I have a Lexus RX350, IS250, BMW i8, my first car (still! -Toyota Celica GT), and looking at the McLaren 650S right now. Maybe when I'm older I'll get an Aventador. One thing that's limiting me is garage space.... I have room for 2 in my primary garage and 2 in my gazebo. Was debating to buy the house next door or lot a few doors down to convert into a garage, but I'm not in that position yet
Unfortunately, getting through dental school is like going through the motions. If you stick to only what dental school teaches you, you'll be an unprofitable dentist. Use what you learn as the foundation to solve problems, not to view them as the only way to solve a clinical problem. Focus on passing, learning what you can to develop your clinical foundation, and speeding up afterwards. I would advocate that you finish your requirements as soon as possible so that you don't have to worry about doing them the dental school way after your requirements are done. Once you get your requirements, don't tout them to everyone, it'll put you on the radar (Don't want to be on faculty's radar). When you don't have to worry about graduation requirements, you're pretty much in AEGD/private practice training already. Use it to your advantage. Work with instructors that would let you have free reign unless you really need the handholding. If you don't train in speed at all, you'll be ill-prepared for the real world. Pre-clinic, I'll probably say take your time. Those ivorine teeth are nothing like real teeth, so the speed training isn't as important. Neither is the lab work, a productive dentist would not do their own lab work. To get even faster, start double booking patients in clinic. It will force you to work faster and if you can't finish one treatment, you'll be stressed with 2 ops running at the same time. Eventually, you'll either break down or learn to work through it. Trial by fire, I suppose.
As I mentioned before, the best trick is to do pulpectomies to the standard of an unobturated root canal with the speed of the endodontist. Why pulpectomies, you say? It'll teach you access, reading the pulpal floor for the orifices, biomechanical instrumentation, and pretty much everything till the final step, without having to go through the tedium of the WHOLE series of radiographs. just need pre-op, length check, cone check w/o radiograph (if WL = cone length, you're golden), and final. I'd leave the cone out, CaOH/IRM, and give the case to colleagues that needed the endo but don't plan to ever touch an endo file. Voila, you helped a friend in need, you got your training, and you didn't have to screw anyone over by hogging all procedures.
Buy your own equipment. Your school will usually make you buy a bunch of useless equipment (not all are useless though, find the ones that are useful and buy them off the ones that are specializing for dirtcheap). Dental supplies companies won't sell to you? eBay or sometimes there's vendor meetings that students can attend (and order from... they won't ask for a license number and academic discounts!).
Anyway, I hope this sets the tone for your D1 mindset. People either hated me or loved me for this mindset. You can guess which types hate me (see reply below).
I'm gonna bite because I think you're trolling (and I enjoy feeding the trolls) and any response I give is going to be met with skepticism. Yes, I do. Now, answer one of mine: are you a pre-dent, dental student, dental faculty, dental aux, or dentist? Your name is studentdent, but I wonder which stage of the dental profession you're in.
Regarding the i8, it looks like a sweet car but I've read it only gets like 15 miles per charge. Is this true?I have a Lexus RX350, IS250, BMW i8, my first car (still! -Toyota Celica GT), and looking at the McLaren 650S right now. Maybe when I'm older I'll get an Aventador. One thing that's limiting me is garage space.... I have room for 2 in my primary garage and 2 in my gazebo. Was debating to buy the house next door or lot a few doors down to convert into a garage, but I'm not in that position yet
Unfortunately, getting through dental school is like going through the motions. If you stick to only what dental school teaches you, you'll be an unprofitable dentist. Use what you learn as the foundation to solve problems, not to view them as the only way to solve a clinical problem. Focus on passing, learning what you can to develop your clinical foundation, and speeding up afterwards. I would advocate that you finish your requirements as soon as possible so that you don't have to worry about doing them the dental school way after your requirements are done. Once you get your requirements, don't tout them to everyone, it'll put you on the radar (Don't want to be on faculty's radar). When you don't have to worry about graduation requirements, you're pretty much in AEGD/private practice training already. Use it to your advantage. Work with instructors that would let you have free reign unless you really need the handholding. If you don't train in speed at all, you'll be ill-prepared for the real world. Pre-clinic, I'll probably say take your time. Those ivorine teeth are nothing like real teeth, so the speed training isn't as important. Neither is the lab work, a productive dentist would not do their own lab work. To get even faster, start double booking patients in clinic. It will force you to work faster and if you can't finish one treatment, you'll be stressed with 2 ops running at the same time. Eventually, you'll either break down or learn to work through it. Trial by fire, I suppose.
