Just starting Working as Dentist - and I hate it already

[JustinKim]

I recently graduated and have been working for a month. Originally, my schedule was light and doable since the office knew i was new and needed to get the hang of things. You would think that I would be comfortable already -- but everytime I do a crown prep, endo, or anythign besides fillings..i start questioning whether I treatment planned it correctly..if that tooth will be restorable after I do the endo...and blanking out on what i need to do. Its like I forgot everything I learned in school. Im not sure how I feel about it. I know in school, everything looked perfect (margins..fillings..etc etc)..but i find that in the real world, it isn't as great and teeth are not ideal...so i feel horrible when it's not the best treatment. I work for corporate..so yes numbers $$$ mean everything to them.


Anyone else have this freak out? I'm not sure if dentistry is meant for me... 🙁 I lost all confidence....and i feel so lost.

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[JustinKim]

i guess its just me..

 

[molarprep]

i guess its just me..

how many crown preps and endos have you done?

 

[JustinKim]

how many crown preps and endos have you done?

3 crowns, 2 endos, 1 attempted but i had to refer out. The cases are difficult in the sense that it's border line restorable...and of course I am going to try to save it or do the best that I can.

 

[Tooth]

I recently graduated and have been working for a month. Originally, my schedule was light and doable since the office knew i was new and needed to get the hang of things. You would think that I would be comfortable already -- but everytime I do a crown prep, endo, or anythign besides fillings..i start questioning whether I treatment planned it correctly..if that tooth will be restorable after I do the endo...and blanking out on what i need to do. Its like I forgot everything I learned in school. Im not sure how I feel about it. I know in school, everything looked perfect (margins..fillings..etc etc)..but i find that in the real world, it isn't as great and teeth are not ideal...so i feel horrible when it's not the best treatment. I work for corporate..so yes numbers $$$ mean everything to them.


Anyone else have this freak out? I'm not sure if dentistry is meant for me... 🙁 I lost all confidence....and i feel so lost.

You would love orthodontics. How were your grades?

 

[eers]

Hi don't loose your hopes. Every one will go through it. Make sure your confidence goes up not down. Have discussion with close friends not everyone. Good luck to you.

 

[rbmdmd]

it takes a few years to ultimately get more comfortable with what you are doing and picking up speed, dealing with any issues you have never dealt with, etc....you are not alone. You may want to try and do an aegd or gpr just to get more experience and have a residency under your belt in case you want to specialize it looks good on a resume. Its not just you, dentistry is not easy at first...hang in there and think positive

 

[justsusan]

I recently graduated and have been working for a month. Originally, my schedule was light and doable since the office knew i was new and needed to get the hang of things. You would think that I would be comfortable already -- but everytime I do a crown prep, endo, or anythign besides fillings..i start questioning whether I treatment planned it correctly..if that tooth will be restorable after I do the endo...and blanking out on what i need to do. Its like I forgot everything I learned in school. Im not sure how I feel about it. I know in school, everything looked perfect (margins..fillings..etc etc)..but i find that in the real world, it isn't as great and teeth are not ideal...so i feel horrible when it's not the best treatment. I work for corporate..so yes numbers $$$ mean everything to them.

Anyone else have this freak out? I'm not sure if dentistry is meant for me... 🙁 I lost all confidence....and i feel so lost.

I went straight into private practice from dental school. Every time I would have a procedure the next day I wasn't comfortable with, I would be up in the middle of the night worrying. After my first 6 months of working, I decided to apply for a residency. I got into one and changed my mind...couldn't see myself in school again when I could just do CE and get better on my own...and I didn't want someone to hold my hand anymore.

Stop beating yourself up. You are a new grad. They knew that when they hired you. There is a HUGE (daunting) learning curve in the beginning, as your skills improve and you pick up speed. You know what ideal looks like..it's just a matter of getting your hands to do it and that takes time and practice. When you have done 100 crowns, I promise you it will be easier. Also, you're working in an environment in which ideal is not even always possible regardless of what you do.

