By: Jennifer Murphy, DDS, FAGD
So you’ve graduated dental school, gotten your DDS or DMD degree, and obtained your license. Now, you are a doctor.
You’ve started your first job, yet the staff doesn’t seem to see you as a leader in the office. You may even feel like they know more than you, even though you are supposed to be the doctor, you think.
Spoiler alert: This is all completely normal!
How to Manage as a New Dentist
You’ve spent the last 4+ years of your life focused on becoming a dentist, and dental school tells you that you are prepared for it all. Yet, once you leave those walls and enter the real world of dentistry, it’s a completely different story.
You may have no idea how this really all works in practice. Again, that is all completely normal!
It can be difficult to come into an established office and be seen as the leader when you are a new doc.
And, again, this is all completely normal!
I hope you are getting my point. All of what you are experiencing and feeling is normal. Everyone enters practice with varying levels of confidence and expectations.
8 Tips for a New Dental Boss
I’d like to help give you some tips and advice on how to be seen as a leader even though you are the “new doctor.”
1. Fake it till you make it
We have all heard this phrase and I do believe it to be true to some degree in the world as a new dentist.
As Amy Cuddy said in her TED talk which you can check out here, “our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, and our behavior changes our outcomes.”
Her talk is about the idea of our body positioning influencing how we feel. You may have heard of a power stance – sounds silly – but just taking a minute to stand like Superman or Wonder Woman before you have to give a talk, or perhaps do a difficult procedure, actually changes your biochemistry and leaves you feeling more confident!
2. Do things inside and out of dentistry to build your confidence.
Find something you enjoy that challenges you.
For me, I started running and racing triathlons. Not only was it a great outlet for stress, but it also was a way to challenge myself, get into good physical shape, and build my self-confidence, which translated to confidence as a dentist.
3. Find a mentor
Having a person or people to talk to about everything dentistry and life outside of dentistry is so important.
Find someone you trust and admire and ask if they’d be willing to be your mentor. This question would make most people’s day from what I have found. I think you’d be surprised at how much support is out there if you just ask.
This mentor can give you support and encouragement which is priceless. I recommend building your own team as the world of dentistry is very difficult to go it alone, whether that’s a mentor, counselor, therapist, coach, or combination of.
4. Don’t be a people-pleaser
This is so common from what I’ve seen as a dentist. That’s part of why we chose this profession.
However, if you don’t keep it in check, trying to make everyone else happy will make you miserable. And remember, you can’t please everyone anyhow!
5. Have boundaries
As a new and most likely young dentist, you may find staff is similar or close to you in age. It can be challenging having those boundaries between your professional role as a doctor/boss and friendships. It is possible to do but may require some tough conversations along with having boundaries at work.
6. Communicate
Be clear. Be direct. Do not avoid conflict. Develop good communication skills.
Be open and honest with your team. Listen. Have regular meetings to communicate – both ways – you inform them but also encourage their ideas.
Also, set clear expectations. Oftentimes, the staff may not even know what is expected of them.
For example, I once went into an office, and the assistants were not keeping my mirror clear while working on maxillary teeth. I later learned the previous doc didn’t prep with water, and they didn’t even know they were supposed to be doing that!
Hard to believe, but it was true. After learning this and discussing it with them, they knew what to do and did keep my mirror clear.
If you set clear expectations, the team should know what to do and do it. They shouldn’t need micromanaging, but they do need accountability. Hold your team accountable.
7. Manage emotions
Attitude is everything.
Sometimes you do have to be an actor/actress as a dentist. No matter how you are feeling it’s important to put on a smile for staff and patients, at least during work hours.
Lead by example. Yes, you are the doctor, but be humble. No one likes a dictator.
8. Celebrate wins
Appreciate your team. Get to know them but again, boundaries.
The office you are entering into should help in this regard as well. For example, the office I recently joined held staff meetings prior to my joining where they went over verbiage the staff should use and “talking me up”. This helped the staff welcome, accept, and respect me right off the bat.
Leading as a New Dentist
It is a tough road at times as a new dentist, but leading an existing team can be done. You can learn to lead, even as a newbie.
Leadership is a skill that can be learned. The sooner you start working on these leadership skills the better your life as a dentist will be!
And, as you start to implement these actions like clear communication, setting boundaries and expectations, having meetings, and holding the team accountable you will start to build trust with your team. Building trust is the cornerstone to any relationship but especially as a new dentist to be able to lead your team.
Dr. Jennifer Murphy graduated with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 2006 from The Ohio State University. She is a member in good standing of the American Dental Association, North Carolina Dental Association, and the Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. Murphy earned her Fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 2021. In addition to practicing general dentistry, she is also a practice coach for Benco Dental.
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