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Revolutionizing Dentistry: Embracing Sedation for a Better Patient Experience with Dr. Meredith Gantos
21 Plays14 days ago
About the Guest:
Dr. Meredith Gantos is a distinguished dentist with a wealth of experience in sedation dentistry, practice ownership, and continuous education. A graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in 2014, Dr. Gantos completed a residency at the VA in San Antonio, Texas, where she honed her skills in advanced general dentistry and sedation. Her career includes significant accomplishments, such as mastery certification from the Academy of General Dentistry and achievements in dental sedation. Meredith’s approach to dentistry combines her artistic skills with a compassionate service to her patients. Now residing in Illinois, she owns a flourishing practice and is a proponent of continuous dental education.
Episode Summary:
In this riveting episode of Beyond Graduation, co-hosts Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor are joined by the vibrant Dr. Meredith Gantos. Together, they navigate the fascinating world of dentistry, particularly focusing on the evolution of dental practices and the future directions in dental care. Dr. Gantos shares her exceptional journey, from her untraditional path into dentistry to her work in sedation, demonstrating her drive and passion for patient-centered care. Her experiences underscore the value of adaptability and perseverance in this dynamic field.
Throughout the episode, listeners are taken on a journey through the challenges and triumphs of practice ownership and the intricacies of sedation dentistry. Dr. Gantos’s refreshing honesty about her experiences—from acquiring a practice and revamping its operations to her dedication to advanced continuing education—offers invaluable insights. The episode explores personal and professional growth within the dental profession, emphasizing the intersection of clinical skills with emotional intelligence, particularly in managing patient anxiety through sedation.
Key Takeaways:
- Innovative Pathways in Dentistry: Emphasizing how different experiences can lead to a fulfilling dental career, even without traditional beginnings.
- Sedation Dentistry Insights: Explores the important role of sedation in enhancing patient care and its impact on dental practice evolution.
- Overcoming Practice Ownership Challenges: Dr. Gantos provides firsthand insights into rebuilding and rebranding an old dental practice.
- Continuous Learning and Growth: Highlights the significance of ongoing education and self-improvement in dentistry.
- Empathy in Dental Care: Discusses the crucial role of understanding and empathy in managing patient relationships and improving dental experiences.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- Dr. Meredith Gantos: @gantosdentalgroup and drgantos@gantosdentalgroup.com
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- IgniteDDS: @ignitedds and @ignitedds_coaching
- A-dec: @adecdental and https://www.a-dec.com/find-a-dealer
For those passionate about dentistry or considering a similar career path, this episode is a must-listen. Stay tuned for more enlightening content from the series as it continues to provide in-depth explorations into the world of dental practice and beyond.
Recommended
Transcript
Future Generations & Dental Practices
00:00:00
Speaker
I think people genuinely are going to look back at how we do dentistry the same way as how we look at like medical care from ages and ages ago. We're doing surgery on awake people all the time, every day. It's microsurgery.
ADEC's Smart Start Program
00:00:10
Speaker
ADEC's Smart Start program offers first-time practice owners their deepest discounts on equipment and furniture for two years, plus other savings and complimentary services. Ask your ADEC rep for details and start smart with ADEC.
Meet the Hosts: Drs. Craig and Sartor
00:00:24
Speaker
Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers.
00:00:34
Speaker
There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. All right, welcome back to another episode of Beyond Graduation. I'm Savannah Craig and with me as always... I'm Renetta Sartor, and today we have a very, very special
Guest Introduction: Dr. Meredith Gantos
00:00:49
Speaker
guest. Her name is Dr. Meredith Gantos. Say hello to the people for us.
00:00:56
Speaker
Hello, hello. I'm definitely a little special, that's for sure. Great word to describe me. Definitely feeling extra special today. In all the good ways. All of the good ways. In all the extra special ways today, but yes, thank you. That's perfect.
Dr. Gantos' Unique Dental Journey
00:01:10
Speaker
Meredith, if you'll give us just a little elevator pitch, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself coming to us from cold, cold Illinois this morning. Yes. So I am a UIC, University Illinois Chicago grad, graduated in 2014. did one-year residency down at the VA in San Antonio, Texas. So I did it in AG then.
00:01:34
Speaker
and then decided I should never work in a dental office and open my practice and see how that goes. So i never stepped foot ever in a dental office, even before dental school, I actually never stepped foot in a dental office.
00:01:45
Speaker
um I lied about my shadowing, but I don't think UIC can revoke my doctorate at this point, so I can say that out loud. and We had a family friend say I shadowed him. But um yeah, so then um I graduated my residency, came back to Illinois, acquired an older practice,
00:02:02
Speaker
That's a hoot and half of a story that I'm sure we'll get into at some point, but lot of lot of lore there for sure. um But acquired a practice and um stayed at that location for a few years.
Building a Dental Practice: Risks & Rewards
00:02:16
Speaker
My kind of thought in doing it was if I'm crazy enough to do this, if I completely bomb and fail, then we can just kind of walk away from it. And if not, then I'll, you know, do a nicer build out and a a real kind of more...
00:02:29
Speaker
robust type of situation. And so um was there for three years, then did a brand new build out like two miles down the road, moved and grew the practice. And actually, February 2, will be 10 years of like having this practice, which is wild to think about, quite frankly. But yeah, so have been doing that since. And then um i was late to the game on most things. So got married later and had my first baby close
Artistic Influence on Dental Career
00:02:55
Speaker
to 40. So it's been interesting and, you know, doing everything kind of backwards. But um it's been great.
00:03:01
Speaker
That's me. Okay. so why dentistry if you had never, you know, shadowed and all of those things? Tell us what that journey was like. Yeah. So I was definitely exposed to the dental field. I have a lot of my family members have worked um in dental sales. So they've worked for Henry Schein. So I was like a kid playing with like the, um you know, alginates, like my dad bring home alginate. And like, it was like a toy. um Or like, i I remember sitting in the back of his car and he'd have the books that have all the little burrs in it. and I'd just be like turning the book. So I was certainly exposed to dentistry. There's actually, to be honest with you, there's one material he would bring home when we were kids that we loved that I still have no idea what it is. I've never been able to find it. I have no idea what this is. It's like these little like pellet beads and you like heat it up and then you can sculpt it. But I still no idea what that is. um So I was definitely exposed to it.
00:03:51
Speaker
And then for me, as geeky and cliche and like ridiculous as it sounds, truly dentistry is such a healing art. And I'm very artistic.
00:04:02
Speaker
Like I like, you know, yeah i love just the shape, the contour, the proportion, just the sculpting. I really liked that aspect of dentistry, you know, and I, I love that it's something that I can still serve people and be compassionate with. For me, it was very much kind of like, okay, if I have sort of this innate artistic like skill, how can I use that to better serve others?
