Dental School Doesn’t Adequately Prepare Dentists

Are dental graduates ready to face the realities of practicing dentistry? Four out of five dentists don't think so, this survey found.

“Dental school has never prepared students for the real world," said a braces dentist, "but now the consequences for new graduates are a lot more serious.

"In past years," he continued, "overhead was lower, patients and employees weren't as litigious, fewer employees were needed, regulations were simpler, etc. Today, the system is not as forgiving, and a slipup is going to be more costly."

Read more: Dental School Graduates Unprepared for Dentistry's Real World

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david szczesny dmd

DENTAL SCHOOL GRADUATES HAVE TO REALIZE THE COMPETITION THAT LURKS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY THEY ARE CONSIDERING TO PRACTICE THEIR “FIELD OF DREAMS”!IT’S VERY TOUGH OUT THERE! WISH THEM THE BEST! HAVE A MENTOR TO EVALUATE THE SCENARIO BEFORE THEY DIVE INTO PRIVATE PRACTICE!
Denise

I have managed my father’s dental practice for 12 years. I have seen the new associates that come in try to be the ‘shiznitz’ of the practice. They think they know all there is to know about building a practice. I’m sorry, but bringing in a few of your friends to an already extablished practice is a great beginning, but is not what it takes to sustain or grow a new practice. I have worked with many practice consultants and they have always told me the same thing to try to grow our practice. One thing I have learned is that dentistry is alot like realty…location, location, location. If you practice is located in a wealthy area and you have the personality and connections to help you along, then you will surely be a success. A practice is only as profitable as it’s neighborhood. There is only so much the area can generate for income. A middle working class area has a limit depending on the number of other dentists practicing in the area also. We had 3 other dental practices located only 1-4 blocks from our office. That meant alot of competition and only so much we could generate for income. Most of our patients came from referrals rather than direct neighborhood clients. I can go on and on, but my best advice for a new dentist is to join a established practice and learn before they start out on their own practice …and oh get a highly experienced office manager to guide them along. A experienced manager may be a high price tag in the beginning, but is the best investment for the long term, treat them like gold if you have a winner, because they are your mascot for your whole business and your right arm. But always take an active interest in what goes on in your practice too…it takes the dentist to be respnsible for every aspect to make a winning practice thrive.