The cases are difficult in the sense that it's border line restorable...and of course I am going to try to save it or do the best that I can.

This is what I mean 🙂 If a tooth is borderline restorable, those are most difficult to deal with. They are often not ideal - you are just buying the patient time and they need to know that. As dentists, we do the best we can with what the patient has presented to us.I went through exactly what you're going through..eventually you understand that you didn't create the problem, you are trying to fix it.

Don't give up. You have only been working for a month. It gets better.

 

[Tooth]

After my first 6 months of working, I decided to apply for a residency. I got into one and changed my mind...couldn't see myself in school again when I could just do CE and get better on my own...and I didn't want someone to hold my hand anymore.

You dropped out of ortho?

 

[justsusan]

You dropped out of ortho?

oh..heck no 🙂

I applied for an AEGD residency the first year I was working then didn't end up doing it. 3 years later I decided general dentistry wasn't for me and now I'm doing a residency in ortho. Ortho CE was too "black box" for me.

btw..congrats on your good news!

 

[JustinKim]

I went straight into private practice from dental school. Every time I would have a procedure the next day I wasn't comfortable with, I would be up in the middle of the night worrying. After my first 6 months of working, I decided to apply for a residency. I got into one and changed my mind...couldn't see myself in school again when I could just do CE and get better on my own...and I didn't want someone to hold my hand anymore.

Stop beating yourself up. You are a new grad. They knew that when they hired you. There is a HUGE (daunting) learning curve in the beginning, as your skills improve and you pick up speed. You know what ideal looks like..it's just a matter of getting your hands to do it and that takes time and practice. When you have done 100 crowns, I promise you it will be easier. Also, you're working in an environment in which ideal is not even always possible regardless of what you do.

Thank you so much..ur first paragraph pretty much sums up how I have been feeling when I hit the 2 week mark..walking up in the middle of the night..to a point where I was having nightmares about my treatment failing...and no i am not exaggerating. but thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. It's bittersweet knowing that others have been in my shoes... I think the big thing for me, is finding an office that will provide mentorship and some training. This company I work for now was quick to hire me - and me being new and young took up their first offer without asking important questions of 1) will i be working alone (yes i worked alone my 2nd day) 2)will there be other doctors to answer questions about lab work protocols? (yes but they are too damn busy to help u)...etc etc.

 

[justsusan]

Thank you so much..ur first paragraph pretty much sums up how I have been feeling when I hit the 2 week mark..walking up in the middle of the night..to a point where I was having nightmares about my treatment failing...and no i am not exaggerating. but thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. It's bittersweet knowing that others have been in my shoes... I think the big thing for me, is finding an office that will provide mentorship and some training. This company I work for now was quick to hire me - and me being new and young took up their first offer without asking important questions of 1) will i be working alone (yes i worked alone my 2nd day) 2)will there be other doctors to answer questions about lab work protocols? (yes but they are too damn busy to help u)...etc etc.

I had nightmares, too 🙂 it does get better..but it takes time. it's not all negative - you will learn to depend on yourself and you will figure out the answers to your questions yourself. if you give the lab a call, they will probably be happy to discuss lab work protocols. look for a study club in your area and start going to that - you'll network and maybe find your next job.

you have a job so you can comfortably look for something that is a better fit. my first job was an associateship in a large office. I had no mentorship, the owner was apathetic and a terrible clinician. first jobs are usually ****ty unless you have connections.

 

[tnyprkr]

I think you would gain tremendously from a residency - not that it's a necessity but a GPR at a decent program will allow you to get comfortable with an atrending around if you need it. For you, it sounds like it's just what you need.

 

[gryffindor]

Remember a few things:

1) It's just a tooth.
2) The humans attached to those teeth sometimes suck.
3) Dental jobs mostly suck.

