8 Ways to Crush Dental School

Ever down? not will feel If alone. too. like this dental school your immediate reaction Here’s the upside, Dental school is as thing was if all of much a is wearing you a hard yes, you’re us survived, you game of endurance as it is anything else. So, when your energy tank is almost on empty, and gas feels too expensive to refuel, in honor of March Madness, focus on the elite 8 below and I promise, you’ll crush dental school before it crushes you.

#1: REMEMBER WHY YOU WANTED IT You may not want to believe it, but life beyond dental school brings peaks and valleys too. And just like dental school, the peaks are awesome; the valleys…not so much.

Here’s the secret. Know exactly why you wanted to go to dental school in the first place Hold that why near and dear Whenever you hit a valley, bust out that why Peaks are fun. Getting out of the valleys is even more fun when you have a strategy.

#2: EYE ON THE PRIZE Now that you’re focused on why you went to dental school in the first place, I want you to focus on EVERY win you anticipate once you graduate. It may sound trivial, but it is impossible to focus on the opposite of what you want and expect to get what you want. There’s tons of science to support that, FYI.

Need some help?

You will make a difference in thousands of people’s lives.

You’ll work in an amazing environment, with amazing hours, and

amazing people.

You will, at worst, be a top 10% earner in the US. Most of you will be in the top 5%. If you really do it right, you’ll be in the top 1%.

Dental school, like all less-than-ideal times, will pass. Your future is insanely incredible.

#3: WORK THOSE TYPODONT SKILLS Success as a dentist requires you to have great vision and hand skills to bring that vision to life. It takes 10,000 hours on average to develop mastery. The more reps you get in as a student, the closer you get to mastery and the goodness that comes with it.

Key moves that top 1% earners made early: Maximize every patient opportunity. Whenever a patient cancels or no shows, assist another student. Whenever the first two above don’t pan out, prep that typodont.

#4: STOP SEEKING SHORTCUTS It’s human nature to want the fastest path. That said, here’s a life truism: Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Remember that 10,000 hour thing above? It’s legit. Aside from that, you’re paying BIG money to go to dental school. Once you leave, your patients will be paying you BIG money for their care.

Guess what they want? Your A+ game on day one Your A+ game on day two Your A+ game every day

Squeeze every bit of learning you can out of your tuition dollars. Great CE after school will put your tuition to shame. The better

your game upon graduation, the faster and more predictable that top 1% becomes.

#5: DITCH THE DOWNERS Repeat after me. Likes attract likes. It is 100% the reason your parents kept you away from the bad kid(s) in your neighborhood…eventually they would have rubbed off on you. The same goes for negative people—in and out of dental school. Slowly and surely, they chip away at the good energy that fuels your happiness and success.

Pro tips

STOP going to Facebook groups that find the problems with dental schools, boards, insurance companies, and everything else in the world.

STOP spending time with classmates who do the same.

Lastly—this is a hard one—STOP spending time with family who do the same in whatever life stuff they talk about.

I’m not saying this will be easy at first. I am saying it will be worth it.

#6: SURROUND YOURSELF WITH SUCCESS So the whole likes attract likes thing works in incredibly positive ways too! If you want to be a top 10%er…surround yourself with them. If you want to be a top 5%er…1%er…I think you get it. The key in dentistry is to understand every element. In other words, there are different practice models that land you in every category. So…

Who do you want to be?

A top 10…5…1%er in a traditional practice A top 10…5…1%er in a DSO A top 10…5…1%er using your degree in a non-clinical way

They ALL work. See #1: Why did you want dentistry in the first place? From there, learn WHO your best likes are. Lastly, when you need help finding them, just ask. 28 years of dentistry has helped me know all of them—anywhere in the US and plenty of places outside the US.

#7: FAILING IS JUST FALLING Really important take-home: When you’re feeling like sh#\*, you are normal and you are NOT failing. You’re just falling down.

The key is to pick yourself up. I’m going to reference #1 again (there’s a reason it’s #1, if you haven’t figured that out yet).

The scoop: Everyone peaks. Everyone falls.

Those that dust themselves off and pick themselves up the quickest…

Get out of the valleys fastest. If you’re inherently excellent at picking yourself up, fantastic. Help a friend who finds that more difficult. If it’s really hard for you to pick yourself back up, find that fantastic friend who has an easier time. I promise, as long as you’re positive most of the time, you have much to offer them, just in different ways.

#8: HABITS WIN The first seven of our eight ways to crush dental school are in theory—amazing. That said, your ability to consistently work on them defines your happiness and success. The right daily habits are what create the consistency you need.

So… Build a daily routine that supports each of the above. Enter it into your smart phone’s calendar. Set alarms to remind you, so they EACH happen.

You have a choice. You can crush dental school. You just need to choose to.

Together We Rise!