Howard Speaks: Dentistry Isn’t the Be-All, End-All by Dr. Howard Farran, DDS, MBA

Howard Speaks: Dentistry Isn’t the Be-All, End-All 

by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, publisher, Dentaltown magazine


More than half of all dentists I talk to are burned out and wish they could do something else that’s more fun, enjoyable and fulfilling. This is almost never an option for them, though, because of financial issues from debt and high-spending lifestyles they don’t want to give up. They feel trapped.

The problem is, they want dentistry to be more than it is and provide more than it can. Dentists need to be humble in their expectations from dentistry: It’s a job, designed to provide a service in exchange for money. (And what’s wrong with that? It’s Economics 101.)

Dentistry wasn’t designed to be fun, fulfilling and the source of your identity and a mansion in Beverly Hills. Your team didn’t get jobs in dentistry with the goal of obtaining a bunch of new best friends. But so many dentists want dentistry to be more than it is, and thus also expect the patients and staff to be more than they are.

Reconfigure your expectations
In 2024, the average annual pay for a dentist in the United States is $190,000, which puts us in the top 10% earners. What’s wrong with having a job that puts you in the top 10%? What were you expecting? Do you know how amazing your income is? Everything else you need from dentistry, you should have had before you became a dentist, and is also what you’ll need after you retire. The French philosopher Henri Bergson said, “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” This means we look at life and dentistry psychologically as what we want it to be, instead of philosophically and what becoming a dentist truly entails.

Dentaltown can guide you!

For example, if you hate Mondays because of a tyrannical boss or your associate pay schedule, why are you working for someone else? Stop whining and complaining and become your own boss. Dentaltown is full of information to help you achieve this, including:
Talking is to doing as imagination is to reality; the former is a pale imitation of the latter. Talking is less interesting than doing. Would you rather be on a cruise or talk about a cruise you want to take next year? If you’re not happy being an associate, stop obsessing about everything that’s wrong with your job, and start doing what you need to do to open your own practice!

Or maybe it’s time to take a hard look at your expectations about the industry—and work in general—and weigh how realistic they are. Comparison is the thief of joy, and if you’re bereft because you’re earning “only a quarter of a million dollars” a year, it’s time to recalibrate your mindset. No matter how much you love being a dentist, you shouldn’t be relying on a career to be the sole source of your identity and source of happiness.

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Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
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