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Self-Care for Dentists
17 Plays1 month ago
About the Hosts:
Dr. Savanah Craig is a practicing dentist who, alongside navigating the early years of her career, co-hosts the "Beyond Graduation" podcast. She is passionate about sharing her journey and experiences with other professionals and graduates in the field of dentistry. Dr. Craig is also actively involved in guiding new graduates through tools like the Dental Residency Guide and Beyond Graduation eBooks.
Dr. Ronnetta Sartor is a dental professional known for her hands-on approach and dedication to involvement in mentorship and co-hosting the "Beyond Graduation" podcast. Dr. Sartor shares her real-life experiences and insights, particularly focusing on the importance of self-care in the demanding field of dentistry.
Episode Summary:
In this engaging episode of "Beyond Graduation," Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor dive deep into the significance of self-care for dental professionals. Kicking off with a light-hearted revelation about Dr. Craig’s recent massage chair purchase, they illustrate the pivotal role of finding joy and relaxation amid the rigors of a dental career.
The discussion sheds light on the physical and mental toll dentistry can impose and highlights practical self-care strategies that both hosts have incorporated into their routines. Dr. Sartor emphasizes the importance of stretching, routine exercise, and massages, while Dr. Craig underscores the necessity of regular strength training to alleviate chronic pain. The conversation also explores how their self-care practices have evolved through various life phases, including practice ownership and personal changes. The hosts stress the multifaceted nature of self-care, advising listeners to cater to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being proactively. They highlight how dental professionals can maintain a healthy work-life balance despite the demanding nature of their profession.
Key Takeaways:
- Self-Care in Dentistry: The importance of self-care for dental professionals to sustain their careers and personal well-being.
- Physical Wellness: Incorporating strength training, stretching, and regular massages to prevent common physical ailments in dentistry.
- Routine Development: Creating and maintaining a self-care routine that fits individual schedules and responsibilities.
- Mental Health: The critical link between physical well-being and mental health, and strategies to manage stress effectively.
- Work-Life Balance: Tips for dental professionals to balance their professional obligations with personal life, ensuring their own well-being does not suffer.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- Dental Residency Guide and Beyond Graduation eBooks: https://ignitedds.com/subscription-resources/
For all dental professionals navigating through the early years of their career, this episode is a treasure trove of practical advice on maintaining physical and mental health. Dr. Craig and Dr. Sartor’s insights will not only inspire but also equip you with actionable steps to better care for yourself. Tune in!
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Transcript
Introduction to Beyond Graduation Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Join Dr. 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. There's a reason it's called practicing dentists. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Beyond Graduation, the podcast. And Savannah and I are super excited to talk to you about self-care today. um We are super joyous because Savannah has some news to share on a recent purchase that she made. And um I can't wait for you all to hear. ah We, my husband and I, impulse bought a massage chair off of Facebook Marketplace. Okay, it was new in the box. It's not as like sketchy as it sounds.
Savannah's Self-Care Journey
00:00:51
Speaker
So what has your self-care routine been like now that you own this massage chair?
00:00:58
Speaker
Um, so I use it at least once a day. Um, you know, gotta get that return on investment. There you go. You probably already got your money worth. Yeah. Okay. It was a steal of a massage chair, but, um, yeah. And I am, you know, super extra and was influenced by, you know, the Instagram reels and then got a little Kindle stand. And so I sit in the massage chair.
00:01:25
Speaker
with my Kindle, and that's just my me time. ah What's really nice, it's so bougie, it's so stupid. It does your hands, it has like a little airbags, so it does your hands. And so it keeps me off my phone, like it's a solid 20 minutes that I'm not looking at a screen ah other than if it's my Kindle, but um so that's actually been really like good for me is to be off my phone and I feel like it's hard to phone detox without like a reason to. So that's my two cents on my massage chair. That's great. That's really great.
Physical Challenges in Dentistry
00:02:08
Speaker
Um, yeah, I think this is a topic that we need to all talk more about in dentistry. Um,
00:02:17
Speaker
Dentistry is a very rewarding profession, but it can take a toll on our physical and our mental. um You always hear about dentists who at retirement age, their backs and their necks are so shot. You hear about dentists who have had multiple back surgeries, neck surgeries, just to be able to keep practicing.