Specialization Decisions & Residency Experience
00:04:25
Speaker
And it was just a really good melding of that for me, but it was really funny because I was like, because I never, you know, spent my summers doing what I was supposed to do as a good candidate and being in an office. I worked of course as the arts and crafts director at like a summer camp. And so I'd be like the like wacky like arts and crafts lady. And when I would tell people like, oh, yeah, I'm going to dental school. they'd be like
00:04:45
Speaker
People would give me like the most side I'd look like, huh? Like you're you what? You're going to be a doctor one day? Like what? So, yeah, definitely little interesting path. So tell us how.
00:04:58
Speaker
You got from spending summers doing all the artsy things to at getting to the level of mastery for the Academy of General Dentistry and sedation.
00:05:10
Speaker
And then also being, you know, decorated with all of the achievements in dentistry that you have. Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate that. I mean, so I'm very much a driver personality. I'm also just honestly a very like inquisitive person, no matter what it is. like I want to know how things work. I'm always very much my mind works in problem solving, which again is another reason dentistry is great because honestly everything is like a unique problem that you're solving all the time, right? um But I feel like for me, when I got through dental school, I really liked it, especially the clinical aspect of it. I felt very good in my experience at UIC.
00:05:52
Speaker
And i even at that point was kind of like, okay, I sort of know that I want to have autonomy over how I practice. Like that was pretty clear to me even as like a dental student. I was like, I'm probably not going to be the good like personality type of someone telling me like what materials to use or like yeah what number of crowns I need to cut or things but like that. it's just not going to resonate well with me. yeah So I actually was really torn in wanting to specialize and I couldn't decide if I wanted to do Prosser Perio. And I had really good relationships with both at our school, very good mentors. They were awesome.
00:06:28
Speaker
And one of the perio residents at UIC I was talking to about, i was like, you know, I just, I can't decide. I feel like I want to do one or the other, but like, I love both. i don't want to not cut a crown, but also don't want to like not do crown lengthening. And he had mentioned that he had done this residency program down in San Antonio and that it was really robust and that you get a ton of perio process experience. So he was kind of like, why don't you do that and see which one you love more and then figure it out from there.
Sedation Dentistry: Challenges & Training
00:06:57
Speaker
So I was honestly not planning on doing a residency. um You know, the last thing you want to do when you're like millions, not millions, but, you know, a lot of money in debt. Yeah, close close it up. You know, when you're in debt, right, like the last thing you want to do is just not make money for another year afterwards. But i both did a residency, too. So we hear you. We feel you. Yeah. yeah late yeah So, so I ended up, it was only when I applied to you cause I was like so late to the game. So I was like, okay, let me just try and jump on this bandwagon. And fortunately it worked out for me. Got into a really impressive residency.
00:07:31
Speaker
Thank you. yeah Um, honestly, I'm sure so much of that was just like, you know, luck and stars aligning. Um, but got into that residency. It was, as I'm sure,
00:07:43
Speaker
you guys and your residencies were, I'm sure, similar. It was honestly like the hardest year of my life. It was so much work. It was actually so hard that like, this is a side story, but it was so it was so ridiculous that when I got into practice, my schedule, I just did three 12-hour days back to back. And I thought that was like a vacation. And and I was like, this is great. I'm just doing like three 12s and this is amazing. And meanwhile, like the team was like,
00:08:12
Speaker
this is torture we can't have. Yeah. I was like, I was doing this like five, six days a week. Like this is great. But anyhow, so it was super hard mentally, physically, emotionally, like all the things residency, like really kicked my butt. um But you know, I have to say that it also made me like the dentist that I am. It taught me a lot of skills. I went into it thinking and I was going to come out of it and know what I wanted to specialize. And instead I came out of it and I was like, oh, forget this. I just want to do all the things. like i I can do everything. Yeah. Let me just do all the things here.
00:08:46
Speaker
um It also um cultivated a love of sedation dentistry for me that I had like zero desire to do We had an IV lab at UIC and literally had one my girlfriends sign my name on the attendance sheet. Didn't even go because I didn't want to be stuck. and once to I was like, I'm never going to do this. I'm not. Yeah. Like just sign me in. when i We're telling all the secrets today. I know. Yeah. I'm going to get a call from like the dean of UIC. Yeah. You literally have to come back and repeat your fourth year. This is all ah alleged. Yes. Hypothetical. Hypothetically. In theory, I may have. but And then when I knew that we were doing sedation in residency, I was like, yeah, i'm not here for that. But if you're going to make me do it until I complete this
Value of Continued Education in Dentistry
00:09:26
Speaker
program, I guess. And I was also naughty there. And I really am like, gosh, I'm kind of a misfit as I'm talking. um
00:09:34
Speaker
But we were supposed to do like all of our own IVs and all the things. And I was kind of like, yeah, I'm not ever going to do this outside of here. So I just had the nurse do everything and like also didn't really do a whole lot and then had to get out and pay the price and retake classes and redo things. But it ultimately made me realize like, oh, this is actually a really cool service for people. And I should probably have been doing this a lot more and paying a lot more attention to making sure that this is great. so So the foreshadowing for everyone who has not yet read Meredith's bio is that she not only does sedation, but she has very impressive credentials from the College of Sedation. I do a lot of sedation. Yes. And I've since made sure and I do it very safely yeah and have lots of training in it. But um definitely my initial introduction to it was um maybe not taken as seriously as I should have. But
00:10:23
Speaker
Anywho. So yeah. So residency was fantastic. got a lot of really good experience and then finished residency and said, I'm going to buy practice. Of course, that's a trip and a half trying to do that. Anybody who's done that or who's looked to do that knows it's kind of like buying a home. It's like you think you're going to find your dream one, tour it, make an offer, land it. And in reality, all you do is get your heart broken like 14 times and you're on a whirlwind. You can't find what you're looking for and it's crazy. so
00:10:55
Speaker
especially when all you have is debt to your name and like nothing um to show for yourself. So yeah, finished residency and then acquired my practice, which again, I'm sure we'll talk more about. But um after that, I really – have such a love of learning and like being inquisitive that I really honestly funneled like any money I was making either back into the practice or into CE. So, you know, and I also very much acknowledged that I was in a unique position where I'm not supporting a family. i don't have kids. i live very well within my means. In fact, I lived at home. Honestly, the first couple of years I had my practice as a full-fledged adult, So I was able to really do that and invest back in myself. But it certainly paid off tenfold because the more you learn, the more you can do, the more you make. um Sedation is also, um you know, a very profitable service. A lot of times you're sedating someone and doing a lot of dentistry.
