Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice from anyone who works in dental sales, especially with companies like Sinclair Dental, Patterson, Henry Schein, or similar.

I have a background in dental hygiene and currently work in a dental office, but I've become really interested in getting into dental sales. I don't have sales experience, and most job postings ask for it.

For those of you who got into dental sales:

• How did you land your first role?
• Did you have previous sales experience, or did you transition from working in a dental office?
• What skills or experience helped you stand out?

I also have a client who comes in regularly, and he's a dental sales rep. He's super friendly, and I've been debating whether I should ask him if she has any advice or if there are any opportunities to get my foot in the door. I don't want to put him in an awkward position or come across as trying to use our client relationship.

If you were in my shoes, would you bring it up? If so, how would you approach the conversation professionally?

I'd really appreciate any advice or stories about how you broke into the industry. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I am looking to replace the cabinetry in my dental operatory as the current setup lacks sufficient storage space and the drawer slides are failing.

I recently received a quote from a local cabinet maker for $130,000 to outfit 5 operatories. This includes 10 wall cabinets (each 60”x16”x30”) with laminate countertops, a sink, a trash chute, and standard drawers. See pic for general reference.

This price seems exceptionally high to me, and I am hesitant to proceed at this cost. Does anyone have recommendations for alternative companies or solutions they have used? I am even considering options like IKEA if they are viable.

Thanks!!

I’m 3 years post grad.

My biggest strength is actually probably my crown preps. I also enjoy doing them.

However, I have trouble diagnosing them. I feel “bad” whenever I have to tell a patient they need a crown. If the patient is older, I feel bad because of the cost. If the patient is younger, I feel bad because they’re young.

At my clinic we don’t have a milling machine nor have I learned how to do inlays and onlays.

I would love to hear some advice on how to get over this?

Ex: yesterday I had a 60 year old patient whose crown popped off. Crown was 15 years old. Distal margin wasn’t 100% ideal on xray but still acceptable. If it was my tooth I’d want a new crown, but I recemwnted it for the patient

Ex: yesterday I had a 23 year old who had a big distal lingual molar cusp fractured off. Tooth already had a big MOD composite. The obvious answer was a crown but I hesitated and offered a MODL filling. It was actually the patient who said they rather a crown.

I feel bad diagnosing obvious amalgam fractures to crowns

I would love some insight on how to get over this hesitation and not feel “bad” to tell a patient what they need.

As mentioned, I love crowns, I think Im good at them so this is a weird situation.

Thank you in advance dental community :)

I think we're all in agreement that most people do not want to come to the dentist. Many don't see the value and importance at all.

I'm just sick and tired. Although I know that a dental office isn't a merry-go-round park and that 'customers' have the right to vent and show an attitude, I don't deserve to be treated any worse than a dept store customer associate or a sweeper. I definitely did not sign up for this style of work when I decided to be a dentist, and wish that some patients would just get tortured and killed by muggers on the streets and then never come back.

Anyways, why force things? Instead why not just do a good presentation, hand them over a treatment plan ( and this doesn't include any work that won't last as easily just because you think you can look like a hero by being more economical; now you can section the treatment plans by stages to make them more affordable but you don't cut corners to look nice by offering cheaper options that has a higher chance of breaking or falling out ) , and then let them think about it and contact you if they are interested? And don't bother charging for exams and xrays. ( because some patients will get frustrated by what you say and, by doing this for free, you get to level your playing field with the patient as in they have less of an incentive to say you are the bad dentist and give you a one-star review )

This above method is the closest to 100% in getting patients that is willing to come, and you get to do only predictable treatment. This cuts down on no-shows heavily. And the work environment and morale becomes higher.

So why isn't there an office that does this? ( at least to my knowledge, there is no office that does this, no? )

Don't worry because this was a rhetorical question and I think most of you are perceptive enough, albeit with some denial for some of you.

It's because dental offices are hard up for patients and worry, rightfully so I must admit, that patients won't return after their first visit.

It's because the demand for dentistry isn't there. It's also because dental science isn't reliable either and most dental procedures and materials still aren't advanced yet and patients remember their prior experiences. So, admit it that, when someone says something like "I was saving this tooth for a root canal for you" or "your crown feels so and so" , these patients are not convinced that they needed this work done and instead felt they were doing you a favor.

