6 months of Dental Insights! What have I learnt?

I have carried a few interviews so far that revolve around understanding the business of dentistry. What are the common threads that link all these success stories?

Our journey merely begins at the end of dental school. It is pretty evident how crucial the formative years of a career in dentistry is in paving your path.

Dental school forms the absolute necessary foundation we need to practice as safe clinicians. However, by talking to several successful practitioners, there is one thread that links them all.

They have all worked to a point of blood, sweat and tears that are far beyond one's imagination.

And part of becoming that success story involves being adaptable enough to go from managing patient expectations to understanding the numbers that will allow your practice to run and having those leadership skills to work with people from numerous backgrounds.

So How can YOU get there?

Ive listed a few tips that I've gathered from my conversations below.

Build that interpersonal rapport with your patients.

Dentistry first and foremost is about the patient. It is about providing that quality care. One way of doing this is to remember even one thing about each patient. Every time they come for a visit, ask them an update on it. These communication skills are crucial and you need to be versatile enough to hold a conversation with an elderly, toddler or an adult.

Clinical Confidence

“Before you can add on other hats, you need to be comfortable with the one you have on.”

Starting of as a dental practitioner, your patients, your team and your employers want to know that you have that clinical confidence. You need all the experience you can get initially. Make use of that dental school environment to go beyond- It does happen that clinicians are often split between several students but take the time to invest in your education for you and not just to pass a grade. Use the support system that the university provides you to gain that initial confidence before diving off into a work environment.

Driven towards growth

If you are evolving so is dentistry. Its important to keep up that motivation to learn. Enrol on courses that add value to you because you are a brand in itself.

“Leadership isn't in-built, it is learnt.”

Understanding yourself, your short-comings, your strengths allows you to recognise your own communication methods. Learning this allows you to familiarise yourself with your position within a team. Dentistry in all aspects is team working and they are various personalities who require different means of communication. Understanding this as a leader allows you to place people within groups that facilitates an encouraging environment boosting efficiency.