Typical Day for Dentists

[Pro-Dentite]

This is probably a difficult question to answer because everyone's days are different, but what is your average daily schedule look like?

Do you have set time periods set out in the day for certain types of procedures?(Maybe you always try to schedule your endo in the mornings or something)

How many procedures do you typically do in one day?

Like I said, there's probably not a clear answer to this, I'm just curious to see what kind of responses I get.

If you're a dentist, maybe you could post of schedule of what your day was like today.

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[Dentoman]

I work as a dental assistant on a temp basis ,while i work on the rather complicated issue of dentist licensure in this country, so I get to see alot of dental practices.
You wont believe the differences in the practices that I see.
I worked with young dentists right out of the school boy do those guys work hard!...most of them have a rather busy schedule (8-12 patients/day) doing bread and butter dentistry (fillings and prophies) but they are happy coz they are just starting their practices.
On the other hand the older dentists ( over 45) really have it going I mean some of them see like 3 or 4 pateints a day and a lot of the procedures are more complex( and therefore more expensive)....and yeah most of these guys golf!

 

[UBTom]

to Pro-Dentite:

It depends on several things I guess: Your location, how ambitious you are, what kind of personality you are (type A or type Z?), etc.

I have an uncle who graduated NYUCD '86 who was lucky enough to have entered into a good partnership which he eventually bought out after 5 years without having to work too hard. He generally saw 8-10 patients a day, 5 days a week. It's a quiet apartment-suite-type practice in the Inwood section of Manhattan in New York City.

On the other hand, my sister who graduated NYUCD '00 is a young, hard-charging dentist who works 6 days a week and sees 10-15 patients a day doing advanced stuff like implant surgery (which commands a pretty high fee). She works at two different clinics in affluent Westchester NY (though it is owned by the same million-dollar group practice) and teaches part time at the NYUCD AEGD program.


Me, I'm not that ambitious. After I graduate, do a GP residency, buy into a respectable practice after 5-10 years (or maybe hook up with my sister), pay off my debts, work 5 days a week.

Bottom line is that you didn't go through 4 of the toughest years of your life to not have a say as to how you want to work! To an extent, how hard you want to work as a dentist is up to you.

Good luck!

 

[angle]

hi dentoman,can u pls give your e mail address,because i want yo mail u personally for some reason,
thanx,
bye

 

[augustdds]

I have been out for six years so I guess I can't call myself a new dentist anymore. This is a great question, and I wondered it as well when I was in my third and fourth year. I work an 7.5 hour day 4 days a week. I schedule procedures throughout the day, I try to make things convienient for my patients. Here is a list of times:



Root Canal Molar (complete): 1 hour
Crown prep 1 tooth: 1 hour
2-3 crowns or a bridge 1.5 hours

4 plus crowns 2 hours
1 surface filling 20 minutes
2 plus surface filling 30 minutes
Post and Core 30 minutes

Denturs/partials are "second collumn" stuff (not sceduled during productive time) so We don't have set times, but usually half an hour

Seating crowns/bridges 30 minutes (usually takes five, but I don't like being rushed and like to glaze or modify the porcelain if I have to)


I call all patients at home that get shots and that is usually 6-8 patients, usually see about 10-12 patients a day of you count post op checks, consults, seats, nightgaurd deliveries etc.

Hope this helps


August

 

[ItsGavinC]

Exellent post! It's always nice to see you practicing folks drop by and give us some real-world expertise. Thanks!

 

[Supernumerary]

I just recently registered for www.dentaltown.com after seeing it mentioned here. It is a great place to browse and get an idea of what practicing dentists are experiencing right now. www.dentaltown.com

 

[hudley]

Greetings!

I graduated the same time as August...6 years ago. When I first got out of school I practiced for a year with my dad. In 1998 I found a practice that I couldn't say no to and bought it. After five years in this practice I've come up with a way of scheduling that seems to work for me. I run two chairs all the time. Column 1 is high production...crown/bridge, endo, etc. Column two is lower production: ext, removable, crown seats, etc. The amount of time that August listed is similar for me, except I probably take 15 minutes more than he does for everything he listed! I take much longer to do molar endo.

I see probably 15-20 patients on average, including worked in emergencies. I'll happily block off much longer times for "big cases" (e.g.--veneers, "reconstruction" with multiple crowns, combination cases, etc.)

Alan

 

[Rod Kurthy]

OK, I'll chime in:

First, the most important thing is quality of the final product. We will all agree on that. So with time, you get a little faster. And if time is REALLY important, you actively learn how to accomplish the same quality in less time.

I've been out of dental school for 25 years. I consider myself 'quick', but certainly not 'fast' -- I'm no Scott Perkins by any means.

I always do the root canal, buildup, and crown prep on the same visit. I book 1 1/4 hour of my time for a molar. I utilize an RDA and an RDAEF, so I do not pack the cord, take the impression or make the temp.

We use only 15-minute increments. So one single-surface composite is 15 min (unless it's a large one, and then 30 min)

Crown prep 30 min -- remember I utilize fantastic auxilliaries. And more than half of this time is spent giving anesthetic. I take WAY longer than the average giving anesthetic -- probably because I am personally a needle-phoebic. So I don't want ANY of my patients to EVER even FEEL that I'm giving them a shot. This takes time.

2-3 crowns or a bridge -- 45 min.

2-surf filling (I don't do any amalgams -- only bonded composites) -- 30 min.

Rod