Why do dentists work so little?

[NobodyCanStopMe]

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Dentists are known to have a great lifestyle, there's no doubt about that. But surely, they could still have a great lifestyle while working around 50 hours too. I know many dentists would love to just work 4 days/week, but at the same time I'm sure many would love to work 7 days if they could to earn $$$. But the fact is, I have never so far encountered a dentist that worked that much. In fact, most worked as little as 3 days/week!!! I want to have lots of family/free time but man, 3 days/week sounds so little I'll run out of things to do! So why don't they work more? Is it by their choice? Or do most dentists just don't have enough patients to see?

General dentists are known to earn as much as physicians, if not higher, per hour. So why not work a bit more and gain that title of earning more than physician, not just per hour but per year as well!?

If the reason is that there just aren't enough patients to come by, I don't know why US is opening up more dental schools. It may be that there is a shortage of dentists in rural areas, but that problem doesn't seem to be fixed by opening up more schools.

What are your thoughts? 😕

 

[allover]

my thoughts are that you are in the minority. 🙂

 

[DMD 4 Me]

Once you own your own practice, you can work whenever you want.

I think it is primarily dentists who are well established and have found a balance where they can make a living that is comfortable for them while working only on the days they want to.

Also, I am only speculating here, and I may be way off base...but:

It is possible that there can be an unspoken status quo among dentists in a town. For example, maybe in Town X no dentists work on Fridays.

Now ofcourse a new dentist in the area can see this, and try to capitalize on that by working on those days when the other dentists are closed. But I think that is rare, therefore, alot of dentists work only 4 days a week.

 

[anishannayya]

I think that people start working less the older they get. That's the way it is in any profession. When you're in your late 50's, and you own your own practice, your semi-retired, and no longer need the money to pay off your debts. As a result, you work less and enjoy the free time.

 

[Skygrandpager]

I think established dentists tend to follow the motto "work smarter not harder." You don't necessarily need to be a worker bee to make $$.

 

[jay47]

I think established dentists tend to follow the motto "work smarter not harder." You don't necessarily need to be a worker bee to make $$.

Ditto.

Plus, if you have ever been in a chair working for a while, you'll know it takes a toll on the ol back, no matter how good the posture. 20% less time on the back a week makes a huge difference in how you feel later.

 

[aphistis]

And by "work smarter" they mean be a salesman more than a doctor.

Whatever you have to believe to make yourself feel better is OK by me. Meanwhile, I'll be on the golf course or tennis courts.

 

[robg]

Honestly I just think you back, neck and eyes need a break if you plan on doing this for a while.

 

[NobodyCanStopMe]

okay so I guess it can partially be because it is physically demanding but I don't think that is the complete story to this because like neurosurgeons, man they work LONG hours...? like, double the dentists...!!!

 

[allover]

i think if you take good care of yourself and do resistance training you wont have problems, at least thats what I hope for.

 

[Munks]

From my perspective and from what I've seen during shadowing, I think that it is economically advantageous to work 4 days a week as well as for relaxation reasons. While some dentists do practice 5 days a week, I think that it is possible to fit all of the patients in 4 days (esp in this economy). This would also bring about a reduction in overhead as well from not having to pay staff and other costs.

If I could, I would definitely want to work 5 days a week with a Saturday once a month. The only problem I see with that is getting enough patients to fill those times.. Like Daurang said in a different thread, the patients that come to that 5th day or Saturday would probably be fine with fitting in one of the other 4 days.

~Two quotes from a couple theads down: "Have you heard of anyone opening shop at 10"... Especially look at Dr. Reo's comment

The beauty of having your own office is you can do anything you want. My sister, who is a GP, starts her workday at 10 AM. When she only has 2-3 patients on her appt book (it happens a lot lately due to the recession and the medicaid cut), she starts her day at 1 or 2pm and comes home at 4-5 pm. On Saturdays, which are her busiest days, she usually works 7-8 hours non-stop.

Your hours are even more flexible, if you are a dental specialist. At one of my busiest orthodontic offices (I have 3), I work 5 days a month (yes, a month not a week)… 2pm-6pm on weekdays and 8am-noon on Saturdays. I work 2 days a month at my slowest office. My wife is a periodontist. Some days, she came in at 8 am to place 1-2 implants and went home 2 hours later.