00:02:42
Speaker
um a lot has changed um in terms of loops that we can get and chairs that we can buy. But even with all of those things, it can wreak havoc on our bodies and our mental Um, some of the things that I have implemented, um, in my early years, like my first three, three years or so, you know, I didn't have like back and neck stuff besides just at the end day, you know, stretching and all that, but I have realized that I need to stretch more. So I have been, um, it's something that's in my daily routine. routine Um,
00:03:26
Speaker
self-care also looks like once a month, a deep pressure massage when I have um the time to go and yeah have that done. um It also looks like exercising, doing something to move my body.
00:03:45
Speaker
That was a big one for me in residency was learning how much I need like regular strength training. you know I had it was super like long-term you know headaches and neck pain and you know would go to the chiropractor pretty regularly and we have one here in Columbus that we love a lot. But obviously I couldn't see her for the year I was in residency, right? and I wasn't driving back.
00:04:15
Speaker
ah Yeah. But we started doing um our ah program director's wife owned a gym and we took her classes. And I was like, oh my gosh, like my back and neck pain and my headaches are so much less now. And then when I came back to Columbus, the chiropractor was like, you feel better than you have, you know, since I've known you in dental school. And I was like, well,
00:04:40
Speaker
one, I'm not a student and a dentist, which are probably the worst two things you could be for your back. But also, like, I feel like I've strengthened these muscles so that they're not, you know, going in these positions that they shouldn't be in, like they're stronger. So that was strength training has been unbelievably beneficial for me.
Mental and Physical Stress in Dentistry
00:05:01
Speaker
That's great.
00:05:03
Speaker
But um I think that the other point you brought up is self-care, quote unquote, in dentistry is, I mean, in life in general for anybody is multifaceted, but the conversation that so my mom's a hygienist and I think she gets some joy now of like commiserating. She'll be like, yeah, like it's hard to Put your body in these positions every day. like There's such a physical aspect to dentistry. And like my hands are my lifeline, my eyes are my lifeline. A really bad headache sometimes can impact your vision. like There are so many physical parts of this. And then also the mental portion of being in a caregiving profession. and
00:05:54
Speaker
you know look back at our mental toughness episode um or forward, who knows how it's going to come out in the the sequence. But you know there's a mental component and like you and I talk all the time of like the body is connected and like your mental stress impacts your physical body and your physical pain impacts your mental stress. and we're in such a unique profession to hold all of those things at once. that like i don't know I wish somebody had talked about that but for before I got this far in. for sure i think
00:06:33
Speaker
um I think one of the things that worked really well for me is like as soon as I leave work and you and I have talked about this we give ourselves X amount of time to talk about the day and then you have to cut it off and um Typically for me is cut it off and then try to do a workout or something like that because you get so focused especially if you're strength training or anything that's um
00:07:03
Speaker
a challenge workout wise. You have to use all your brain cells and your strength to focus on that for that duration of time. And then once it's over, you have all of the endorphins you need to be
Balancing Roles as a Dentist
00:07:17
Speaker
better. And if you don't, then you know, there are things that you could do to care for yourself. Yeah, I think that's a good one of trying to
00:07:30
Speaker
combine the mental and physical benefits of all of these things as much as possible. And, you know, I also think the, the irony of all of these things that are like good for you are things that get you the heck off your phone and out of a, out of a spiral. huh um I think that's really important, but a really hard habit to break. Yeah. I mean,
00:07:58
Speaker
is is It's tough, but it's the new norm that you know technology is always with us. like When I wake up in the morning, my Apple Watch is one of the first things I grab because I want i want to record all of the goodness I'm doing when as I move from my body. Give me the rings. Give me the credit. Right.
00:08:21
Speaker
um But I think, like you said, self-care is important because if you if you don't take care of yourself and you don't take care of your body, then you can't show up in the world yeah for the people that you love, for your patients, for your team.
00:08:40
Speaker
and so I wish that it we we talked about it more we talk about it more, especially because in dentistry, we're not only you know the clinician or the provider, but we're also you know a leader. A therapist. Right. um CEO, um some of us are also our office manager. and You know we just wear all these hats and for the dentist that have children that's a whole and nother job before and after work. Especially if your kid is into sports or into anything extra curricular it's so many plates spinning at a time. How has. um
00:09:31
Speaker
you know, obviously self care, I'm sure has changed in these various phases of life and how much. time you have to do things. How has owning a practice either given you more or less time or freedom for these things? And then I think also maybe the the phone piece, do you feel like you are more beholden to, you know, you know, you're planning a vacation next week, but are you going to be checking office emails? And you know, how do you how do you separate all of that?