Just try your best, don't do anything that would be considered malpractice, and you will be fine. Try to figure out simple solutions to teeth problems. You should be able to decide if a tooth is going to be restorable before you do the endo. If there is a grey area, go ahead and recommend the extraction rather than giving yourself grief and losing sleep over doing an endo an on a potentially non-restorable tooth. It's not your fault the patient's tooth has a questionable presentation.

You will need to network around to try and find a better job especially if you are looking for mentorship. Most dental jobs, despite what we are lead to believe in dental school, do not provide mentorship. There is no older/wiser dentist around to help mentor you toward clinical and business success. Sometimes you might find a mentor and then realize you can't stand the guy because his mentorship makes you clinically uncomfortable - like crown every tooth with a class II lesion and larger. In a scenario like that, you would've been better off without a mentor.

 

[JustinKim]

I think you would gain tremendously from a residency - not that it's a necessity but a GPR at a decent program will allow you to get comfortable with an atrending around if you need it. For you, it sounds like it's just what you need.

I think What i need is to not work for a corporation that doesn't give a crap about the doctors there. They expect me to perform at the same speed as the senior doctors there (and yes they know i am a new graduate). I have spoke to them regardless, and they say not to worry about the patients, but to just get it done.

 

[JustinKim]

Remember a few things:

1) It's just a tooth.
2) The humans attached to those teeth sometimes suck.
3) Dental jobs mostly suck.

Just try your best, don't do anything that would be considered malpractice, and you will be fine. Try to figure out simple solutions to teeth problems. You should be able to decide if a tooth is going to be restorable before you do the endo. If there is a grey area, go ahead and recommend the extraction rather than giving yourself grief and losing sleep over doing an endo an on a potentially non-restorable tooth. It's not your fault the patient's tooth has a questionable presentation.

Thank you for the advice. I think I need to keep hearing these words of encouragement thru my thick skull. I definitely am learning though..& I definitely learned to just treatment plan extraction, than to try to save the tooth because the patient really really wants to. It's been a nightmare trying to restore it...

 

[justsusan]

also, it's not always restorable vs. non-restorable. restorability varies in prognosis. if a patient really really really wants to try to save a tooth with a questionable prognosis, you can try - bearing in mind that it will not be ideal and the patient must understand this and that you are ONLY buying time and the tooth will not last. if they want to make that investment and it is an informed decision, it is their decision but no guarantees on your part. dental school teaches you black and white treatment planning because it would be too difficult otherwise.

gryffindor made some excellent points.

 

[Shunwei]

Having been out and working full time for 17 months now, I think they key is to have confidence in yourself and slowly expand your repertoire and comfort range. As a new grad, it wouldn't be prudent to start a full mouth case right away. But you always want to be confident in front of patients. Many patients may have low dental IQ, but most are surprisingly good at reading your confidence level. If you really feel like your clinical skills are deficient, practice. Need endo help? Take out your extracted teeth and practice cavity access and canal identification. Need restorative help? Take out your old typodont and use the same extracted teeth for preps. Difficult extraction? Study the film before the procedure and develop a strategy. Talk to an oral surgeon for tips or refer out. You slowly expand your skills and comfort zone until you get good at it. You can't expect to go out and immediately be The Man.

As far as mentor ship goes, it'd be nice to have but I think it may be overrated. Aside from what gryf said bad out having bad mentorship, it can lead to politics and drama. In many cases exploring on ones own and slowly growing is the better way. I never had mentorship and do just fine. However, if you do really think you would benefit from it, then a GPR or AEGD would be good for you as you'd be under a sheltered environment.

