. We have a direct USB-micro plug in our chair setup, so easy on and easy off.
2. Part that goes into the patient's mouth is relatively small.
3. Full macro/focal length control.

Only complaints are the plastic covers are useless (ruin the picture) and resolution isn't the greatest. I am genuinely interested which models you're seeing for $150-200 though.
 
Dentistry is a great profession but I would definitely not refer to it as a gold mine anymore. I have seen the financial numbers of dental practices in the LA area for the last 2 decades and there has been a steady decline in production throughout the years with many variables playing a role. These include of course the recession and in my opinion more importantly, the increase in the number of dental graduates and corporations.
I believe the decline will continue as both of the variables continue to increase but hopefully a dynamic equilibrium is reached where dentists can still maintain a good standard of living with all the sacrifices they make.
Of course I can only talk about the LA market which is one of the most saturated, but the numbers seem to be constant throughout the country.
I think the bolded is the most important part. There are definitely markets in certain areas of the country that are still gold mines in dentistry. Yes, LA is saturated but I guarantee you some of the successful GP's out there are pulling in high six figures or even seven figures. Dentistry is a business in the end, there are the taco cart owners and then there are the taco bell executives.
 
I actually didn't know the cost before you posted that lol. Though the benefits I see:

1. We have a direct USB-micro plug in our chair setup, so easy on and easy off.
2. Part that goes into the patient's mouth is relatively small.
3. Full macro/focal length control.

Only complaints are the plastic covers are useless (ruin the picture) and resolution isn't the greatest. I am genuinely interested which models you're seeing for $150-200 though.
Here's another one I've seen recommended on dentaltown:

Amazon product
 
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