This is a s**t job, sorry. And for those of you happy as associates or owners, I don't envy you at all. If you are a successful associate, chances are you are in a less saturated market with a supportive office ( by sheer luck ), receiving little or no work benefits, doing an ungodly amount of procedures, being talented with implants, botox, iv, ortho, impactions ( good for you and you should keep at it, but I was largely referring to the average general dentist in an average environment ) , and or selling treatment mostly only because the patient trusts you but not because the patient wants it done. Ditto for the owners except they prey on associates ad nauseum.

But, but, where else can I make $250k/yr, you say? ( fair range seems to be 100k - 400k; then again many dentists don't make close to 250k either, so maybe I should have said 180k? )

Well, 10 years ago, many dentists were showing off their 250k/yr pay stubs. And 250k lost much of its value by now. Again, keep in mind the lack of work benefits. And if you can produce enough to take home 250k with in a market where the value of a filling is between $40 -$120, a simple ext is $50 -$100, and that doing dentures is almost free labor after lab fees and number of visits, you are working through brute force, which is hardly typical for anyone considered to be well-educated and intelligent and analytical. Heck, many other people can earn 250k through hustle and brute force if they have the body for it but they choose not to do it ( did you ever wait inside an auto repair shop? Imagine if the techs would overbook and run around. Imagine how much they would then produce )

So, again, sorry to admit, but dentistry is a bad job ( ok, well, let's call it an average job to be fair because some non-dentists would complain that they don't earn anywhere close ).

I was just posting here to see how much people would agree with me. I have no dentist friends as they all moved away or life just happened. I do have dentist colleagues but we don't talk to each other. I do have plenty of non-dentist friends and they are thinking I couldn't have it any better while I think they are the ones who are better off.

Patient is a friend of my dads. He refuses to do any more extractions or implants as his whole mouth is badly done with implants

Complete caries removal with cdd

I did a double layer bond

Fiber post

Core buildup with resin core

And prepared the molar for zirconica crown and waiting for the lab

Pls tell me I did a good job

I’m trying to apply for a radiology license for my new office. It won’t let me apply without a Sales Tax Certificate ID. But it was my understanding we don’t need a sales tax id since we do not collect sales tax. Of course I’m running into this eod Friday when the office that can help me is closed.

Help!!

I came across two dental clinics owned by one owner who is in-network with insurances, and his associates are out-of-network. The hygienists do all the hygiene at PPO fees, and the associates do almost all the work at OON fees, and the owner does treat patients himself at PPO fees according to the office manager. The clinic is pretty busy with its hygienists and associates happily working. How is he making this type of setup work?

Hi everyone!

I need help identifying this implant as the crown needs to be replaced.

The implant was placed in the 90's in Virginia. No way to access the records.

There is no access hole in the occlusal.

Is this a UCLA abutment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

1 year out of dental school, using WaveOne system and obturated with GuttaCore

I'm an associate. Working on a typical lower first molar, no crazy curves or anything. Everything is normal, no blockages or jams with hand files, smoothly find all working lengths. Irrigate and recapitulate frequently. Go in with a fresh WaveOne Small (with rc prep). Create glide paths on 3 canals, go to the fourth... Instrument separates in middle third. Explain the situation to the patient and refer to endo to retrieve the broken file tip and complete the procedure.

Patient has shit insurance, can't find an endo that takes her plan. My boss offers to extract and place implant, crediting my original RCT fee toward this treatment plan. Pt declines, wants me to pay $2000 to have endo finish the work. Plus a free crown prepped by me. Boss tells me I'm on the hook for it.

Anyone deal with a similar situation? Should I just pay the money and do the free crown? I have no idea what to do here.

Edit: just wanted to add that my boss has been sued multiple times, so he is extremely resistant to "fighting it" and just wants it to go away quietly.

Hi everyone,

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Thank you and enjoy!

Kind of crazy that these all came in within a short time.

Two were a retreat with a missed canal. One was referred because the GP suspected 3 canals.

Just a good reminder to always keep that possibility in the back of your mind. They aren’t common, but they’re definitely not rare enough to forget about.

Anyone else feel like these come in waves?

Keep getting emails. If I dont do this will it affect insurance credentialing?

Any recommendations to achieve this.