00:10:07
Speaker
So what we typically do for vacations is we take it as a team. And so we'll let our patients know that we'll be completely unplugged for a week and we'll, we'll get back with them as soon as we get back. Um, I have a friend that like sees your emergencies or I do. If it's, um, we'll, we'll, when she's on vacation, I try to do it. And when I'm on vacation, she tries to do it. yeah Um,
00:10:38
Speaker
But from that standpoint, that's what we um we try to do um from a
00:10:48
Speaker
I would say I was able to unplug more as an associate initially um fair because you and I both know I'm not like a social media person like that. So I would go through phases in dental school and as an associate where I would just like not be on social media. Sure.
00:11:09
Speaker
And now it's hard to some extent because the office also has social media. Yeah. um And it's linked to like my personal pages. You know how social media works. And so it was like, OK, well, I could let a team member do it, but then they would have to have like my personal information, too. Yeah. um And I'm sure there's someone out there that's smart enough to know how to separate them. um I just don't know how but to. um But I think... DM us, please. oh Yes, please. Please let me know. um
00:11:47
Speaker
But i I would say I am better in year two of practice ownership than I was in year one. i'm year one ah it was It was hard for me to juggle because I was a morning workout person and then I felt that rather than working out, my time was better spen spent doing things for the practice.
00:12:10
Speaker
And then I went through trying to come home and work out after it having been such long days. um but also like on the weekends, still doing stuff for the practice and then eventually feeling um burnt out ten from like just never giving it a rest. um And so I think I am a hundred times better. There's still room for improvement, but I'm better at putting the phone down, unplugging, doing the workout, taking care of myself. And if it's a really long day, even if that just means having an Epsom salt bath and listening to some relaxing tunes.
Importance of Self-Care for Dentists
00:12:57
Speaker
um But I will say I struggled with that transition from being an associate to being a practice owner. Um, into a lot of what you were saying. Like I pretty much have learned a whole lot of like, okay, I know I need to do these things, but I actually need to schedule the time for it. And I have been better for myself and for everyone else because of it.
00:13:26
Speaker
And I think those are seasons of life too, like your practice needed your focus and, you know, maybe you took it to the extreme, but no one can blame you. You know what I mean? Like you had to, that was your baby. You had to get it off the ground. And I'm sure all of the work that you put in in that first year now allows you the freedom to step away from it now. You know what I mean? Versus.
00:13:53
Speaker
just It's just a different season of life and I've tried to give myself that grace too of like the routine that I had in residency might not be feasible now. you know It's just I work different hours, there's different life things and um just just giving that flexibility to yourself. You don't want to be the stress to yourself in your self-care, right? like Yeah, I think those things um come across to people, whether you know it a lot or not. like It comes across to your team. It comes across to your patients. And so the better your well-being is for yourself,
00:14:41
Speaker
I mean, it it radiates. Yeah, we always said in an undergrad, like put on your oxygen mask first. And if you're not well taken care of, you're not going to be able to take care of anybody else. But what um
00:15:04
Speaker
So you're a you're a big routine person and I'm envious of this. I i want to have like such a specific morning routine so bad. I just haven't figured it out yet. I feel like I do good for a couple of weeks and then like the past two weeks I was traveling on the weekends and then I show up like I got in at midnight and then on Monday I was like I don't want to do anything and then I just gave up for the entire week. Just not ideal. But how what does your routine look like? How have you figured it out? How has it evolved?
00:15:39
Speaker
I think I'm still figuring it out. it's not it's It's not that I'm there. I have not arrived yet. um In my perspective, I'm like, she's got it. No, it's constantly evolving.
00:15:53
Speaker
um and So I wake up each morning. I do some meditation. um Sometimes I will work out. It just depends on the morning.
00:16:03
Speaker
I want to get back to like every morning, get my workout in. Yeah. But I try to do something even if it's just. What time do you get up?
00:16:14
Speaker
so what Tell the people. I try to get up between five and five 30. Okay. All right. That's not bad. And I try to be finished with my morning routine and out the door by 6.30, 6.45 at the latest. okay um But I have what I'm going to wear the next day out. I have whatever workout clothes I'm going to wear.