 

[chuckd303]

Coming from one who has been out in private practice and has done the corporate thing for a long time. I would try to make the best of the situation you are now in. Try to do the best work possible on your patients and it will pay off when you have your own practice. I wouldn't worry about speed. It will come with practice. Some procedures that I do I still probably spend nearly the same amount of time on now as when I began but now I am looking at different thigs--(adjacent teeth on crown preps, accessory canals on RCT's etc.) Learn from the other providers who may be working at the same time. When I had a cancellation on the dental side I would step over and watch the oral surgeon take out teeth or watch the pediatric dentist. It helped me become a more complete provider. Corporate will teach you how do do without a lot of unnecessary equipment or supplies. Try not to let patients dictate treatment. I hope I am better at this now🙂 If a questionable tooth exists tell them you will remove the decay and evaluate it. If it is better to remove it in your opinion do it. This is a lot better than doing an incomplete root canal or trying to crown an unrestorable tooth only to have it fail 6 mos down the road. The patient won't remember that your heroic efforts to save your tooth. They will just remember the length of the appointment and how much money they had to pay for it. Stick with it. Good luck.

 

[Newgoalsdentdoc]

I recently graduated and have been working for a month. Originally, my schedule was light and doable since the office knew i was new and needed to get the hang of things. You would think that I would be comfortable already -- but everytime I do a crown prep, endo, or anythign besides fillings..i start questioning whether I treatment planned it correctly..if that tooth will be restorable after I do the endo...and blanking out on what i need to do. Its like I forgot everything I learned in school. Im not sure how I feel about it. I know in school, everything looked perfect (margins..fillings..etc etc)..but i find that in the real world, it isn't as great and teeth are not ideal...so i feel horrible when it's not the best treatment. I work for corporate..so yes numbers $$$ mean everything to them.


Anyone else have this freak out? I'm not sure if dentistry is meant for me... 🙁 I lost all confidence....and i feel so lost.

.

Take a few deep breaths. Really. It's going to be ok. Dentistry is a great field to be in. I remember when I was a freshman in dental school and had a long talk with a senior dental student who was soon to graduate. He told me "It's not smooth sailing after you pass your boards. It usually takes a few years before you find your niche in dentistry." I didn't know what he meant until now. I've been in the military, worked in private practice, community health centers and at age 47, I have found my niche in practicing and teaching and hoping to teach full time. There was a time that I almost panicked because I thought I hated dentistry and didn't seem to like what I was doing at times. Iti's normal. Dental school teaches the basics. Doing a residency is very helpful in learning that teeth are not ideal. If you have not done a residency, this might, perhaps be something to look into. Corporate settings are disappointing to a lot of people. Please remember that in the field of dentistry, you are NOT married to any job you take. There are always other options and other jobs and certainly other areas to try out until you find your niche. Try to enjoy this road you're on because there will be many twists and turns that are not comfortable. Again, breathe, and if possible, find someone, a mentor, or seasoned dentist to talk to. There are also many on here who would be willing to give you some good advice. So, as the saying goes, "Chin up."

 

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Give it time. Remember that as a general dentist you get to choose what you want to do (which might be harder in a corporate setting). But as the others have alluded to; Hating your current job is not the same as hating your career.

 

[Shunwei]

Give it time. Remember that as a general dentist you get to choose what you want to do (which might be harder in a corporate setting). But as the others have alluded to; Hating your current job is not the same as hating your career.

That could be part of the problem. Corporate dentistry tends to pressure its GPs to try to keep as much "in-house" as possible, and it's much easier said than done to refer out. If you do so, they will pester you and make you feel like a POS for doing so. In the end Wes till have to do what's rights and it's our license, but corporate dentistry has definitely upset the usual 20-80 balance between GPs and specialists. I will say, though, that my time in corporate has gotten me pretty good at things like RCTs and surgical extractions, but it could have easily gone the other way.

 

[lwen5]

That could be part of the problem. Corporate dentistry tends to pressure its GPs to try to keep as much "in-house" as possible, and it's much easier said than done to refer out. If you do so, they will pester you and make you feel like a POS for doing so. In the end Wes till have to do what's rights and it's our license, but corporate dentistry has definitely upset the usual 20-80 balance between GPs and specialists. I will say, though, that my time in corporate has gotten me pretty good at things like RCTs and surgical extractions, but it could have easily gone the other way.