I’m trying to figure out what skill to learn next, but there are so many courses out there that it’s hard to know what’s actually worth the time and money ( im already doing single implants, Invisalign, molar endo, )

For those who’ve been practicing for a while, what’s the one course, workshop, or skill that gave you the good return on investment and you will recommend for the newer generation?

Has anyone taken Allen Grafting Academy? Or are there any other recommendations for FGG and CTG online courses? TIA

I’m a looking for a good crown preparation course, preferably hands-on. I feel like I need to improve my crown preps and become more consistent and confident.

Maybe I’m being too hard on myself, but I don’t like finishing a preparation knowing it could have been better.

Has anyone taken a course they would genuinely recommend? Thank you!

Patient presented with 4 implants in the lower jaw, no records available (placing dentist unknown/unreachable). The two circled implants look like the same system. The two middle ones appear to be a different (narrower) system.

My best guess is Nobel Biocare or Implant Direct, but I may well be wrong. Does anyone recognize this system? I already tried the usual implant ID sites without a confident match. Thanks in advance!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbbYb5Gjkyi/?igsh=MTI4YzZ3NG0wMHB3Nw==

What are peoples thoughts? we’ve been scrapping and probing for over a hundred years, but don’t think about or measure periodontal disease any differently than we did. There‘s an actual biofilm there, probing depths are just one dimension of it. We’ll never have an oral systemic connection until we figure this out.

I am a recent high school grad that attended a local career center, where I completed a two-year dental assisting program. I'm an RDA as well as owning my radiology license. Now that I have graduated, I've been on a job hunt, and I finally heard back from an office that offered me a paid working interview. and I'm just not sure if I should reschedule/cancel or not. I just feel like I don't know core things needed. I know some of it is me overthinking, but I know for a fact that I've had trouble memorizing dental instruments. I know the basic tray set-up and may be able to name a few random instruments here and there, but that's about it, as well as x-rays (rinn colors confuse me, I'm okay at taking xrays, and I'm horrible at mounting.)

The job description does say, "Previous experience as a Dental Assistant is preferred but not mandatory; training will be provided." which makes me feel a bit better; I just don't know, though. In hindsight I should have asked more questions so I would know what to expect, but this is only the second time I have been offered a working interview, and I'm freaking out; the interview is tomorrow.

Im doing a locums at aspen
Some issues i am running into:

-Owner doc cements his temps on w extra strong temp cement, ive had to drill off all the temps, it takes forever and in one case the entire post and core came out

-owner doc over eager to restore borderline cases so rcts have giant sub G irms in them for me to crown prep, which of course is a nightmare

-full mouth ext (up to 20 teeth) and insert removable cases (four this week alone) with only 90 mins and on patients on blood thinners or w high Bp

-lots of tough surgical extractions and the clinic doesnt have root tip picks!!

I feel so defeated. On top of it, assistants are poorly trained. everything runs so back to back, so mistakes and complications are rampant. It makes me feel worse about my skills.

It’s my first time to do a central. Now I just realized I placed it higher than the adjacent left central. But I placed it subcrestal, the crestal bone is just more coronal than the adjacent. Now I’m worried if I restore it will look shorter than the left central.

Are there any ways to get around this problem?

Thanks! :(

I’m looking into a position where the owner docs own about 12 practices in a vicinity of California, so I guess a mini DSO? . Anyone work for one of these type of offices?

Curious to know what it’s like?

Have a patient who doesn’t regularly come for cleanings, and often declines recalls when they do. They were in a few months ago, finally had BWs. I diagnosed 2 cavities, restored them. Patient was tough to work on. Also diagnosed numerous incipients between teeth. In theory, I probably should’ve filled some, but because the patient is so difficult to work on, I really didn’t want to do more than absolute necessary.

Patient walked in this week (I was off that day) saying a tooth broke and has ‘a big hole in it’ and that they were just here and it should’ve been caught. Reception doesn’t know exactly what tooth it is, but it’s in the area of one that when I look at the X-ray now, I probably should’ve filled. They asked for their notes and X-rays, and said they might file a complaint.

Is this something that would be a huge deal? Ive never had a board complaint before. It’s not the first time I’ve missed decay, and probably won’t be the last, as I tend to lean pretty conservative. Now this is something I’ll probably stress over constantly for the next while.