Professional Courtesy: Experiences That Matter by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD

I feel compelled to introduce myself, because this special issue of our magazine appears only once a year. You’ve seen my title—editorial director—but I am first, foremost and always a dentist. I’m one of those grizzled veterans who has been in practice for 21 years, and while I have plenty of advice to give, I’m not too proud to say there are still new things to learn. After all, that’s part of what makes dentistry such an interesting profession. If you’re anything like I was just before graduation, you must feel like you have learned everything you possibly can and don’t want to see the inside of a classroom again for a long time. But if you haven’t figured it out already, heads up: The learning will continue until further notice.

Advice for the “almost” grad: Don’t stop training just yet
In fact, the first group I would like to address on this topic is those who are going to graduate this year or next. My advice is this: Do a residency or AEGD. It’s as simple as that.

Yes, I’ve heard the excuses:

• “I won’t make any money and I’m in debt.” (You can defer your loans.)
• “I’m sick of school.” (It’s nothing at all like school.)
• “I know enough already.” (You’ll find out very soon after you take a position that you’re just getting started.)

Think about this: You’ll have the benefit of learning from dentists who’ve attended different schools and a host of “real life” dentists from the community. You’ll also have access to things in the hospital that you’d otherwise never experience. Your time in residency won’t go to waste because you’ll still have many years ahead to practice dentistry and make a great living. And working as an associate or as an employee in a large group is not the same as a residency.

Advice for the young professional: Identify a mentor to work with
The next group I’d like to address is those of you already out in the dental workforce. I sincerely hope you were nodding your head because you’d already followed my advice from the previous section. If not, you’re now working in a group, small practice or other situation. Once you obtain your dental license, your employment is certain. (I’ve known only one dentist who collected unemployment benefits, but he was in the wrong profession, in my humble opinion.)

If you’re in a workplace where you have at least one or two dentists who can be your mentors and give good advice, that’s terrific. The next step is to utilize that resource. Pick one case a day—even a routine new patient— and sit down with that dentist to tell him or her which decisions you made and why. There’s more than one way to do just about everything in dentistry, and you’ll benefit from a discussion of the alternatives.

Advice for every dentist: Use Dentaltown as your guide
In some cases, your current employment situation hasn’t provided a good mentor, or your potential mentor simply doesn’t have the time to spend on giving you advice. This is where Dentaltown will come to your rescue. If you haven’t already had the opportunity to visit the message boards on Dentaltown.com, you’re missing a vast resource of dental knowledge and experience available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can share a question or a difficult case, knowing that other members will provide advice and suggestions. You will learn the first of many lessons simply by reading the conversations that have already been posted.

In addition to the message boards, we’ve recently introduced the Dentaltown Mentorship Program. This unique experience is possible through the support of Benco Dental, and it connects young dentists with experienced mentors who are screened by Dentaltown staff. You’ll be part of a small, private group where you can share questions and cases in a more intimate environment because, let’s face it, asking a question in front of thousands of dentists can often be a very intimidating experience. Find out more at dentaltown.com/mentorprogram.

I hope you’ll find some of these bits of advice helpful as you work through the early years of your career in dentistry. If you’d like to ask a question, feel free to send me an email: tom@dentaltown.com. If you’re on Twitter: @ddsTom.