Shunwei,

With corporate dentistry playing an increasing role in the market and with a proliferation of some specialists like ortho and pediatric , it seems to me that they are going to be able to hire specialists as independent contractors and pick who gives them the lowest bid for that contract. It also seems that mid-levels are 100% eventually going to get a recognized status across the nation. With those 2 factors in mind, wouldn't the specialists salary at chains decrease dramatically? I know this happening in medicine where specialists are having their salaries decrease substantially in large health care organizations (ex: hospitals & ACOs). Would the GPs employed by corporate try to do as much as they could without handing it over to a specialist employed by the chain? Seems to me that the chain wouldn't want the increased malpractice risk associated with a GP doing specialty procedures, but if the GP is hired as an independent contractor, it seems to me that the chain could care less because the liability would fall squarely on the hands of the GP and not on the company?

Just wondering, cause I feel like corporate dentistry, lots of grads with lots of debt, and the government almost certain to take over dentistry eventually (don't know whether you've heard of "Comprehensive Dental Reform Act" by Senator Bernie Sanders) will combine to eventually crowd out private practitioners. Obamacare is already rapidly pushing private practice out and the hospitals keep getting bigger and bigger. I feel like specializing in dentistry isn't really worth it.

Thanks. I'm an avid reader of your posts. Always love to hear from you.

 

[Shunwei]

Shunwei,

With corporate dentistry playing an increasing role in the market and with a proliferation of some specialists like ortho and pediatric , it seems to me that they are going to be able to hire specialists as independent contractors and pick who gives them the lowest bid for that contract. It also seems that mid-levels are 100% eventually going to get a recognized status across the nation. With those 2 factors in mind, wouldn't the specialists salary at chains decrease dramatically? I know this happening in medicine where specialists are having their salaries decrease substantially in large health care organizations (ex: hospitals & ACOs). Would the GPs employed by corporate try to do as much as they could without handing it over to a specialist employed by the chain? Seems to me that the chain wouldn't want the increased malpractice risk associated with a GP doing specialty procedures, but if the GP is hired as an independent contractor, it seems to me that the chain could care less because the liability would fall squarely on the hands of the GP and not on the company?

Just wondering, cause I feel like corporate dentistry, lots of grads with lots of debt, and the government almost certain to take over dentistry eventually (don't know whether you've heard of "Comprehensive Dental Reform Act" by Senator Bernie Sanders) will combine to eventually crowd out private practitioners. Obamacare is already rapidly pushing private practice out and the hospitals keep getting bigger and bigger. I feel like specializing in dentistry isn't really worth it.

Thanks. I'm an avid reader of your posts. Always love to hear from you.

My experience with corporate tells me that corporate dentistry absolutely pressures it's GPs into doing everything possible. Sure they can hire specialists and while most of them do to some extent, remember that most specialists will command a higher % of prod/collections than a GP. And in many instances pts will innately prefer to stick with the same provider and prefer not to be "referred out." And if the referral is to an external specialists, there is always the chance of losing the patient. Hence corporate dentistry's preference in keeping everything in house. One of the ploys many corporate use is having every dentist employee's production/procedural record in transparency, they do this, according to them, to keep everything transparent. In reality, they use this to spur the type A personalities into a competitive mode and try and produce as much as possible. This also has an effect in making dentists do procedures they otherwise wouldn't do to try and maximize production.

As far as liability goes, you'd think they care but my impression is they only have minimal concerns. One reason could be the independent contractors hip you mention, which is increasing in scope, another could be that corporate due to their resources may have a broader legal recourse to fight any litigations. Despite the obvious limitations of corporate, the general public is still not aware of the dangers and think of them as like the Walgreens or CVS of our field. With their resources for marketing and economy of scale with suppliers, they also have a distinct competitive advantage vis-a-vis the private practitioners. I do think they will eventually drive the private practitioners extinct in the urban areas, which is the main reason I am quite hesitant to purchasing a practice at the moment.