As this thread is starting to morph too, you'll find after a while that there's a difference between working a bazillion hours a week and trying to accomodate every last scheduling need of every one of your patients and finding a schedule that fits YOUR (and if not now, maybe someday in the future your familes) needs. That often means that you'll be working less hours/days and not even thinking twice about the potential $$ that you're giving up by NOT being in the office. In general, you'll find after practicing for a while what hours and/or days will wotk for MOST of your patients, and they weigh in what type of production numbers you need for your comfort and go from there.

Often the hours that you may think would be popular (evenings/weekends) may prove to not be as profitable as one might think, because sometimes those hours that on the surface are appealing to patients, often becoming appealing to your patients on a last minute notice to do something else (i.e. a nice weather summer Saturday can be very easy for a last minute patient cancellation to take their family to the beach, instead of seeing you in your office, or that 7PM appointment your patient scheduled for a crown prep 6 weeks ago, could very well end up conflicting with their kids soccer game, etc)

After a while, many dentists will realize that if you have a pateint seeing you just solely because you have some "odd" hours, that chances are that those patients won't be the ones that you'd classify as "good" patients when you really sit down and take an objective look at things.

One last caveat, as I'm typing this, I've been out of the office on vacation for a week now, and won't be headed back into the office for another 5 days, and more than likely when I get back to the office, it will still be there, and my patients will still show up 😀

 

[21BlackJack]

I agree with the last 5 poster-ish. It's physically demanding.

 

[dl9006]

And by "work smarter" they mean be a salesman more than a doctor.

maybe working smarter means taking on more complicated (thus expensive) cases instead of your basic drill and fill cases.

now stop trolling and go back to your med forum

 

[DrReo]

And by "work smarter" they mean be a salesman more than a doctor.

Explain your nonsense?

Working smarter could be taking the correct actions to do procedures more financially rewarding (implants, etc.). Is this another jealous med student trolling again?

 

[Medwell]

I don't know why US is opening up more dental schools.

Is this really true? Can someone confirm this? I thought there was an organization that was preventing new schools from opening.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

well considering most of us have spent long hours in sim lab doing pre-clinical stuff can understand that dentistry is sometimes very hard on back, eyes, and hands. SOmetimes you just need a break between days when you're working 8 hours straight.

I can't believe hygienist work 4-5 days a week scaling 7-8 patients a day. That's just incredible grueling on the body even with perfect posture and form.

Of course it depends on the types of procedures you are doing and your speed/efficiency. Sometimes it might just be better to schedule 8 patients a day and having a day off instead of seeing 4 patients per day for 2 days.

 

[Skygrandpager]

And by "work smarter" they mean be a salesman more than a doctor.

Actually "they" mean create a schedule that suits both the doctor's and the patients needs. Apparently you're too cool to not jump to conclusions, I can tell because your avatar is soooo ironic

 

[THINKOFMYFUTURE]

Yeah, because I've never been to a dentist. Neither have my family members or friends.

Yo medical student, why so bitter man?

 

[browncrack]

Needed emergency dental work on a Sunday. Couldn't get a dentist to save my life. It told me all I need to know.

Go to the ED. That's where all the people that couldn't get into dental school work.

 

[aphistis]

Needed emergency dental work on a Sunday. Couldn't get a dentist to save my life. It told me all I need to know.

With all the tuition you're paying for medical school, I'm surprised you apparently haven't been taught what an emergency is. Your snarky comment is about the same as if you'd said you needed an "emergency" chemical peel on Saturday and couldn't find a dermatologist "to save your life." 🙄

 

[DrReo]

Needed emergency dental work on a Sunday. Couldn't get a dentist to save my life. It told me all I need to know.

The only time you need/want to see a dentist is the day they are closed. Oh the irony of bitterness.

 

[476515678234896]

Go to the ED. That's where all the people that couldn't get into dental school work.

😕

 

[aphistis]

You guys convinced me. I take it all back.

We're all delighted to hear it. Now I think I hear your mom calling for you back in the allo forum.

