Battling DSO competition, keeping up with demand and leading staff are among some of the most difficult part of a dentist's job.
Six dentists recently shared with Becker's the challenges they have to navigate in their careers.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Lorin Berland, DDS. Founder of Dr. B Dental Solutions: By far, the most difficult part of my job is keeping up with demand. We are always on the verge of running out of inventory. As one of our customers wrote, “There are two kinds of denture wearers: those that love Dr. B Dental Solutions and those that haven’t tried Dr. B….. yet!"
David Cannon, DDS. Cannon Dental (Salt Lake City): The most difficult part of my job is retiring, which I am doing at the end of this month. Our family has been serving people in Salt Lake City for 114 years, and it will be hard to say goodbye!
Bob Ditomassi, DDS. Dentist at George Ditomassi DDS (Springfield, Mass.): One of the most difficult parts of a dentist's job is when patients have unrealistic expectations about what a lower denture will allow them to do.
Allen Dorsey, DDS. Dorsey Dental Services (Jacinto City, Texas): Dealing with DSO acquisitions and expansion taking away market share from sole proprietorship dental practitioners.
Daniel Hultgren, DMD. Fort Defiance (Ariz.) Indian Hospital: I am a dentist working for a tribal-run facility in Arizona and currently the hardest part of my job is the remote location that I work in and the amount of travel and time away from my family. I enjoy dentistry very much and I enjoy not having to navigate and deny care due to lack of insurance or means to pay for the services. Prior to this I worked with a DSO and a private office and found the navigation of insurance to be harmful to patients who need care. I ended up working for the department of corrections and a free clinic before deciding to take a more permanent job in Arizona working with the Navajo tribe. The shift from insurance and fee-based care has been an incredible change and has allowed me to practice dentistry in a way that allows people, regardless of ability to pay, to get the care they need. Like I said before, the challenges lie with the remoteness of the job and time away from family. I still work with an underserved population when I am home that provides care to a demographic that cannot afford even basic dental services.
Joseph Kim, DDS. Halcyon Dental (Sugar Grove, Ill.) and Modern Dentistry (Yorkville, Ill.): The most difficult part of my job is keeping my team performing in harmony. Even the best designed systems can fall apart when there is disharmony among team members. This includes keeping myself in a positive frame of mind and remembering to be a role model for my staff. Though it is difficult to maintain a high pace and high level of enthusiasm, at the end of the day, it is also the most rewarding part of my job. After all, my team is like my family.