The Danger in Just Trying to Survive Dental School

I remember the good days…the bad days…and the days I questioned why the heck I went to dental school at all. Passing exams and surviving practicals was all that mattered. When people asked what I would do after graduation, I just smiled and nodded my head as if I was paying attention.

Truth is, there’s a danger is just trying to survive dental school. We don’t plan to fail…we fail to plan. You don’t need to have all the answers. You do need the following big 3 before you leave school:

Understand All Your Paths to Practice (by D2)

If you don’t know all your options, it’s easy for someone with THEIR best interest…NOT YOURS…to influence your decisions. Please understand, everyone has an agenda for you. Corporate practices spend big bucks on why you should work for them. Brokers push you to buy. Start-up folks tell you to start up. Everyone has an angle.

They’re not bad. It’s their perspective, and their job.

Your job is to understand all perspectives. When you do, you make better choices for you. My job is simply to make you aware. Go to igniteDDS on Insta…ask and learn.

Create an Emergency Fund (by D3)

You guys have plenty of debt, and, like it or not, surprises happen. Adding credit card debt when life goes sideways will bring you trouble. Goal:

• Don’t deprive yourself.
• Do take $15/week, every week, that you would’ve spent on coffee, beer and tacos and set it aside. Start as D3 and you’ll cross the stage with over $1500.
• Increase it to $30/week as soon as you have dollars coming in, and in no time you’ll have $5k plus when you need it.

Get Disability Insurance (D4 and B4 you graduate)

Last and definitely not least…get in occupation disability insurance. If you’re a D4, do it now. You get big discounts as a student.

Hard truth…dentists get disabled…a lot.

Back and neck issues take careers. Vision issues take careers. Hurt hands take careers.

Guys, I bought my practice from a 41-year-old dentist who had macular degeneration. Think about that.

• Without the right coverage, he would have lost his house. His kids would’ve had to change schools. The vacations would have been over.
• With it, he was able to get a job at a dental manufacturer (way less money then being a dentist) but still collect his insurance; so it balanced out.

Friends, it’s easy to live from exam-to-exam in school. It’s also dangerous. Arm yourself with information, and if this helped you, follow igniteDDS on Insta…plenty more where this came from.

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Dental Trade Shows

155th Midwinter Meeting February 20-22, 2020 McCormick Place West Building, 2301 S Indiana Ave Chicago, IL www.cds.org

ASDA Annual Session March 4-7, 2020 St. Louis, MO

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Smiles at Sea April 23-26, 2020 Nassau, Bahamas www.smilesatsea.com

DeW retreat November 12-14, 2020 Charlotte, NC www.dew.life