 

[ortho lurker]

Shunwei,

With corporate dentistry playing an increasing role in the market and with a proliferation of some specialists like ortho and pediatric , it seems to me that they are going to be able to hire specialists as independent contractors and pick who gives them the lowest bid for that contract. It also seems that mid-levels are 100% eventually going to get a recognized status across the nation. With those 2 factors in mind, wouldn't the specialists salary at chains decrease dramatically? I know this happening in medicine where specialists are having their salaries decrease substantially in large health care organizations (ex: hospitals & ACOs). Would the GPs employed by corporate try to do as much as they could without handing it over to a specialist employed by the chain? Seems to me that the chain wouldn't want the increased malpractice risk associated with a GP doing specialty procedures, but if the GP is hired as an independent contractor, it seems to me that the chain could care less because the liability would fall squarely on the hands of the GP and not on the company?

Just wondering, cause I feel like corporate dentistry, lots of grads with lots of debt, and the government almost certain to take over dentistry eventually (don't know whether you've heard of "Comprehensive Dental Reform Act" by Senator Bernie Sanders) will combine to eventually crowd out private practitioners. Obamacare is already rapidly pushing private practice out and the hospitals keep getting bigger and bigger. I feel like specializing in dentistry isn't really worth it.

Thanks. I'm an avid reader of your posts. Always love to hear from you.

I am a specialist hired as an independent contractor by my chain, and yet the chain takes everything to protect themselves very seriously such as checking to make sure that the patient is cavity cleared before we place brackets on, making sure that the patients have their teeth cleaned every 6 months or we will not see them for active ortho tx, etc. If a patient pursues litigation, they will not only go after the provider (despite the independent contractor status) but also the company.

 

[Shunwei]

I am a specialist hired as an independent contractor by my chain, and yet the chain takes everything to protect themselves very seriously such as checking to make sure that the patient is cavity cleared before we place brackets on, making sure that the patients have their teeth cleaned every 6 months or we will not see them for active ortho tx, etc. If a patient pursues litigation, they will not only go after the provider (despite the independent contractor status) but also the company.

At the chain where I worked at (MyDentist) I distinctly got the impression that they didn't give too much care about this. Of course they don't want lawsuits, but from talking to them I did get a more or less nonchalant attitude. In fact, one time I was talking to one of their senior administrators and the topic went to IV sedation, at which point she mentioned that at one point in the company's past there have been a patient who died from the procedure . Expressing some shock, the administrator just shrugged and said that the pt did not provide all of his medical history, and that the doctor did not pursue a medical consult either. Some of the company's attitude may be traced to its origins in Oklahoma, where dental regulations appear to be much more lenient (and incidentally, the state where the infamous oral surgeon who did not sterilize his instruments practiced).

I can't see any corporate wanting a lawsuit, but from what I hear and see many of them practice in ways that I construe to be inviting of one. The way they treat patients, try to squeeze every last cent out of them, doing an absolutely minimal referral to specialists, propensity for hiring new grads, etc., all contribute to the risks of litigation.

 

[lwen5]

At the chain where I worked at (MyDentist) I distinctly got the impression that they didn't give too much care about this. Of course they don't want lawsuits, but from talking to them I did get a more or less nonchalant attitude. In fact, one time I was talking to one of their senior administrators and the topic went to IV sedation, at which point she mentioned that at one point in the company's past there have been a patient who died from the procedure . Expressing some shock, the administrator just shrugged and said that the pt did not provide all of his medical history, and that the doctor did not pursue a medical consult either. Some of the company's attitude may be traced to its origins in Oklahoma, where dental regulations appear to be much more lenient (and incidentally, the state where the infamous oral surgeon who did not sterilize his instruments practiced).