00:11:52
Speaker
So because of that, I was able to take Panky, take Coise, take all these other, you know, um Mod Institute, all these different types of CE courses and really just, again, keep investing back in myself. And so that's been fun. And, you know, I used to joke about how I just worked to fund my CE addiction. But, you know, sometimes it does get you a couple extra letters after your name and things like that.
00:12:15
Speaker
um So it's been fun and it's been been just a wild ride.
Residency Experiences & Preparation for Practice
00:12:20
Speaker
I feel like I've had like a 40-year career in like 10, 15 years, whatever it is. It's crazy. You're you're in in good company here. We're also CE junkies and Renette and I were both trained in sedation. I do sedation in my practice now. So totally and totally hear that. I love that.
00:12:38
Speaker
Can I tell you how awkward it is being like one-sided? Because like I feel like I want to like ask you guys so many questions. No, go for it. Okay. Go for I'm like, I don't know if that's – but yeah, like I would love to hear more about like y'all's story. I love the little I know about how you two connected is so great. Yeah. yeah, I mean, you know, I'm super interested in your all's background as well. Yeah. No, it's our podcast. We can do whatever we want. So. Okay. I was like, am I just like sitting here answering the questions? No. Like every time you ask something, like I want to like turn it back and talk to you and ask you No, totally. Go for it. i feel like that makes for the best podcast. crisis Yes. Okay. Tell me more about your sedation experience because people don't – like people are so afraid of sedation. It's Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's phenomenal. It's a great service. It's absolutely the best. Yeah. So Renetta and I connected through Ignite, but um we both did the same residency program five years apart in Columbia, South Carolina.
00:13:31
Speaker
So that's where I got my sedation training and I absolutely love it. It's my favorite thing to do. Now, is that a university program or VA a or what type of program? It's a hospital program. Oh, cool. Okay. it used to be Palmetto Richland Memorial GPR program. Nice. But literally the dental center is right across from the emergency department.
00:13:54
Speaker
Oh, cool. I bet you guys got like a lot of cool surgical types of stuff then and like. Just like real nitty gritty. Love that. Yes. oh yeah Yes. My first, ah you know, you're a July 1 resident and your first weekend on call was like multiple gunshot victims. And they're like, you're going to go with plastics and you're going to take the teeth out and then they're going do the rest. and you're like,
00:14:15
Speaker
That's wild. Awesome. Oh my gosh. I don't want to say that's so cool because obviously like, you know, it's like delicate to say that, but like obviously like you don't want that for anyone. yeah I'm sure that's very emotionally taxing, but what an interesting experience get to work. side by Oh my gosh, that's wild. I want to do this residency now. Yeah, I loved it. It was it was awesome. but um we were we were kind of the end-all be-all. We didn't have – there were community specialists, but nobody affiliated with the hospital. So, I mean, we did we did implants. We did thirds. We did –
00:14:51
Speaker
molar endo which I hated so then I don't do anymore but we did I don't either same girl I don't either sameies let me tell you look at all these really well trained uh women here and nobody likes molar endo you know you know yes honestly I perfed once in residency and that was enough for me to be like never again nope not doing it I i decided it clearly to this day Yeah, i decided to take an endo CE again. And it was molar endo. And the little blocks that we had, I perked the block. And I told Savannah that was it. No.
00:15:27
Speaker
I did the same. I went to Steve Buchanan's course. and Me too. yeah Okay. I took that and I still came home. I was like, still not doing endo. But um I will say took it with a girlfriend. And Steve is obviously amazing and phenomenal. And his course is phenomenal. He's a character.
00:15:44
Speaker
He is. And he got really pissed. was having an issue accessing and finding all the canals when we were there and he was doing the live one. And it was wonderful. Like I turned friend and just like, if Steve's having a hard time, like, I feel good. I'm content. Like, I'm not gonna lie. I secretly loved that he was getting mad and like struggling find, I think, whatever it was on B2 some canal he was having hard time finding. was like, I feel good right now. I'm okay. That's... so validating it was so good there's nothing you know what like when you just like meet like these amazing people and they're so good and they're at the podium you're just like god like these people like they just cry unicorn tears and everything they touch just like turns to gold and you really mean it's just like you these people you always forget that like they deal with the same bs that we all deal with correct correct it's so hard but
00:16:39
Speaker
But when you see those humbling moments, you're like, yes, he got pissed and he can't find it either. Yes. I hope that ruined your day too, Steve. That's amazing. So validating. But yeah, so then i um I have been at my practice. It's a big group practice. um I've been there since I finished residency.
00:16:57
Speaker
What? When did I graduate? Run out 2022? 2023, left residency and have been here.
Sedation Dentistry: Benefits for All
00:17:03
Speaker
That's awesome. How rare for like your first job to be the one that's like a good fit and you stick with. I feel like that doesn't happen for people ever. Yes. Very fortunate. I credit, you know, the skills I had in residency for like making me a marketable associate. Totally. But my boss very fortunately was like, we want you to come do sedation. I'll buy you the things you want. love that. Set it how you want. And I was like, amazing because I have nothing but debt. Just, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:17:32
Speaker
No, that's awesome. And then you totally know the sedation stuff. I mean, what a very great way to help people, but also profitable, right? Yeah. And it's it's also, i think, deli takes a very delicate type of person because you are getting the ah most fearful, most overwhelmed, unwell humans.
00:17:51
Speaker
A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I mean – You get everything from i cry tears when I walked around the toothbrush aisle in Walmart yeah to you know, i was sexually abused by my father who was a dentist. So you get like the full gamut of just honestly things that I'm probably not even qualified to deal with, but I do my best and I just try and help people in any way and capacity that I can. best that I can. Yeah. It's definitely a different process.
00:18:20
Speaker
patient population and I think it does do well honestly with women. Like we need more women doing sedation because quite frankly we're the ones that are so much oftentimes more emotionally in tune and patient.
00:18:33
Speaker
Yes. And it's cool because you know you you have that anxiety for the patient coming in and then when you do the treatment, it my assistants and I always laugh that it's kind of our break day of like we're not on, we're not like once the IV's in we're like Everybody is chilling. Oh, it's so great. And you're just like cranking study walk in the background. You're like, God, if the patient doesn't record me on their phone. You're just vibing. And then afterwards, it's so grateful because they're like, oh my God, all my work is done and yeah this has changed my life. um Totally. late In your practice, are you doing sedation for big surgeries? I do a ton for restorative and like ah SRP, which is not at all what I thought. Okay. Yeah.
