What Are the Challenges of Being a Dentist?

Becoming a dentist can be a lucrative, rewarding career path for those looking to enter the medical field and work directly with patients. But it is also important to know the challenges of being a dentist to set realistic expectations about what this role entails.

Dentists face a range of difficulties, including stress from long hours, patient demands, practice management tasks, and more. Economic shifts and tech adoption can further complicate matters, and dental professionals must stay in tune with patient expectations and staff well-being through every change they make. Many dentists also struggle with balancing clinical care with business operations to stay competitive.

Explore the main challenges of being a dentist and how the right technology can help simplify administrative burdens.

The challenges of being a dentist

Running a successful dental practice involves much more than just patient care. This industry combines clinical, business, and leadership demands, placing significant strain on dental professionals whose main passions lie in treating oral health conditions.

Addressing these challenges is crucial for sustainable practice growth. With Weave’s communication platform, dental offices can streamline certain processes, dedicating more time to patient care or overcoming other practice challenges.

The stress and mental health impact

One of the major challenges of being a dentist relates to the mental and emotional strain this career places on dental professionals. Dentists often work long hours, including evenings and weekends, to accommodate patient schedules and manage large patient volumes. Many have perfectionist expectations, and less-than-ideal outcomes can take a toll on their mental health. Dentists also face patient anxiety concerns each day, which can transfer to their own mental states.

A study referenced in the article “Suicide in dentistry: An unwanted link” cites that 17.6% of dentists surveyed admitted to having seriously considered suicide. This is a major concern that cannot be overlooked.

Aside from impacting a clinician’s own personal life and well-being, mental health directly affects practice culture. A dental practice may struggle to meet patient demands when its practitioners are dealing with mental health issues.

Dental offices can work toward better work-life wellness by creating a culture of openness and support surrounding mental illness. Practices should offer support resources and check in with team members regularly. They should also make it easy for team members to take days off when they need time to reset their mental health.

Operational and business pressures

Dental practice operations can also place significant stress on dental professionals. Practice owners must juggle financial management, overhead, and regulatory compliance. Running a successful practice involves being a savvy business owner, along with being a skilled dental professional.

Practice owners commonly face challenges surrounding:

• Adopting new techniques to keep their practices competitive while pouring the necessary resources and time into refining their dental procedures
• Managing billing and payments, which are impacted by patient no-shows and past due bills
• Meeting patient expectations and providing the best patient care in a highly competitive industry, in which patients are quick to change providers

Dental practitioners can better adapt to technological shifts and emerging issues with the right practice management software. Tools like automated scheduling, billing systems, and patient communication platforms reduce administrative burdens and streamline rote tasks so that dental professionals and office staff can focus on higher-level issues.

Automated scheduling tools enable patients to schedule their own appointments based on the availability in your practice’s calendar. This reduces phone calls to your practice and increases satisfaction by allowing patients to schedule as it suits them.

Billing systems make payment processing easier and more intuitive. This can help reduce late payments and patient receivables, saving your front desk staff the hassle of calling patients to remind them about bills.

Meanwhile, communication platforms streamline the process of interacting with patients. You can send automated texts and emails and give patients an easy method of reaching out to your practice with questions. This improves patient comfort and reduces retention.

Managing patient and community expectations

Innovations in dental technology have improved patient care and outcomes. Dental practices are able to provide more personalized care, reduce pain and discomfort, and streamline certain tasks, like oral surgery procedures. However, these improvements have also placed significant pressure on dentists to meet patient and community expectations to stay ahead and offer the latest developments. This is yet another challenge of being a dentist.

Building long-term trust with patients has become more important than ever. More and more patients are willing to switch practices after only a few visits to find a clinic with more innovative procedures. But patients may be less likely to stray from practices that have consistently delivered quality patient care for years. Dentists can build rapport and encourage retention through:

• Consistent communication using digital tools, keeping the practice top of mind for patients
• Proactive reminders about scheduled appointments and upcoming care needs, such as routine cleanings and X-rays
• Clear post-care guidance and education, increasing the odds of successful patient outcomes and instilling confidence in patients

A focus on patient education can help dental hygienists and other practitioners build positive relationships with their patient base, encouraging patients to become invested in their own dental health and outcomes, keeping them returning to the practice.

Staffing, hiring, and team culture

One of the biggest challenges dentists face is hiring, training, and retaining skilled staff. Retention in the dental industry is important for workplace culture, revenue, and patient care. Practices with high turnover rates experience disruptions in patient care, rising costs involved in hiring and training new staff, and an overall stressful work environment.

Most dentists would prefer to stay at a practice long-term and develop rapport with their patient base. But the conditions need to be right for them to stay rather than looking for other practices that offer better pay, benefits, and work-life balance.

You can help retain staff in your own practice by building a supportive culture and preventing burnout. Staffing shortages can place a sizable burden on existing staff, so taking steps to build a positive, affirming environment is important to reduce the risk of further shortages.

Your practice can implement strategies such as:

• Offering clear career paths to hygienists and associate dentists, with continuing education and professional development opportunities to help staff further their careers
• Providing competitive pay and benefits, including time off work, retirement plan matching, and flexible work hours
• Implementing staff recognition programs to ensure that team members are seen and valued for the hard work they put into your practice
• Providing wellness initiatives to assist staff who feel burnt out, which may include free or reduced-cost mental health therapy, stress management workshops, flexible work options, and sick days for mental health needs

Clinical challenges dentists face daily

Dental care can place both emotional and physical strain on dental professionals. These healthcare providers often experience exhaustion from challenging patients and the stress of practice management. They can also experience physical pain and posture-related health issues from frequent standing and bending over.

Treatment planning can be extremely challenging for patients with damaged teeth and other complex care needs. Dentists must ensure accuracy and precision in diagnoses, dedicating the appropriate time to each patient without getting behind schedule.

Many practices have begun incorporating artificial intelligence into their operations to support clinical accuracy and diagnoses. AI-driven imaging and predictive tools help dentists pinpoint small issues in X-rays and images faster and analyze large sets of patient health history data to predict potential problems.

Adapting to broader industry shifts

Aside from shifts to new technology, the dental industry is experiencing broader changes that dental professionals must adapt to. Economic fluctuations, insurance changes, and supply chain disruptions all impact practice operations on a practically daily basis. Many practices have had to adjust their pricing to stay afloat, which has driven away some patients.

Practices must also stay current with regulations and education. Joining professional organizations and networking with other dentists can help practitioners embrace innovation and stay resilient in the face of broad industry shifts. Read our Understanding Current Issues in Dentistry guide for more information.

How Weave helps relieve dentists’ workloads

Weave helps dental professionals streamline operational tasks, maintain patient communication, and adapt to new innovations. Our patient communication platform leverages artificial intelligence and automation tools, with features ranging from dental marketing tools to scheduling, reminders, and more.

Platforms like Weave can help your practice bridge clinical and business needs, saving you time throughout the day and allowing you to devote more attention to patient care. Weave features a user-friendly interface that your staff can quickly become comfortable with, allowing your practice to begin streamlining tasks from day one.

Overcoming challenges in the dental field

The many challenges of being a dentist have deterred some from entering this industry. While these obstacles are significant, they can be mitigated with the right tools and support.

Your practice can adopt solutions that streamline workflows and enhance the patient experience. Weave is the perfect partner for simplifying operations in your dental office; request a demo today to learn more.

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