 

[dl9006]

I'm guessing you're better at spacial relationships than wit.

why are you here stirring things up?

don't you have anything else to do? go study or go post in the med forum. i'm sure that'll be a better use of your time

bye

 

[SeattleRDH]

well considering most of us have spent long hours in sim lab doing pre-clinical stuff can understand that dentistry is sometimes very hard on back, eyes, and hands. SOmetimes you just need a break between days when you're working 8 hours straight.

I can't believe hygienist work 4-5 days a week scaling 7-8 patients a day. That's just incredible grueling on the body even with perfect posture and form.

Of course it depends on the types of procedures you are doing and your speed/efficiency. Sometimes it might just be better to schedule 8 patients a day and having a day off instead of seeing 4 patients per day for 2 days.

Yes, it is grueling!

The reason why many dentists don't work 40 hours a week is because the staff needs to be there to set-up 15-30 minutes early and clean-up at the end of the day (maybe 30 minutes). So if you add that up for the week that's 4-5 hours of overtime that you have to pay per assistant/hygienist. If you wanted to be open for 5 days it's best to make one of those a half day, but then you might as well be closed for those 4 hours. You could hire some staff 3 days a week and some 2 days a week (common in hygiene) but it's harder to keep long-term employees when you don't offer full-time with benefits.

 

[jmacmilan]

Smart work can earn you more.

Macmilan.

 

[efficient]

Two words: Your back

 

[budda10000]

To resurrect an old thread, I highly recommend any soon to be dentist trying working when their patients are actually available. Part of the freedom of owning your own practice is not having to subscribe to the 9-5 m-f slot. Make your office hours wed-sun 9-5, watch the doe roll in as you patients show appreciation for not screwing with their work schedule. I am a soon to be MD/former dental student and have zero availability on weekdays, it makes finding a dentist a pain in the A$$ every time I move to a new city. There are alot of people just like me and we all tend to make good money and have good insurance.(hint hint)

 

[786783]

Lower back. Even men in their mid 20s have lower back pain when they pull >40 clinical hours in a week. If you're >65 and still cranking >40 hs a week you should have been a dead lifter.

 

[Kareful]

To resurrect an old thread, I highly recommend any soon to be dentist trying working when their patients are actually available. Part of the freedom of owning your own practice is not having to subscribe to the 9-5 m-f slot. Make your office hours wed-sun 9-5, watch the doe roll in as you patients show appreciation for not screwing with their work schedule. I am a soon to be MD/former dental student and have zero availability on weekdays, it makes finding a dentist a pain in the A$$ every time I move to a new city. There are alot of people just like me and we all tend to make good money and have good insurance.(hint hint)

Why the switch if you don't mind me asking?

 

[cmcner]

On a side note to an old thread if you are a single doc in private practice 50 hours a week would often lead to overtime issues, which would increasing your staffing overhead decreasing your profit. the other option would be trying to hire and maintain part time staff as well while trying to maintain consistency in operations. Also those odd hour staff are harder to hire as many of them have families so your talent pool shrinks.

 

[setdoc7]

I've been working 44 hours a week for 15 years. 4 full days and 2 half days. Been a dentist almost 34 years. Back ok, eyes fine, never really get tired at work. Dentistry gets much easier and predictable the more you do it. I would be frantic to work if I had $400K looming over me. Not sure why young dentists do not want to work 5-6 days/week. I attribute it to frustration or decreased drive to earn.

 

[budda10000]

Why the switch if you don't mind me asking?

Because I am a masochist😀 j/k, I like neuroscience/clinical research and the opportunities for that in dentistry is limited and boring. For instance right now I am working with faculty on drafting treatment recommendation for patients that refuse to take their HIV meds.(It is a surprisingly big problem) I would never have been able to initiate/carry out a project like that in dental school outside of OMFS, which is essentially medicine. Couple that with my general disdain and lack of talent with procedural work and it cemented my fate. My interests are in neuroscience and I felt like I could have a more prosperous career through medicine. So far it has worked out. The one perk is that every time a patient comes in with dental problems I tend to know more than the attending and they love it.

 

[BTVVT]

Just because one is not directly treating patients 40 hours a week doesn't mean that the dentist isn't working. Owning and running a private practice takes time: from payroll to lab work, many owners work an additional significant block of time each week, there just doesn't happen to be a patient in the chair all the time.