00:19:15
Speaker
Yeah. So no, typically, honestly, it's like all their dental needs. So you're doing the SRP, you're doing the indirects, directs, extractions. Yeah. It's not just like um big implant cases or things like that. It's more just like comprehensive care. Yeah. and the thing that I love about sedation, and I would be interested you know if you find this as well, um But I always tell people too, a lot of times it just takes one sedation experience. Like you have one positive dental experience. We reset your mouth. And then if you need a filling down the road, you need your, you know, maintenance, cleanings, whatever it is, they can do it without yeah having to be re-sedated every time. I can count on one hand the number of patients, and I have them, right, where they have to be sedated for everything every time. Yes. But that it's so rare for that. It's like you just need someone to, like, reset the experience once, and that's all it takes. No, definitely. and in
00:20:11
Speaker
And I think it's less overwhelming when they come in and you're like, okay, you haven't been here for – 20 years, we've got a lot of work to do. And then occlusal here and there doesn't freak people out. But I had a patient who had had a lot of traumatic experiences in their life. And, you know, it it manifested in all medical settings, but especially the dentist, right?
00:20:33
Speaker
And I tell patients, it's vulnerable. You're trying to sit here basically in my lap with your mouth open. You can't breathe. Like it's not fun. and i And I laugh because my mom's a dental hygienist, which is kind of how I got into this myself.
00:20:48
Speaker
But I was always like, I don't know why people are afraid of the dentist. And the more dentistry I do, the more I'm like, this sucks. Like, I don't know why anybody's doing this awake. like um I agree. I actually say this all the time to people. I generally think, you know how we look back and people were like, oh my God, they used to use leeches to like suck the blood out of people and that was medical. I think people genuinely are going to look back at how we do dentistry and it's going to be as barbaric of a thing. Like the fact that we literally just like grab out your nerve out of your tooth while you're awake, like your live nerve, will you just strip it out of there. yeah Or we just crank on your tooth and break it out of your bone. And like while people are awake is ridiculous. doing surgery on awake people all the time, every day. It's microsurgery and it is genuinely horrifying when you like think about it on an intellectual level. And I, I, I think, you know, our field has so much to advance and I think whether it's sedation, whether it's just, I mean, our treatment modalities would be totally different, right? When we're just growing back tissues and things, but people are going to look at how we do dentistry and just, they're going to think about it the same way as how we look at like medical care from ages and ages ago. Like when they're like sucking blood out of people and just draining them, it's,
00:22:02
Speaker
It's insane. It's genuinely kind of insane. But I actually really love and I think it speaks to why I'm sure you are like such a loved, wonderful, compassionate sedation dentist and human being in general. um The acknowledgement of the vulnerability, because I think that that is something that...
00:22:20
Speaker
You have to understand in this profession to serve people to the best of your ability because to your point, your mouth is a really intimate place, right? Like we're inside someone's body.
00:22:32
Speaker
They have to put complete trust in a stranger. yeah We're working in such a small space with the very you know clear ability to inflict pain at just the smallest motion. They know that. And then what's crazy to me about it afterwards is they can't see it or assess it afterwards, right? It's not like I'm working on their hand and afterwards they can look, you know, and be like, like oh, my, you know, cuticles off or, you know, that that nails a little crooked, can
Challenges in Dentistry: Growth & Management
00:22:57
Speaker
youop right? Like, so after that whole experience of lights in their eyes, smell, sound, complete trust in a stranger, potential at any second to feel pain, then they don't even know if it was done well or have no concept of like, I can't even see what happened, right? It is such a wild experience. And i personally like my side of the chair.
00:23:18
Speaker
Love it. Comfortable there all day when I'm on the other side of the chair. Like get me the F out of there. i don't want it. Like it's I had to have an endo done. And literally I just had to have like the it was an anterior. So I just needed like a lingual resin on it.
00:23:34
Speaker
I was dying. i literally was just like, i didn't even have to be numb. I was in the chair for like 10 minutes and I just like, this is terrible. I hate this. I hate my life. I hate everything. Why? Why? And you know, i mean, like, it just sucks. It just sucks.
00:23:51
Speaker
No, I hear you. And that's why I'm like sedation. It's just it's just so nice. It's it's nice for everyone because I'm not constantly like open your mouth. Open your mouth. You're OK. I got you. You're OK. Yes. And and don't get me wrong.
00:24:05
Speaker
Listeners, sedation is not the silver bullet. There are ah easy sedations. There are sedations. There are definitely, that's also true, I guess, and fair to say. But even those make for really good stories, too. It's the funniest. yeah And it is always the quietest, littlest human that is like throwing arms and you're like, how do you sleep at night? Where is your spouse? Are they okay? like yeah Yeah, 100%. It's almost like I've got a little FOMO, but not a little FOMO. So little bit a little bit of my background is um I graduated in 2017, completed the residency in 2018.
00:24:46
Speaker
And then I went to group practice where I also did sedation dentistry, like IV sedation and stuff. And so the FOMO is the chill, setting the vibe, being yes you know patient, being okay and being done. But the rodeos, I do not miss those at all. Yeah.
00:25:05
Speaker
Are you not currently doing sedation then or are you not at that practice? So um I was at that practice for about four and a half years. I thought that's where my forever home was going to be, was thinking about buying in And then an awesome opportunity just 15 minutes from where I live came about. so Oh, that's hard to pass up. About three years ago, I went the practice ownership route and acquired a practice. And it's a small practice similar to what it sounds like your first practice was. And so right now trying to convert certain things to like be allow for sedation dentistry will be a little bit more difficult from a space perspective. But I do do, you know, minimal um sedation. So I'll do laughing gas plus oral sedation.
00:26:00
Speaker
And for most of those patients, it helps out. So I'm doing it in some regard, but I'm not getting the good, good, good effects like you guys. Honestly, that's how mine was like that, too. When you firstly, when you're in the practice ownership, like you're busy enough, you've got enough on your plate. And then when you know you're.
00:26:21
Speaker
just trying to navigate all the things. it it Sedation, I will say, like, you have to be in the right headspace. Like, for me, like, my team knows when I do sedation cases, I don't see patients after. Like, I've given everything I have of my physical, mental well-being to do that case. And when I'm done, like, I'm done with it. Unless, you know, of course, if it's like a single implant or something. But like, those kind of comprehensive cases, Yeah. Like you're just so mentally alert and tuned in and you just have to be so dialed in. Right. Yeah. um So when I first was doing my practice stuff, I wasn't doing the IV stuff either. I would do oral sedation and this and that um like you, but I didn't even place implants right away. Like I was just kind of like, let me just get this thing, like get, you know,
00:27:11
Speaker
I don't know. Get whatever the phrase the cart on the horse. i don't even know that's right phrase. But whatever. like Let me just get my ducks in a row for yeah a second and then build back up from there. So definitely, you know, you you don't have to have FOMO. I'm sure you'll you'll be back at it and soon enough. But I think that you're smart doing that too because you don't want to bury yourself and in too much.
