A Young Dentist’s Guide to Growth and Career Fulfillment

One of the most popular questions that a young dentist asks a mentor is, how do I get faster? I've definitely asked that question. I was like, God, I'm so slow. I got to get faster. They said the speed will come. But if you never learn how to do it the right way, you're only going to get faster at being bad. But I don't want to be slow forever. And so measure how long it takes you. Find out how long it actually takes you. At first, it wasn't that my procedural speed was slow. I was actually spending too much time in hygiene. I changed when I did my hygiene checks. So instead of waiting. for my hygienist to let me know that she was ready. I would anesthetize while my patient was getting numb. I would then get up and go do my hygiene checks and then come back. Welcome to the Phil Klein Dental Podcast. Success in dentistry isn't just about clinical skills. It's about continuously striving to improve, both professionally and personally. When dentists take ownership of their growth, they not only advance their careers, but also find greater fulfillment and satisfaction in their work. Whether it's mastering new techniques, improving patient care, or becoming a leader in the practice, every dentist's path is unique, and the key is to keep moving forward. One of the most valuable ways to stay motivated and on track is by finding a mentor, someone who has walked the path before and can offer guidance, support, and encouragement. Young dentists in particular can benefit from mentorship as they navigate the early years of their career. But growth doesn't stop there. Being actively involved in the dental community, whether through local dental societies or professional organizations, opens doors to networking, continuing education and staying at the forefront of industry advancements. Dentistry is always evolving. And those who embrace learning and collaboration will find themselves better equipped to succeed and enjoy their profession. Our guest today is Dr. Sarah Kuckhoff. She's a general dentist who has been out of dental school for about six years now and has fully embraced the mindset of continuous growth. In this episode, she'll share her journey, how she pursues her passions, and why that pursuit has helped her not only enjoy her profession, but also feel more confident and fulfilled as both a person. and a dentist. Whether you're a young dentist practicing for under 10 years or a seasoned professional looking for fresh inspiration, this episode will remind you why setting goals, staying engaged, and keeping an open mind to learning can make all the difference in your career. Dr. Kuckhoff, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you for having me. Yeah, we're very happy to have you on the show, Dr. Kuckhoff, and thank you for your time. Do you find that many dentists, especially young dentists like yourself, are struggling with their growth trajectory. In other words, do you think they're adequately prepared with the knowledge and understanding of the dental profession and the options that are available to them to make the career decisions that are right for them? I think we're in a really interesting time where we have so many resources at our fingertips, almost too many sometimes. And so maybe it's not necessarily that we're not coming out prepared, but that... We almost have too many options to create this kind of decision fatigue where we're not sure what of the resources that are available are useful and if they're worthwhile. What CE do I attend that is going to feed me, you know, and help me fulfill my desire to do XYZ procedure? Or if I'm interested in the business side of dentistry, how do I find the resources to help point me in the right direction? Yeah. And to your point, Dr. Kuckhoff, in the old days, the choices were much more limited. After dental school, you either hung a shingle and worked as a solo practitioner, which was very popular, or you were an apprentice for another dentist for a while. Learned from that dentist and possibly took over his or her practice or worked for one of your relatives possibly your father or mother Not so much your mother back in the old days because there weren't that many female dentists But now of course that's the reverse. There's more females graduating than males, but it's more complicated today so Knowing that it's more complicated with everything that's going on in dentistry you have to keep an open mind. So tell us about the growth mindset and why that's so important for a young dentist, especially with so many options on the table. So, you know, a growth mindset is just having that consistent belief that you can, you're capable of growing, you're capable of changing, you know, not being afraid to implement new things that you're learning because we come out with a subset of skills that we have learned and know how to utilize. But a lot of times the art of trying something new or trying to build your skillset can seem daunting and at worst can be a barrier to trying. And so having a growth mindset is just constantly challenging yourself and not being afraid of that challenge. You know, whether that's speed of a procedure or a new procedure or implementing a different type of material or pushing yourself to push those around you. Just having that interest in continuing to grow yourself. Yeah, we certainly have to stay open-minded. We have to understand that as young dentists, we can't rely on what we learned in dental school for the rest of our career. The experience that we glean every day at work helps. And of course, expanding your horizons with quality. Continuing education courses, of course, is so important. What do you think of a mentor? How important is it for a young dentist to identify and build a relationship with a mentor? Yeah, I actually think that's one of the most impactful things that you can do for your career. I think finding a mentor and being a good mentee, not just expecting to passively absorb information from your mentor, but being an active participant, bringing cases, bringing questions. being there for your mentor to allow them to share that information with you, but also trying to help it be a more symbiotic relationship so that way you're kind of both feeding one another. And how do you find a mentor? You know, I think finding a mentor can happen in many ways. Sometimes it takes you going to, you know, a respective academy and seeking out networking opportunities. Sometimes it's utilizing people within your existing circle, you know, whether that is the dentist that you currently work for. or someone that is in your town or your city who is attending courses similar to the ones that you attend. But it oftentimes starts with a conversation and just making connections. And I think that can happen. Many people don't have that opportunity locally, but that can also happen on social media. And I think that's social media can be hit or miss for many people. But I think that is one benefit is being able to reach out in a less stressful way of touching base to someone. So do you think it's a little risky to rely on your boss to be your mentor if you're in a practice and, you know, they're calling the shots as far as what materials you use, what kind of techniques they prefer? Would it be better to get a mentor who's kind of like a third party, kind of objectively could look at the whole situation and guide you not only on the dental part of it, the actual clinical part, but also whether that practice is a good fit for you? Whereas if the practice owner, your boss is your mentor, It could be a little bit of a touchy situation. What's your feeling on that? Certainly. I think having, when you work closely with someone, you're going to get their input because of proximity, right? You're going to have that relationship. So seeking some third party is not a bad idea. Getting a second set of eyes, whether it's, you know, talking about being interested in purchasing that practice, hearing someone else's opinion is always wise. And, you know, it's not necessarily. mentor-mentee relationships, you can have more than one. And I think having too many can be problematic, but there is that Goldilocks number, whether that's individually chosen, but there's a Goldilocks number for that, two, three. And you can have mentors for different purposes. You know, some people can be a clinical versus a business. Yeah, and I think it's very important to expand your knowledge through joining dental societies and being involved there, institutes or academies, such as the COIS Academy. And I know you're involved with an academy. Refresh my memory. I watched your webinar and you mentioned it. For me, I utilize the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. But, you know, if you're interested in periodontics, they have, you know, the AAP. or the AGD. Those are resources that other dentists are a part of. Even dental societies, right? Just to be around your colleagues. Yeah, really important. So let's talk about growth in more detail. It's so important to grow as a professional. So how does one start their growth journey? I think having a goal. It doesn't necessarily matter what that goal is, but having something to shoot for gives you something to push towards. And a lot of times when we graduate, that was the goal. And now that you're done, what's your next thing? And, you know, whether that's for me, it was implementing rubber dam and photography that that was my first, you know, OK, well, now that I'm done, what do I do next? What got you excited about rubber dam and photography? Just curious. I worked in a really high paced practice and I I felt like it doing utilizing rubber dam would actually help me move faster because I was able. to keep things isolated. I always found that right at that key crucial moment where I needed to complete isolation, I just didn't get it and it would slow me down or I'd have to redo something that I had already done. It just seemed like time wasted. So that was my impetus for trying to get better or more savvy with the rubber dam. And to get the most out of adhesive dentistry, the rubber dam comes in quite handy. Oh, absolutely. I mean, if you're trying to do adhesive dentistry, which is what we do all the time, day in and day out, at least in my practice. If you want that, you need complete isolation because our materials are designed to work in isolated conditions. And bonding is what we do most of nowadays. And on the topic of bonding, I do want to thank our sponsor for this podcast. Without them, this would not be possible, this episode. And that is Bisco. And they are the gold standard in adhesive dentistry, for sure. With decades of R&D, advanced chemistry, and a proven track record, Bisco delivers the trusted adhesive products you need. So check out Bisco. Learn about Z Prime Plus, which is great for zirconia. And the entire Bisco adhesive product line, visit bisco.com. So getting back to rubber dams, I know in dental school, we despised rubber dams. But then I became an endodontist. And, you know, I was carrying around a rubber dam in every pocket. You just need to do that. Yeah, you take it with you. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Yeah. I mean, you can't do anything without a rubber dam. But in dentistry, you know, even today, many dentists use cotton rolls and they try to use, you know, the mirror head to move the tongue out of the way. But there's so many better ways. You talked about that in your webinar, which was actually very good. What about photography? What excited you about photography? Well, for me, I, you know, I've grown up with social media and a lot of what I saw when I had downtime during the pandemic were these beautiful cases that were done by people and they photographed all their steps. And I thought, well, that's just a really interesting way to guide your practice, you know, and also to market yourself. For me, the self-improvement aspect was most interesting, but I also thought if I'm going to learn it, I can utilize those photos for other purposes. And so that got me really excited about photography also because I'm so visual. You know, I couldn't necessarily understand reading, you know, words on a page about why I needed to round a line angle before I, you know, seated a veneer or a crack. But if I saw a photo of it, you know, at a course, I got that. That made sense to me. So is it because she thought about teaching? You know, not really. Teaching, I think I've had such an opportunity to learn from so many people who've given their time to teaching. I feel a great responsibility to share that knowledge that I've learned, but mostly just to improve my own work and also to be able to communicate with my mentor. How can I tell them or show them if I'm improving if I don't have anything to show them because they're not in my office? So you take photos before and after. You share them with your mentor and get feedback from your mentor based on those photos. And that's great. What about patient education? Do you use a lot of photography to educate your patients and get them to look at treatment plans and so forth? Yeah, and I use a lot of pictures of them to help show them what I'm talking about. Also, I can show them photos of something that was similar to what. I'm presenting to them so they can see an outcome that's similar to what they have. Kind of helps them put themselves in those shoes of the patient who had treatment done and say, oh, that looks like me. I can see that. Yeah. So you look pretty young. I mean, I know the audience can't see you, but you look like, you know, you haven't been practicing forever, for sure. How long have you been practicing dentistry? I'm six years out. Okay, six years out. So did you undertake digital dentistry when you were in dental school six years ago? Were you doing scans? Yeah, I had a really progressive dental school and some really great professors who had partnerships with companies so that we got to utilize different types of scanners and doing digital design, not with ExoCAD, but with similar CAD systems. So we had that opportunity as third and fourth year students, which was really uncommon, I think. Yeah, we're getting to the generation now of dentists that are coming out. literally will not be doing any analog dentistry. I think based on you being out six years, you probably had some analog dentistry, like everything wasn't done digitally, right? Did you do dentures through conventional methods? Yes, we did conventional setups for dentures, not in dental school, but after dental school, I did do some digital dentures, but I still like my results with my... analog methods. I don't do a ton of dentures now, but in our office, we still utilize primarily analog methods. And I actually, you know, it's funny you asked me about digital dentistry. I love the analog. I, one of the big reasons I enjoy being a part of the office I'm in is because we, we tend to lean towards the analog using digital to augment where there are holes, but we do our wax ups by hand here and I love it. So what has been the most impactful resource? that you found along your journey perhaps that many people overlook i think utilizing the networking ability that comes from you know academy meetings or dental society meetings i think those are often overlooked i think people are looking at you know individual courses here and there but going to going to your academy's meeting whether that's the AGD or the you know AACD Insert here your academy's name. You get a lot of heavy hitters who attend those meetings and you have the opportunity to interface with those people and see their teaching style. And I think a lot of the academies also offer online CE in addition to your membership. There's just a lot that it's resource heavy. And I think it's resource heavy in ways that have been vetted. Because as I mentioned earlier, there's oftentimes just too many things that you have the opportunity to utilize. These have been vetted by people who. you know, ostensibly you probably do respect because they are running the meeting that your academy is part of. So I think for me, I think I found that that was the most overlooked thing. I didn't know. I kind of thought I paid, you know, my membership dues, but I didn't realize how useful those meetings would be. Yeah. And those respected speakers and clinicians who have been around a while, what you call the heavy hitters, I think they're happy to talk to people like you. who have been out six years. But if you could talk to someone who's made those mistakes and they've been out 25, 30 years. And just a little bit of advice here and there could just save you so much hardship and anguish. Oh, absolutely. So you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Yeah, absolutely. And if they see that you're interested in and you respect them and you're interested in their course, that's the beauty of these meetings. There's no question about it. That's the way it has to be. I think that's the way it's been in medicine. It's been that way in law. profession where we need to keep up with things that are constantly changing. And dentistry is certainly constantly changing. And like you said, there's way more options. It's more complicated. The business end of it is very complicated, whether you lease or buy a building if you want to buy a practice. And then all of the requirements, the OSHA, HIPAA, infection control, to me, it's mind boggling. Like when I practiced endo, it was very simple. We had a couple of people in the office. We followed infection control protocol. Very few people sued people for things, but it's a different world now. So how do you find your colleagues right now, six years out, when you go to meetings your age, young women and young men your age that are practicing less than 10 years, are they enjoying this profession? Are they stressed? Or is it just a mix of everybody? I tend to find people at my phase of practice very, some are very stressed. They want to do good work. They see good work all the time, you know, when they're online, when they're at courses and they feel like they're struggling to do that good work because dentistry is a technical skill set and being able to do a technical skill really well has a lot of science, but a little bit of art and also time to understand what you're doing and to pay attention to those details. And so I do find that people my age are really, and maybe stress is the wrong word, I think they're clawing towards doing good work. They really want to do good in just the process of getting to that level. And so we're all kind of like, at least I have found, going through that together. And so that builds community. You know, it's like when you go through a hardship or a hard time or you're on a team and you struggle, you find community that way because, you know, misery does love company sometimes. So it seems to me you surround yourself with dentists like yourself. dentists who strive to do better, to deliver better dental care to their patients, to continue with your continuing education, your professional development, and finding a mentor who could keep you on track to make sure that you're doing the right thing for your patients and excelling in your profession. But at one time, you worked in a high production office. Tell us about that point in your career where you worked there and how it affected you and how it had an impact on your growth journey. That's a tough one. When I first got out, I practiced for three years in private practice and we were production based. And and I think I I slowed myself down and I definitely my practice took a financial hit because I couldn't not do what I wanted to what I felt I needed to do. And I think that took a lot of conversations with my staff and my partner in the office. But you have to do what's right. for you and your patient. And sometimes you slowing down in the long run helps you go faster. And what kind of practice did you start in? I would say when I first started, we were a midsize, not corporate, but it was owned by two dentists and they had several offices. I actually had it. I really lucked out. I had an excellent first associateship. But we saw some Medicaid and mostly insurance. And you were in that practice for how long? I left after three years to start the residency program through the AACD. So I'm in a private practice in Michigan now. Oh, okay. You own it or you're working as an associate? I'm working in it. This is my first year in the office. I'm an associate for the owner. One of the most popular questions that a young dentist asks a mentor is, how do I get faster? And I've had many conversations with dentists about this. I don't know, you're smiling. Tell me what your thoughts are when you hear that question. I've definitely asked that question. I was like, God, I'm so slow. I got to get faster. What did your mentor say to you? What was their response? They said the speed will come, but if you never learn how to do it the right way, you're only going to get faster at being bad. I thought, well, I don't want to be bad, but I don't want to be slow forever. They would share, you know, just time yourself without changing. Like they would say, just measure how long it takes you. Find out how long it actually takes you. Because for me, at first, it wasn't that my procedural speed was slow. I was actually spending too much time in hygiene. So I would take too long with my hygiene checks. We had three hygienists. And so that's where all my time went. It wasn't that my speed was necessarily slow. It was just the start and stop. And that was a big, you know, change for me. So how did you solve that? I changed when I did my hygiene checks. So instead of waiting for my hygienist to, you know, let me know that she was ready, I would anesthetize while my patient was getting numb. I would then get up and go do my hygiene checks and then come back. And if there was somebody I couldn't tell, maybe they were a new patient. I just couldn't see the teeth well enough. I'd say, you know what? I'll circle back to you. I want to see this patient before they leave. And my hygienists were great. They'd be like, no problem. And they would give me about a 10 or 15 minute heads up before they were finished saying that things looked good. I could come back in when I was ready. So as you're moving through your growth journey, and I think it's important for all dentists, not just those who are less than 10 years out of dental school, but every dentist throughout their career should maintain some level of growth to keep them engaged. and excited about what they do because I think that's important. I mean, I've talked to some older dentists who've been at a long time and they started to engage with digital dentistry and it got them very excited. So it's important for everybody to find some passion during their growth journey that keeps them going, keeps them accelerated through their career and engaged. So where are you now, Dr. Kuckhoff? You're basically six years out. What are your feelings about your career at this point? What's your level of career satisfaction? You know, I'm like I said, I've been really fortunate. I have I have had and continue to have really good mentorship. And that gives me a little and that's allowed me to form a community. And that gives me a lot of joy. I love the work that I'm doing because I work in an office where we prioritize quality and the owner of our practice. She's phenomenal. And it gives me a lot of joy to work around somebody who's as passionate, if not more passionate than I am about dentistry. And I think I have goals that I'm shooting for. I'm working towards accreditation right now. And that's going to take some time. I have a five-year time clock on that one. Accreditation with the Academy? Through the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Yeah, it just gives me something to shoot for. And so I think that gives me a lot of joy. And I do want to point out to our audience, Dr. Kuckhoff, that this podcast episode was not... plan to be an interview. But I think it's really meaningful that we're having this kind of Q&A thing here about your career because you're an example of someone who's practiced less than 10 years, but is very aware of the importance of having a growth path. You've made that clear to yourself and you're surrounding yourselves around the right people. You're taking the right steps to achieve your goals. of practicing the kind of dentistry that you want to practice. Yes. And that's going to lead to career satisfaction for sure. So I think our little interaction here on this episode could be very helpful to dentists that are in the same position as you where they're practicing for less than 10 years and they have some decisions to make. Let me ask you this question about occlusion. Dr. John Kois is very big on occlusion. He always said, if you don't understand the occlusion, it's really challenging to become a good dentist because everything's based on that. And it sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many dentists don't have a good handle on occlusion. Where are you with that being six years out? And are you doing anything now to improve your skill set on occlusion? Yeah. So I am actually currently going through Dr. Kois’ curriculum. three classes and I might take my next one in May, advanced occlusion. In fact, the peri-restorative interface and advanced occlusion. So I would say I feel more comfortable now than I did when I first got out. I understand when I'm looking at patients, I can see the patterns of... dysfunction or constricted or restricted pathways, I can see those and recognize them better. And I'm still learning on how to better treatment plan within that system and how to build something that works better. But I think if you are a younger provider, find some organization, whether it's Spear or Coise or Dawson, find an occlusal philosophy. and understand it. It will certainly help guide your practice and your ability to better comprehensively treat patients. Without a doubt, when you have a really strong handle on occlusion, you look at the mouth and see it with a totally different mindset than if you do not have that understanding. And it gives you so much of a better outlook on your treatment plan, certainly will have a bearing on the clinical success of your restorative work that you're doing for them. Yeah. So getting back to the growth journey, for those who are listening, that don't feel satisfied with their career and they want to make a change, they have to be open-minded and say, okay, this is not perfect for me. I'm doing it for whatever reason. I need to pay my debt off or it's a job right now, but I'm not stuck in this position my whole career and there's lots of opportunity out there and they need to go after it and they have to be open-minded, like you said, and stretch themselves. So assuming one finds their path and they're moving through their journey, how do you stay consistent? How do you stay on track? I think you find ways to hold yourself accountable, you know, whether that's your connection with your mentor, you know, running cases by them, asking them questions, but taking the feedback that they provide you and actually utilizing it. You know, if they say you should take an initial photo series, well, make sure you're doing what the feedback that they're giving you. Try and don't be afraid to fail. For me, implementing rubber dam was what I wanted to start with. And it takes a lot of trial and error. as you are well aware, a rubber dam can be very humbling and don't let perfect be your enemy of good. I think is just a big thing for people our age. We want to be perfect and we really want to be knowledgeable. People look at us and say, you're too young to be a dentist. And you know, that, that kind of sets you on a back foot with that patient. And so you want to show that you're knowledgeable. But a lot of times there may be gaps in your knowledge because four years of dental school is only four years of dental school. There's not, there's more out there to know. So don't be afraid to say, you know what, I don't know the answer to that, but I'm going to find out. And then in earnest, actually find out. Very, very good advice. I really would love to have you back on the show in a couple, maybe sooner, but at least in a couple of years to see how things have changed for you and how much more you've learned, what you could share with us. And I think it's a very, very inspiring conversation, Dr. Kuckhoff. And we're very happy that you joined us on the show today. Thank you very much and have a great evening. You too. Thank you.