I'm only in my first year of residency and just curious to hear from more experienced individuals. I had classmates during D3 and D4 complain about wrist/neck and back pain but I never really had that. I try my best to practice good ergonomics and do full body exercises at the gym 3-4 days a week since college.
People constantly tell me it'll happen to me eventually, but these people are often twisting their bodies at the operatory. I have 5.5x loupes and can't really even do some of their movements due to a much more sensitive working distance.
Currently about to turn 48. Graduated dental school in 1997. Been in a private practice as a general dentist since 1999 (did 2 years of a GPR between when I graduated dental school and starting private practice). I have worked 4 days a week (roughly 30 hours) for the vast majority of my career.
6'3" with weight that has generally been in the low/mid 200's for the vast majority of my adult life. I wear loupes (general 4.8 mag for most procedures) all the time, and just finally within the last year or so have started wearing glasses for distance when driving. I can read a book at night without any issues or glasses.
I try and get some physical activity daily. Whether that's some walking, light running, cycling (on the road or with my bike on a trainer), light weights and/or resistance training (TRX) and stretching. I have noticed the intensity and/or the ability to do longer duration workouts and then recover quickly has diminished basically since I hit my 40's. I play probably 50 rounds of golf a year (walk vs taking a cart roughly 1/2 the time) and downhill ski roughly 50 days a season.
I try and eat well (although can't deny that carbs are my weakness) and whether or not it's pure placebo or some benefit, have taken a glucosamine supplement daily with my multi vitamins and fish oil supplements for close to 20 years.
I try and practice proper posture while at work, and even at home if I'm sitting on the couch watching TV.
I can honestly say that I have little, if any physical issues that I would attribute to the practice of dentistry today. That doesn't mean that there aren't some days where as soon as I get in my car to head home that regardless of the temperature out, I'm turning on my heated seats and grabbing for the bottle of aleve I keep in my glove box, since my lower back is sore from not having used proper posture all day. That does happen maybe 2 or 3 days a month for me on average. The overwhelming majority of my physical "ailments" are, and always have been short term (a couple of days tops) and 99.9% of the time directly attributable to me having overdone some physical activity a day or 2 before.
If I had any advice to a new clinician for physical longevity in this profession, it would be to stay active, practice proper posture as much as possible, keep your core muscles strong, focus more on stretching and agility with your upper body than muscle bulk. That pattern for me at least, has proven effective for 20+ years of clinical dentistry
Another data point. 57 in january. 6 feet. 170 lbs. Graduated from ortho residency in 1993. Been active my entire life. Played hockey in HS and non-collegiate hockey my 1st two years of college. Played tennis and golf throughout college and into dental school. Downhill skiing my entire life. Mostly weight lifting and some cardio. Unfortunately I do not stretch much even though I know it is important. Have a home gym with free weights and machines. Lift almost daily. Play golf twice a month. Eat relatively healthy.
Key data point. I've never broken a bone in my body or had a serious accident. No major injuries. Only real injury was about 10 years ago .... I herniated C5 and partially herniated C6. You could chalk it up to improper weight lifting or most likely DENTAL POSTURE related. Regardless .... I was lucky and after massive doses of anti-inflammatories (Celebrex) and painkillers ..... I was cured without surgery.
At this point. I am pain free and healthy. I was working 4 days per week and starting in Nov. will be working 5 days per week by choice. I average around 50-60 patients per day. I enjoy what I do and can see myself working for another 10 years.
Eventually age and your physical condition will catch up to everybody. If you can avoid the serious injuries early on, keep active and eat well, and be genetically lucky .... there is no reason you could not practice dentistry for as long as you want. I mentioned it before. In the Corp I work at .... I'm approaching 57. The managing dentist is 59 (works 6 days per week and is very healthy). The perio is 72. Another ortho is 71. They just hired a GP who is 70.
On the flip side .... look at the dentists that work at dental schools. Alot of them are there because of injuries.
My Story is very like DrJeff and 2TH MVR. I had an athletic youth and active adulthood. I always worked at least 3 dental jobs during my career for a full schedule. I am now in my mid 60's and still working and teaching in a hospital setting. Dentistry is not a physical challenge for me, by any means! But time has taken a toll on my body in my hobbies... My bike riding has fallen from 4000 miles a year to 1500 a year. I now try to take a walk every night after dinner where I once ran 2 miles before breakfast. This will likely be my last year of officiating high school sports because my knees are 10 years older than the rest of me. I have every intention of working until 70 and I believe my body will do it.
Good exercise, good diet, good ergonomics, good mental attitude, and good family support will keep you active in this dentist racket for a long time.
Make sure you get a massage once a month, stay in shape, do core and back exercises and you will be fine. Make sure to stretch a couple times a week for 10 minutes as well. I think of it as a sport. Dentistry is your game. You need to recover after a game - hence stretching and conditioning.
Everyone above seems to be older but one thing in common is that they keep in shape. I'm definitely not in their camp and can attest that I probably can't keep this up for another 20 years (not that I would want to). I'm lazy AF/fatass mode almost every day and will probably die at 50 at this rate. I'm just too tired lazy to do anything after work and thankfully a night's rest reboots my body for the following day. We will see if things change post-retirement.
Given that I have classmates that follow their routines with good health results (except for a few deaths and debilitating random illnesses), I'd advocate their lifestyle if you're looking for longevity in the profession. Get a massage 3-4 times a month.