00:27:31
Speaker
I'm still keeping my certifications and everything up. Yeah, that's what I did too. I'm doing all of that. And then maybe I'll be back in a saddle sometime soon. Yeah, 100%. Okay, side note, was that a pink ADEC Yeti? No. No, but it is pink though. It's a pink Yeti. It was super cute and was about to be like, ADEC, I want that pink Yeti. Send that to me now. We may need branding now. should tell them. We need branding. We need pink ADEC Yetis. Listen, 8-Eck Yetis are my favorite drinkware, but I don't have a pink one. And I saw yours and I went, is there pink that they're holding out for me? I only have the green and the blue 8-Eck. We're going to talk to them about this. Savannah just made a note. I did. I did. I got a note. Meredith, tell me how you're doing, what your sedation days look like. So I'm in group practice, so it's nice.
00:28:19
Speaker
On my sedation days, I run my one column. I don't check hygiene. this is I'm in it just like you were saying. But I think it's an interesting balance when you're the only doc. So what does that look like for you? and has I'm sure that's evolved over time.
00:28:33
Speaker
Yeah, it depends. So I do have associates. So okay um very early on, though, I was the only doc. But gotcha now i ah you know i have had the luxury of I'm doing this, checked out, yeah you guys do your thing. Sweet. um Prior to that, though, we had very like a very open flow, open type of setup. um And or even in the new office, we have um like the surgical suite is right across from like one of the main hygiene ops. So it's very easy to just like doors open, jump out for a second, do something, jump back in Gotcha. um And I'm very mindful of like who they're scheduling, what they're scheduling. Like I'm not going to see a new patient, obviously. Right. or you know, chatty Kathy. It's like, nope, we're not doing chatty Kathy on that day. Yes. um A lot of times, too, to be honest, we can do things where it's like, okay, you know, fill the hygienist up with the SRPs, the maintenances, the three-month pro-fee recalls. Just so again, like I'm a very, I don't know, like I think I'm good at multitasking, at the same time, like what I'm doing, I want to give a hundred percent to. Totally. So um when I do the sedation stuff, I am very regimented in how I do it, how it's scheduled and things like that. um Just because again, I mean, you know, it's, it's not stressful. want to say it's stressful, but it's just, it requires intention, you know?
00:29:54
Speaker
Yes. Like I can walk into my other day's Unlike no sleep and still know that I'm going to function just fine. I feel like when you have a sedated patient, you owe them more than that, if that makes sense. No, I totally agree. Yeah. Like you, I owe you my a hundred percent yeahp because while we do everything to keep it really safe and I know it's going to go smoothly and they all go smoothly and I've never had to reverse someone or had an incident, right? Yeah, exactly. i would I still have to walk into every appointment with the notion that it could, yeah you know, and I have to be,
00:30:26
Speaker
on point and prepare to do that because at the end of the day, like that's my role. I'm the only one that's ACLS certified. the one that's going to be navigating. I have a phenomenal team. They're brilliant. They're wonderful, but you know, they're going to look to me as they should. And I'm going to have to play that role of like managing any type of situation. So Totally. And there have been, I'm sure you've had, I get a lot of like special needs patients that come and and sometimes there are reasons that you're not safe to be an open airway office sedation case. And I'm always like, we are not a hospital. I am it. yeah At the hospital, there is a code team and there is an anesthesiologist and like… Yes. Yes, there's definitely… Patient selection is important. We ah we do, too, like a pre-sedation visit. So do a visit yeah beforehand where we're going through everything. And that's always my time, too, where I look someone the and like, I literally don't care if you shoot up heroin. I just need to know. Like, whatever you're doing, like, here's here, update your medical history. and then I'll look through it. And I'm like, I don't honestly care what you do, what you take. I just don't want to kill you. So just kind tell me, like. 100%.
00:31:33
Speaker
And then do you have like nine times out 10, they'll be like, well, you do smoke weed. I'm like, yeah great, fine, no problem. Just yeah like if you could, if you could not a couple of days before, it'll just go yeah smoother for all of us. But right, right. Thank you for telling me. I'll use maybe a little hydroxazine too to like help make it a little smoother, whatever. But yeah, but yeah, you know, like stuff like that. So um definitely do everything we can to be smart about it, meticulous about it and and good case selection. Yeah. And even to, I mean, you know, there might be medical history reasons why there may be personality reasons why. i mean, there's definitely, yeah, we definitely don't treat every and all cases. So um I did have um one, one time that I just thought about where, because we did have kind of that open concept, I had the patient who was sedated and the patient like,
00:32:24
Speaker
adjacent to them who was not sedated. The sedated patient was like being hilarious and like rambling and crazy and funny. And the patient who wasn't sedated when I walked over it was just like, I want whatever she's having. You're like, you can for a fee. Exactly. It was like, it like that's a great time. But when I was pregnant last year,
00:32:44
Speaker
I actually dabbled in experimenting with bringing in a third-party anesthesiologist. Okay. Just because I felt like being, like, super pregnant, like, again, s I needed to do any type of, me you know, emergency medical care, like, can I really do that being pregnant? i don't know. So I experimented with it for um a couple cases, and it was – I mean, it works, I'm sure, really well in other offices. i I personally like doing my own sedations. Like for me, it's not something I would have kept up with. Yeah. um Like I like doing my own and I'm happy to do back my own. But yeah um it was really funny, really interesting because, you know, typically people who are bringing in a third party enthesiologist, like they're doing much more complex types of cases. Right. And so that's a more deeper level of station than what I'm doing. yeah And the first patient that I did with the doc, it wasn't anything crazy. It was like simple restorative, it's you know, simple comprehensive care.
00:33:43
Speaker
And so I said to him I'm like, could we like just keep this like more moderate level? And he didn't want to. He like one you know wanted to like intubate him. He like wanted to like go like full Monty. Oh my goodness. And I talked him into it and I was like, i was like well, can we just try And so he did for me.
00:33:59
Speaker
and the patient, as you know, like it's conscious sedation. The patient at one point like moved a little bit, which does not bug me in the least. I work on, you know, like obviously when we're doing sedation, like you're listening responses from the patient. very often right you' yeah how you doing you doing good like yeah they're moving they're interacting with me I don't care yeah but it really the anesthesiologist was so irritated about it and he was just like he was just like next time we're just going deeper like I i like I don't i don't know why let you talked me into this and I just thought it was so fun I was like bro I don't care that he like moved his arm like micron like right right you're like this is our life
00:34:34
Speaker
Right. My day to day is on awake people all the time. Yeah. Move in targets. It was just so funny to me to be like, this is so different for you. That's so fascinating. Yeah. It was really funny. He was like super irritated at the patient, like in any way, like, you know, not half dead. But so, yeah. So that was kind of interesting.