00:16:39
Speaker
I'm laid out. I have my bottle of water laid out. I have everything that I need to go ready and ready to go. My afternoons do look different though. um Most of the time during lunch, um I try to have a meeting so that on Thursday, on on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, when we're off, those are things I don't have to do.
00:17:05
Speaker
So I try to get it done through and during the week. Um, but my afternoons might look different. It might be that I'm going to the gym to get a workout in, or it might be, I'm doing some sort of workout at home. Um, and then after that, I'm most of the time in my garden doing, you know, doing something pruning or, you know, getting harvest, um,
00:17:31
Speaker
And then the world's biggest zucchini, yeah the biggest zucchini. Yeah. And then, um, yeah, pretty much after day, I just start to unwind and I love that the, um, technology and the phones will, you could set your bedtime and all that kind of stuff. So I'll set, I had my bedtime set and my phone reminds me like, Hey, it's time for you to start winding down. And then I know, okay, I've got about 30 minutes to like,
00:18:00
Speaker
wrap this up and get in bed and be done for the night. Um, what about you? What do you, do you have a routine or anything? Um, so it's, mine's weird because I start late Monday, Tuesday. So I worked 10 to six Monday, Tuesday, and then Thursday, Friday, I started at eight. Um, and so,
00:18:26
Speaker
trying to like, ideally, it would be the same routine all week, but it's it doesn't work out that way. um i try I do like a group fitness class, so I try to do that um Tuesday, Thursday.
00:18:43
Speaker
I would like to do Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but for some reason those classes fill up faster than I can book them. So that's the other piece of this is that's out of my control a little bit. um But so I like to do that workout in the morning and then, you know, on Tuesday, the workouts usually like five to six, then I can do, you know, other random tasks before I have to go to work at 10. So that's,
00:19:09
Speaker
I like that morning time, but then obviously Thursday, Friday, it's a little bit more rushed. Um, and then yeah, trying to do that workout. And then like I said, the evenings have been massaged.
00:19:26
Speaker
Hey, it's needed self care. It is needed. Um, but I want to try to set that on my phone. I found though the, like, I probably tried to do it in college and I would just ignore it, which is not useful to ignore the thing telling you to go to bed. But, um, I think that's interesting to just like brain neuroscience that you can like,
00:19:52
Speaker
convince yourself almost to automatically ignore that like notification or snooze your alarm, those sorts of things are are no bueno.
Personal Routines and Self-Care
00:20:02
Speaker
Yeah, see, I'm not a snoozer and I actually will, my body will wake up before the alarm goes off because ah I picked the most annoying alarm sound.
00:20:12
Speaker
ah to like make me get up so I don't have to hear it. So maybe you can torture yourself in that way and that'll make you do the right thing. Yeah, yeah, the routine has gotten super ah chaotic now with with the kittens as well. um Because, you know, they they have their own little schedule. So that's, I think, brought a little bit of routine to our afternoon is like, all right, get home, like play with the kittens for a solid 10, 15 minutes at least, because they've been in the house all day and they're gonna
00:20:48
Speaker
scale the walls but so yeah it's it's been changing as we've they run the house now so ah following their routine I think one of the things kind of looking back on when we first started started podcasting um it seems like we're both doing a lot better with self care and look at that ah scheduling and managing. So um for the folks at home, the goal is to never keep up, never give up, keep trying and make it something that's part of your daily routine to care for yourself so that you can care for others as much as you want to.
00:21:39
Speaker
Yeah, and I think just remembering that it's it's multifaceted. you know You've got to care for all of those different parts of yourself. um And and you know humans humans are complex. Give yourself some some grace with all of this.
00:21:58
Speaker
And especially as dentists care for your physical body too, so that you can practice for as long or not as long as you want to. Let it be your choice. Don't let it be um because you weren't able to hold up physically because it is, it can be taxing on your body. Yeah. Yeah. Let it.
00:22:21
Speaker
Let it be your choice. That's a great great reminder. Until next time folks, we will catch you back here. 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, Savannah Craig, DBS, and Dr. Underscore Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey.
00:22:43
Speaker
This episode was sponsored by the Dental Residency Guide and the Beyond Graduation eBooks. These eBooks can be found at IgniteDDS dot.com slash eBooks. Thank you so much for listening to the Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists.