Adapting to Change in Dentistry is the Key to Career Longevity

September 21, 2025
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By: John Cranham, DDS
This topic originally appeared on PankeyGram.org. Dr. Cranham granted permission for igniteDDS to share with our readers.

No matter how many years in practice, dentists never have everything figured out. The things that you are doing now are not going to be right forever.

My Advice for Young Dentists

My advice to young dentists is to be open to new processes and new materials, even if you have a predictable way of doing things now. Learning and adapting make dentistry incredibly fun. Even in my 60s, I am always learning something new—like the digital 3D world of dentistry. 

The techniques and dental materials that work today may be outdated tomorrow. Being open to innovation not only improves patient care, it keeps your passion about dentistry alive.

Finding Purpose as a New Dentist

Starting out wasn’t easy for me, I wanted more than just a job; I wanted to be known in my community for solving patients’ problems that others couldn’t. But getting to that point required two key ingredients: courage and dental continuing education.

I found the training and mentorship I needed through comprehensive programs at The Pankey Institute. At the turn of the millennium, I was trying to take the traditional occlusal information and blend it with the hottest cosmetic information at the time. (Those concepts were diametrically opposed back then. It was blasphemy to put them together.)

prevailed and became better at solving functional problems and improving aesthetics at the same time. Today, dentists do this all the time. 

A Fulfilling Career Starts with a Learning Mindset

Over the past 30 years, I and many of my colleagues have learned that embracing new dental technology and advanced techniques is critical for career longevity. Nothing I do today resembles the protocols I was taught in dental school, and that’s a good thing.

It’s common for maturing dentists to let go of certain procedures and focus on what they enjoy most and develop specific expertise in niche services. It’s also common for other maturing dentists to continue enjoying general dentistry half of their time and focusing on complex cases the other half.  

At its core, dentistry is about the relationships you build. The trust you build with patients and the pride you take in delivering outstanding care make the challenges worthwhile and your job more rewarding.

In Conclusion

So here’s my advice to every dentist: stay curious, stay humble, and stay open to change. Invest in quality continuing education, surround yourself with good mentors, and never stop evolving.

I highly recommend advanced continuing education at The Pankey Institute to shift your focus towards relationship-based dentistry and build confidence in new procedures.  

John Cranham, DDS

John Cranham, DDS

Dr. John Cranham practices in Chesapeake, Virginia focusing on esthetic dentistry, implant dentistry, occlusal reconstruction, TMJ/Facial Pain and solving complex problems with an interdisciplinary focus. He practices with his daughter Kaitlyn, who finished dental school in 2020. He is an honors graduate of The Medical College of Virginia in 1988. He served the school as a part time clinical instructor from 1991-1998 earning the student given part time faculty of the year twice during his stint at the university. After studying from the greats in occlusion (Pete Dawson & The Pankey Institute) and Cosmetic Dentistry (Nash, Dickerson, Hornbrook, Rosental, Spear, Kois) during the 1990’s, Dr. Cranham created a lecture in 1997 called The Cosmetic Occlusal Connection. This one day lecture kept him very busy presenting his workflows on these seemingly diametrically opposed ideas. In 2001 he created Cranham Dental Seminars which provided, both lecture, and intensive hands on opportunities to learn. In 2004 he began lecturing at the The Dawson Academy with his mentor Pete Dawson, which led to the merging of Cranham Dental Seminars with The Dawson Academy in 2007. He became a 1/3 partner and its acting Clinical Director and that held that position until September of 2020. His responsibilities included the standardization of the content & faculty within The Academy, teaching the Lecture Classes all over the world, overseeing the core curriculum, as well as constantly evolving the curriculum to stay up to pace with the ever evolving world of Dentistry. During his 25 years as an educator, he became one of the most sought after speakers in dentistry. To date he has presented over 1650 full days of continuing education all over the world. Today he has partnered with Lee Culp CDT, and their focus is on integrating sound occlusal, esthetic, and sound restorative principles into efficient digital workflows, and ultimately coaching doctors on how to integrate them into their practices. He does this under the new umbrella Cranham Culp Digital Dental. Dr. Cranham has published numerous articles on restorative dentistry and in 2018 released a book The Complete Dentist he co-authored with Pete Dawson. In 2011 He along with Dr. Drew Cobb created The Dawson Diagnostic Wizard treatment planning software that today it is known as the Smile Wizard. Additionally, He has served as a key opinion leader and on advisory boards with numerous dental companies. In 2020 he published a book entitled “The Cornell Effect-A Families Journey Toward Happiness, Fulfillment and Peace”. It is an up from the ashes story about his adopted son, who overcame incredible odds, and ultimately inspired the entire family to be better. In November of 2021 it climbed to #5 on the Amazon best seller list in its category. Of all the things he has done, he believes getting this story down on paper is having the greatest impact.

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