00:34:56
Speaker
That is really funny because I'm sure you guys get this too. I mean, Renata, you're not doing the sedation, but you do a lot of complex care. And I feel like in dentistry or even to the lay public, like I was at my husband's work holiday party and, you know, being a dentist comes up, which is always scary. Like if you your if you put your fingers in your mouth to show me something, I'm going to walk away. yeah so we're clear but i was It came up that I do sedation and whatever. and they're like, when you're doing the sedation and like who's doing the dentistry, I'm like,
00:35:25
Speaker
me. Like, I'm your girl. Yeah. And they were like, is that safe? I'm like, obviously. Like – No, it's actually really not, but I just do it anyway. Yeah, it's just for fun. Like, like to live on the edge. But I was like, no, because I i know when I'm going to be done. i know – Mm-hmm. You know, I just have this flow and I feel like Renetta and I have talked about like she's getting back into placing implants and like I know where I want this crown. Like sometimes I've sent it to surgeons and comes back and I'm like, what? How am I supposed to do this? So I like that control aspect and I would imagine that's how you feel with sedation. Yeah. A hundred percent and and dentistry in general. yeah know Yeah. Just I want all the control. i want to know what I'm doing.
Authenticity in Practice Ownership
00:36:08
Speaker
And again, I feel like –
00:36:10
Speaker
you know Because you hear – that's a big criticism, right? You hear people say like, well, I'm just not comfortable doing the station and the dentistry is not for me. And while I understand that, I think if it's done appropriately with the right protocols in place, with the right team, with the right patient selection, it's really not – I mean, you do nitrous. You know what I mean? It's really not a whole lot different, right? Mm-hmm.
00:36:33
Speaker
Other than probably safer because they're hooked up to a lot more monitors. You're titrating things a lot more appropriately. Where I will say where I think sedation gets a bad rep and where I do think it can go sideways is these people who don't have the training, who aren't licensed, who say they do oral sedation, who are doing moderate sedation with oral meds and are not...
00:36:59
Speaker
And have someone maybe on an SpO2 monitor. But you know what mean? Like, that's where sedation goes cuckoo. I am so glad you brought it up because I have this conversation on the daily like, can reverse them. They are so safe.
00:37:13
Speaker
They've got an IV. IV is infinitely safer. Yeah. Yes. You know, and and you don't have the variable of like how it's going to hit them and when it's going to hit them and when they're going to over sedate. And then if it's a real quick procedure, you might send them and they go home and they're over sedated, right? I mean, that is where it's dicey. But doing IV the right way is, yeah. Yeah.
00:37:37
Speaker
But Renana, I'm so interested to hear. So tell me about like with your practice experience, what's been the biggest challenge that you've found so far? Because it's it's wild. It's a ride.
00:37:49
Speaker
It is. we We kind of just were talking about this before you came on. So it was fine. woo We were just chatting away before you came. But probably the biggest challenge is that I bought dyeing practice. Okay.
00:38:02
Speaker
yeah And so they kind of call it a kickstart practice where it's not quite a startup, but it's not quite standing on its own two legs. I bought it from a gentleman that was in his mid to late seventy s And he probably should have retired a long time ago, but had a hard time finding someone that wanted to purchase to practice. So probably the hardest thing has just been pretty much rebranding it in making it what I wanted to be, building the culture, but kind of doing it the way I want to do it too. And not focusing on the noise of like what everyone else is doing and how they're figuring it out.
00:38:48
Speaker
So probably the biggest challenge has just been the blood, sweat, and tears that lots of tears and stuff that has kind of went into it. Lots of tears. Lots of tears, yeah. i can relate to literally everything you're saying. But you said something that I love, and I say this to people all the time, and I love that you actually like already know this, which is every single person who's walked the path of practice ownership because it's worked for them, thinks that the way that they've done it is the secret sauce and that that's like the only way to do it and that's why you have to do it because that's all they know. Like I get it. That's what you know it worked for you.
00:39:24
Speaker
And everybody tries to shove that down everybody else's throat. So everybody that you talk to, it'll be like, no, you have to be PPO. No, you have to be fee-for-service. No, you have to do Saturdays. No, you have to do – like the amount of have-to-dos is – wild. um And the reality is it's because it all it all works. That's the beauty of it. It all works. So you just have to be authentic to yourself and um
Taking Over a Practice: Team Building
00:39:51
Speaker
it will work. And that's what's awesome about it. But I think people sometimes get stuck in these loops of like, oh, well, you know, this person I admire says this or this person who looks like they've got you know, driving the G wagon says this or like whatever it is. And it's like, Hey, it's because it all works. Like it's all going work out. Just be a good person and it's all going to work out. Be a good person, be a good doctor. Did you have to turn over the entire team or were you able to retain some of the team?
00:40:16
Speaker
So he only had three employees. So I inherited the three employees. I now only have one of those employees and it was his hygienist.
00:40:27
Speaker
She had been with him for 30 years. He was the only doctor that she's ever worked for, but patients love her. And as long as she was staying, it was a good decision because the patients wanted to stay And because of her, I think they gave me more of an opportunity to get to know me than they would have otherwise. But pretty much she's the lone standing one from the previous office. But it's worked out because the new employees that I've hired and trained, they have been able to help grow the culture that I've been trying to instill in the practice. So that's awesome. dr It's also i can. um
00:41:08
Speaker
relate to, I'm sure had this experience also, like having, being a young woman coming into the old man's practice, especially when they aren't doing anything. You're like, why did we not take X-rays for 15 years? Uh-huh. Like, what, why did we just, we just stopped doing that? We just said no?
00:41:27
Speaker
why did Why did we fill implant accesses with amalgam, Renetta? That was your... Oh, yeah. Yeah. Or why were we not perio charting and recording it? and Oh, yeah.
00:41:39
Speaker
So... Just doing a complete overhaul. All the things. Of all of the processes and everything. Yeah, all the things. There was a six-foot cactus chained to the wall so when it fall over on people when he first walked into the office that I bought.
00:41:54
Speaker
And um i remember asking, like, the hygienist and the the team that he had, um i was kind of like, why did we permit this? Like, what were we doing with this cactus, guys? Like, no one said anything about this. And the hygienist told me they were like, well, we tried pouring chlorhexanine into it thinking it would kill it.
00:42:11
Speaker
And I was like, but it made it stronger because now it's like a mutant chlorhexidine cactus. I actually think the chlorhexidine like made this thing like even stronger. So I can relate.
00:42:22
Speaker
it would that i mean, that's cactus, but it was that equivalent in the dentistry and in what was happening or not happening questions. The doctor I bought my practice from actually called himself, which I thought was really funny, a referologist.