I can't see any corporate wanting a lawsuit, but from what I hear and see many of them practice in ways that I construe to be inviting of one. The way they treat patients, try to squeeze every last cent out of them, doing an absolutely minimal referral to specialists, propensity for hiring new grads, etc., all contribute to the risks of litigation.

This is what I've been hearing in medicine. At places, like Kaiser and other large healthcare organizations, they provide awful care and they don't care about the patient at all. They have such a nice system in place though, that if anything goes wrong the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the physician. Such organizations also work the physicians like dogs. I would think that corporates that put such frameworks in place could do much to decrease their liability and place the liability solely in the lap of the dentist. With most dentists being paid based off of collections and the fact that the dentists that work at the chains are independent contractors, it seems it would be very difficult to try to hold corporates liable in the event that a lawsuit were to take place.

 

[Shunwei]

This is what I've been hearing in medicine. At places, like Kaiser and other large healthcare organizations, they provide awful care and they don't care about the patient at all. They have such a nice system in place though, that if anything goes wrong the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the physician. Such organizations also work the physicians like dogs. I would think that corporates that put such frameworks in place could do much to decrease their liability and place the liability solely in the lap of the dentist. With most dentists being paid based off of collections and the fact that the dentists that work at the chains are independent contractors, it seems it would be very difficult to try to hold corporates liable in the event that a lawsuit were to take place.

That may be, I don't know enough about the corporate laws to determine if corporate would go down with their doctors should they get sued and convicted of wrongdoings (although in my example above, the dentist lost his license but the company appears to be OK). At the place I worked at, to be fair though, I was an employee dentist, not an independent contractor filing a W-9 (which would be a full-stop for me at working those places, because the tax burden is too heavy anyway). Since you mentioned collections, it is also worth pointing out that associate dentists should always look for places that pay on PRODUCTION, not collections. Don't get into the bog of getting paid on the latter as it can easily become an accounting nightmare.

 

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Corporations can go down with the ship, though they may not in every case. Just look at Small Smiles.

 

[positivevibes2]

Guys. I have 3 extracted teeth in the lower jaw (molars) and some fillings at the molars at the upper jaw. Soon I will have implants so I could get my teeth fixed... can I still be a dentist even if I dont have natural teeth?

 

[vellnueve]

Please tell me you're trolling.

 

[positivevibes2]

no I am not

 

[positivevibes2]

Please tell me you're trolling.

No, I am not

 

[Newgoalsdentdoc]

I recently graduated and have been working for a month. Originally, my schedule was light and doable since the office knew i was new and needed to get the hang of things. You would think that I would be comfortable already -- but everytime I do a crown prep, endo, or anythign besides fillings..i start questioning whether I treatment planned it correctly..if that tooth will be restorable after I do the endo...and blanking out on what i need to do. Its like I forgot everything I learned in school. Im not sure how I feel about it. I know in school, everything looked perfect (margins..fillings..etc etc)..but i find that in the real world, it isn't as great and teeth are not ideal...so i feel horrible when it's not the best treatment. I work for corporate..so yes numbers $$$ mean everything to them.


Anyone else have this freak out? I'm not sure if dentistry is meant for me... 🙁 I lost all confidence....and i feel so lost.

I would highly suggest that you apply for a residency. When you leave dental school, you have only scratched the surface of dentistry and have experience only in the basics of dentistry. Don't lose hope and you will regain your confidence. Everyone has moments like this. Actually, it's a positive sign that you know your shortcomings and you can improve. Do a residency. I can't say this enough. I remember gaining so much confidence in treatment planning, oral surgery and so many other areas. If possible, find a mentor..talk to seasoned dentists and set aside some time to talk to dental providers with their own practices who don't mind taking out a little time from their schedule. You can always visit their offices and ask for time to shadow and pick up advice. It will all work out. A month is a short period of time. In any field or profession, everyone has to find their niche. It's not always easy at first and you do question yourself. Take a step back, breathe and exhale and have a plan.

 

[vellnueve]

This post is 2 years old and was necro'ed by the unrelated post above.