As I mentioned before, the best trick is to do pulpectomies to the standard of an unobturated root canal with the speed of the endodontist. Why pulpectomies, you say? It'll teach you access, reading the pulpal floor for the orifices, biomechanical instrumentation, and pretty much everything till the final step, without having to go through the tedium of the WHOLE series of radiographs. just need pre-op, length check, cone check w/o radiograph (if WL = cone length, you're golden), and final. I'd leave the cone out, CaOH/IRM, and give the case to colleagues that needed the endo but don't plan to ever touch an endo file. Voila, you helped a friend in need, you got your training, and you didn't have to screw anyone over by hogging all procedures.
Buy your own equipment. Your school will usually make you buy a bunch of useless equipment (not all are useless though, find the ones that are useful and buy them off the ones that are specializing for dirtcheap). Dental supplies companies won't sell to you? eBay or sometimes there's vendor meetings that students can attend (and order from... they won't ask for a license number and academic discounts!).
Anyway, I hope this sets the tone for your D1 mindset. People either hated me or loved me for this mindset. You can guess which types hate me (see reply below).
I'm gonna bite because I think you're trolling (and I enjoy feeding the trolls) and any response I give is going to be met with skepticism. Yes, I do. Now, answer one of mine: are you a pre-dent, dental student, dental faculty, dental aux, or dentist? Your name is studentdent, but I wonder which stage of the dental profession you're in.
I don't think the dude is trolling you. He legit started a thread titled "morality of "being in it for $$$"
Heavy hygiene = high new patients + high active recalls.
I could do that. But that would probably require 10x the effort and time to do that. I did try the conventional collection based compensation with associates, but they would be employees and I would have to pay payroll taxes and mange the staff for those associates through an office manager, the buck still ends with me. That's a lot of moving parts. Yes I would make maybe 3x the money, but I just didn't see myself doing that for additional $200k a year from each satellite office for the level of effort that I would have to put into it. Can I do it? Yes. Should I? No.
A car can say a lot about it's owner. I have a friend and neighbor who has a similar collection, and I just pictured him when I was reading your line-up.
No one can define "young". It's a state of mind.
Actually, the best years in life are in the 40's and beyond (in my opinion). You may be physically slowing down, but your life and character becomes more refined like an aged wine. You appreciate life more, and stability leads to enjoying life more responsibly. Yes it's fun not watching for your diet and not caring about what happens to your body because you are going to leave the worries to later decades in your life. Ofcourse that sounds cool, but how many older patients do you see having regrets about younger days and their oral health (and whatever else they didn't disclose). I'm just saying you don't have to prioritize the best part of young body being put into use by focusing on booze and chasing skirts or doing something crazy, that happens by default to most young people anyways, but doesn't mean the physical body starts to slip away as a deadline when you turn 40 (which it does), but once again, as a default, most people become more mindful about their body as they get older.
So far not many regrets. I would say maybe not hiring certain associates and staff, but that was critical to the learning curve. I don't believe in regrets, you walk away from any situation with a lesson which becomes an experience.
THIS.
When you started at your second job (collection, no salary), did you have your goal in mind (retiring early) or did you go there because that was the only job available? Also, I assist at a place where doctors get paid based on collection, I don't see one positive thing about it because the dentist should focus on his clinical work not go after patients and make sure they pay for the service.
Okay, so if I start a clinic at a "rich neighborhood" should I use the prices that are common in that area or a little less to win over patients?