00:42:34
Speaker
Like, he just – Oh, my gosh. He would refer even for, like, sometimes basic dental things. But it was definitely stuck in the 80s and the um level of care was very different. And and I don't envy – Where you're at. Because I remember like walking in every day, although three years you might be through some this, but like every day was like that constant battle of like, I have to like re-educate this person on what dental care is supposed to look like. Like why x-rays are important. Why we probe. Why we use a Cavintron to clean now. Why, you know, like just the most basic of like themes.
00:43:13
Speaker
And every exam was so long and so tedious. And like with my transition, – Terrible because I took so long to get ah to have a bank give me money. By the time actually got money, um what I'd offered him, the bank had assessed his practice. Like I was willing to overpay for his practice. I'd offered like an extra 50 grand.
00:43:36
Speaker
But of course, the bank wasn't going to give me that. So they gave me what his practice was actually worth. So it dragged on. And then by the time I did get the money, i had to like come back to and be like, so it's like 50 grand less than like what I actually was trying to pay you.
00:43:50
Speaker
So understandably so. The dude was like pissed and hated my guts. So the transition, the transition literally was February 1st. The bank, I went and signed the papers and I called him and I was like, hey, great news. Signed it. Should be wired over. And he was like, oh, can you meet me at the office? i was like, sure.
00:44:10
Speaker
Meet him at the office. I hear him on his cell phone talking. And all I hear him say is I'm not the dentist anymore. She is. Hands me his cell phone. It's his call service. It's like a patient emergency.
00:44:21
Speaker
i don't even remember what I did like with it. But so he hands me the keys. There was a fish tank in his office and he goes, do you want this fish tank? And I was like, no, that's okay. And he was like, I'm going to take it. And I was like, yeah, sounds good. No problem. Takes his fish tank, walks out the door, never see from him, never hear him again.
00:44:38
Speaker
He didn't tell his team. He didn't tell his patients. I showed up the next day. i was like, hi. And everybody was like, where's Where's this doctor? And um he never sent the letter to his patients, never did anything that was, you know, obviously in like our purchase agreement, whatever, which I understood. He was irritated. but So I literally walked in. And of course, then every patient looks at me and they're like, he would never leave and not say bye. Like, you did this. Like, you're a terrible human being. He would never do it. He would never do us dirty like this. And I was like, uh. He did. But he did, yeah. He did.
Patient Incidents & Unexpected Benefits
00:45:11
Speaker
Whoa.
00:45:12
Speaker
So it was... insane it was just wild did did the team transition or did they they leave that was a hot mess express yeah his admin his front desk was embezzling from him so she was smart enough to know that as soon as old as time yeah so she was smart enough that as soon as he left and I came in she left immediately like I didn't even work a day with her which she was done that day which made sense um you know Oh, which I do doesn't typically have fees attached to it and everyone's ledger 14 different times. But anywho, so she left. So my dear sweet mom worked my admin for me for the beginning, which is really cute. It's really funny. Like some of the patients that been with me for forever, they're still like, did you ever move out of your mom's house?
00:46:00
Speaker
How's your mom doing? They still ask me this. Bro, it's been 10 years. I'm like, go. Okay. Yeah. Thanks. I was there for like... ah there like A little bit in the beginning. like Yes, my mom helped me at work, but like I'm still an adult. I love that. Oh my gosh. It's so funny. and like Still to this day, some of them are like, did you did you do that? Yes, I did that. I'm married and have a baby. Yeah. Listen.
00:46:24
Speaker
But yeah, so my mom helped me with the admin stuff. That's amazing. His – he had two assistants, neither of which truly like even knew how to hold a suction because again, he was a phrologist. He didn't do anything. Like could not control alt delete to sign into a computer. Like nothing, nothing. I just like how does one have business and not do any – Right. And pay their employees and stuff. The practice was producing a year, like 300K. And he was personally taking home like 25 grand or something. I mean, like it was just like the numbers were not numbering. Right. Like it was very ridiculous. Fascinating. It was obviously like his social club or what, you know, I don't know what it was. Sure, sure, sure, sure. But it was not –
00:47:16
Speaker
We weren't doing dentistry and weren't making money. We were chatting. were just, yeah, we were seeing the people kissing the baby's heads, right? So, yeah. So admin left. The assistants, obviously, like, you know, that was a really steep learning curve. So my initial approach was like,
00:47:34
Speaker
well, let me help these people, give them a, you know, teach them skills, give them a career, whatever. um They were older though. i tried. And um I had my first incident was i had a elderly man. Actually, this is a crazy story, but I had an elderly man with dementia.
00:47:54
Speaker
I was taking out a tooth that had a crown on it. yeah And as you know, sometimes those pop off. So I'm taking out the tooth, the crown pops off. I turn to the assistant. I'm like, suction the crown from the back of this man's throat, right? Yes. And she looks at me, panics, pulls all the suctions out, and it's just like, what do we do? And I'm just like, suction the crown, suction the crown. so you know And then, of course, crown disappears. And that was the day where I was just like,
00:48:20
Speaker
okay, there's a difference between like trying to help people and like it's endangering people. Yeah. And so then I did part ways with the assistant. But hilariously enough, one of the assistants, no joke, literally when we were having the conversation was like, but what am I going to do? I'm unhirable. No one would hire me.
00:48:35
Speaker
And I was just like, I'm really sorry. Like I – like she literally knew she was like the worst assistant. She was like – and like I felt so bad. i was just like, i I get that. But like I can't also yeah keep you. But wild side story – So that patient that swallowed the crown, right? The guy has dementia, swallows his crown.
00:48:53
Speaker
So we grab his wife from the waiting room. I'm explaining to her. I'm like, hey, this is what happened. You know, if you'd like me to send him for a chest x-ray, I can. He's not coughing. There's no breathing. You know, more likely than not, it obviously went through his GI. It'll come out. But obviously, like, whatever you guys want to do, I can do. So the wife's like, no, I don't think we need to, like, go for a chest x-ray. We're fine. Blah, blah, blah.
00:49:15
Speaker
the The patient out of nowhere like perks up and is like, I want to go for a chest x-ray. And I was like, okay, yeah, no problem. We'll like pay for it. We'll send you. We'll take you there, whatever. So send him to the hospital for chest x-ray.
00:49:29
Speaker
And I get the results back. And the results of the chest x-ray, of course, are like, oh, no, there's you know no foreign dental material in there. But he has stage four lung cancer. Oh, my God. And so they found it and then he started treatment right away. And it was such a – like I still have goosebumps every time I tell the story because it was such a moment of like I was so pissed at myself. I was so mad about the situation. i was feeling like the biggest a-hole. was just like, God, like, you know, I'm new to this practice. Like i'm on my own. Like I – I had this adverse outcome. Like this thing happened. It's terrible. I just want to jump off a bridge.
00:50:07
Speaker
And then I was like, oh, this man is literally going to live longer because this incident happened. And it was just like such a wild – I mean it's still wild to tell. Like it's a crazy story.
00:50:20
Speaker
no I have chills. that yeah Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. I had actually um a patient who was under sedation that um I noticed weird stuff with his vitals and we ended up sending him and they came back. They'd moved to Vegas and they like came back in town one day and came to my office and were like, you saved this man's life. Like he went to the ER, they admitted him. Like he was about to like, I don't know, they did like some bypass on him. I don't know, whatever it was. It was like, they did all this like emergency medical stuff on him and they were like, We had no idea. and I was like, oh, i don't know. I just saw he was doing some weird things on there. was like, let's check that out. but Dentists are doctors too, people. Yes. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes.
00:51:03
Speaker
That's such like – Crazy. life Life is so wild and there are those moments of like the worst day of your life or like the the the bad outcome like turns into this thing and like – what ah What a special lesson. that's Thank you for sharing that. Well, it was just – it's like you always try and find the teachable moment in everything. At least yeah like I feel like you have to, right? Like you can't get through life if you're like just grumpy about everything. Like everything has to be like what's the purpose? What can I take away from this? How can I be better for this? Like you know kind of a thing. i mean don't let your patients swallow their crowns if you can avoid it yeah Right, right. But it was just one of those things where it was just like, okay, here I am being so self-absorbed, throwing my pity party, hating on myself, being just like so mean to myself and mean about the situation when in reality, like, what a weird blessing.
00:51:57
Speaker
You know, like that family was so appreciative to me. Like they were like praising me for this man swallowing this crowd. and I'm like, thank you. Thank you. I work hard at being terrible at what I do. And, you know, thank you very much.
00:52:09
Speaker
Yeah. um Right? Like, i mean, just, but like, i don't know, life is so funny like that. And I will say, That's one like big lesson I've taken away from practice ownership is you're going to have multiple – and i mean I'm sure
Lessons from Practice Ownership & Growth
00:52:24
Speaker
it's life in general. I'm sure honestly like no matter whether it's ownership or not. But like I feel like with ownership especially, like when you first get in there, it's like you're trying to hold sand. It's all falling through your fingers, right? And you're just constantly on this like –
00:52:40
Speaker
sympathetic nervous system, like fight or flight, like it feels like in any second, it's all going to fall apart on you. And so you're just constantly trying to hold all the puzzle pieces together, keep it together, make it work.
00:52:52
Speaker
And you don't realize that like, you don't have to do that. And like, it will work and it'll be okay. But you like, it's so stuck in that that like even years down when it's like you're definitely okay it's still hard to break that mentality and you'll lose like your lead assistant that you're like but this is my person that i do everything with this is who i've done my sedations with for seven years or you know or your office manager you're like but this is the part like or even that hygienist right like one day she's not going to be there and you're gonna be like how is this gonna work like everything's gonna fall apart And you just realize that like it always continues working.
00:53:30
Speaker
Like people, whether it's team members or whether it's your personal life, right? Like people come into your life and you need them. They also exit your life at the appropriate time too.
00:53:41
Speaker
And new things come in. Like it's just a circle of life, right? Like it ebbs and flows. You get the right people when you need them and your life is gracious enough to also – you know, separate you when you also need to be separated. And it just always works. And I feel like it took me like, I literally sometimes have to like actively talk myself into like not going into disaster mode. Like, I remember, like sitting in my office one time, and like from where my office is, like, I can see like our logo wall, like from like an obscure angle. And I remember just sitting there one time looking at it being like,
00:54:17
Speaker
bro, you're good. Like, it's okay. Like, see your name on the wall? Like, you're good. Yeah, you did the thing. It's exactly. It's like, you did the thing. You're okay. Get off the bullet train. You know, like, I feel like that's analogy I use a lot, like in my own mind, where it's like, You're constantly on this like bullet train going 100 miles an hour with no end in sight and you never get off. It's like sometimes get off, enjoy the scenery, you're good.
00:54:42
Speaker
like What's the point of just riding this thing if you're not getting to any destination or you're not enjoying the journey? like You're good. But it's so hard to do that. And it's very, very hard to do that in the beginning, especially to everything feels like life or death. Everything is literally just like, this person left me, you know, when I, i hope it never happens to either of you. But if you ever get your first one star review, but we've been there. We've been there. It is just like, first and foremost, if you ever want to see who owes anybody money, look at who leaves a one star review. Like it's like one-star review, right? Like let's just be clear. That's the only people leaving one-star reviews. you just don't want to pay your bill, number one.
00:55:20
Speaker
But number two, it's like when you actually are like a good human being and an empathetic provider and not a dirt bag and people leave you a review to even suggest as such of like, oh, you're just this scammy dentist or like, oh, they told me I needed this deep cleaning thing, which is such a con that, you know, I went to another office and they said I'm fine. It's like it's like those kind of things. You're just like,
00:55:44
Speaker
listen, like I'm not the one, like, like I I'm just not it. Like there might be people that are like that, but it ain't me. Don't bring that energy here because I can tell you my head hits my pillow just fine every single night.
Closing Remarks & Social Media Engagement
00:55:57
Speaker
It's not, I'm not the one. Yep. Leave it elsewhere. Yep. Yep. Be free. Be free. I'm glad. I'm glad we didn't jive. Yeah, literally. I – joke.
00:56:10
Speaker
I'm still distraught over this and I'm trying to not be distraught. I had a patient – I don't even want to say the organization because I don't want to like throw any because it's a wonderful organization. But I had an organization that I did a donated case on like five years ago. and the one good deed No. was like a hot mess.
00:56:30
Speaker
And we do like – we're like a fully functioning basically dental lab too, right? So like typically when I'm doing a ah donated case, like we're doing all the things. Yeah. We do all the things for her.
00:56:42
Speaker
Obviously, she doesn't take care of her mouth for another five years. I'm sure she's bombed out stuff, whatever. And her husband left us a one-star review that was like, don't go here for your free dental work. No joke. But like some scathing review about how like her mouth's a disaster again. It's like, yeah that's how that stuff works, guys. Right? But it's just, I don't know. It's wild. got to do your homework, people. Right. But the things that will just like eat at your soul where I'm like, I just, and you just have to learn to just like turn it down, power it off.
00:57:18
Speaker
Cause it's, it's wild. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DBS and at Dr. Sartor.
00:57:34
Speaker
And remember, you are not alone on this journey. ADEC certified pre-owned equipment is a sustainable, affordable choice that makes genuine ADEC equipment available to every doctor. Each package is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. So if you see one you like, contact your dealer. For more information, go to www.adec.com backslash findadealer. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching.
00:58:05
Speaker
We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.