Let’s get one thing out of the way: if you've ever found yourself Googling “how to fake your own death and move to Tahiti with $500K in student loans,” you’re not alone.

Dentistry, my friends, is not for the faint of heart. You signed up to help people smile, not to become a forensic investigator for missing insurance payments, an unpaid therapist for anxious patients, or a contortionist hunched over molars like a gremlin in loupes. Yet here you are — breathing through your mask, silently begging for a canceled appointment while praying your front desk doesn’t accidentally submit another perio claim under the prophy code again.

We get it. Dentistry is hard. Really hard. So hard, in fact, that over half of dentists surveyed say they wouldn’t recommend the profession to their kids. Think about that. You could be saving lives one root canal at a time, and still whispering to your child, “Honey, just be a YouTuber. Or a barista. Or an alpaca farmer. Anything but this.”

But before you toss your composite gun into the trash and apply to real estate school, let’s talk.

The Pain is Real — But So is the Payoff

Yes, burnout in dentistry is very real. You are performing microsurgery in a wet, moving, emotional cave for 8 hours a day, five days a week. If you’re in-network, you’re also doing it for less money than it costs to get your dog groomed in most major cities. So when a colleague decides to throw in the mirror and start flipping houses, it makes sense.

But here’s the truth they won’t tell you at dental school graduation: every profession sucks sometimes.

The architect gets burned out drafting 37 versions of a lobby because the client wants the feng shui to match their aura. The pilot gets tired of hotels and turbulence. Even the guy who tests mattresses for a living probably wakes up and says, “Ugh. Another nap?”

The longer you stay, the better you get. And the better you get, the easier it becomes.

That’s not just motivational fluff — that’s skill accumulation in action. What takes you 90 minutes to do as a new grad might take 45 minutes in your third year. By year 10, you're a clinical ninja. Efficiency doesn’t just reduce your stress, it literally increases your income and frees up your mental bandwidth to fall back in love with your craft.

So Why Are So Many Dentists Tapping Out?

Three words: Insurance. Insurance. INSURANCE.

Managing claims, dealing with denials, interpreting EOBs written in alien hieroglyphics — this isn’t what you went into dentistry for. You didn’t study pharmacology to argue with Delta Dental over whether a crown is “cosmetic.” You didn’t memorize head and neck anatomy to figure out why MetLife is paying $4.32 on a $95 procedure.

Dental insurance bureaucracy is the soul-sucking dementor in our profession. It's no coincidence that a huge chunk of dentists leaving the field cite administrative stress as a top reason. It's not the patients, or even the procedures — it’s the endless games played by insurance companies that drain the joy out of your day like a leaky canoe.

But here’s the silver lining: you can get help. You don’t have to do it all alone. PPO negotiation firms, insurance verification services, admin training programs — these exist to give you your time (and sanity) back. Delegating your insurance chaos is not admitting defeat; it's reclaiming your joy.

But let’s talk about another emotional landmine that no one prepares you for in dental school: the moment when insurance denies a claim, and the patient blames you. Not the insurance company. Not the plan they chose during open enrollment while half-listening to HR and eating a soggy bagel. No — they march straight up to your front desk, fists metaphorically (and sometimes literally) clenched, and demand to know why you didn’t make their insurance “work.”

Let’s be crystal clear: insurance plans make the rules, enforce the denials, and shrink the reimbursements, yet you and your team are the ones getting the angry phone calls, the eye rolls, and the “one star — would not recommend” Google reviews. There are Yelp pages littered with bitter rants like, “This office made me pay out of pocket for a procedure my insurance didn’t cover.” As if you have a secret switch that turns denials into dollars and just chose not to flip it that day.

It’s like blaming the waiter because your coupon expired. It's unfair, demoralizing, and a huge reason dental teams burn out. But here's the reminder you need: you’re not the villain — you’re the middleman. A well-trained, compassionate, and often exhausted middleman trying to navigate a system that wasn’t designed to be transparent in the first place. And the fact that you're even trying to help patients maximize their benefits in this mess? That makes you a hero in scrubs.

Embrace the Ugly, Because the Beauty is Still There

Dentistry, when done right, is incredibly fulfilling.

• You get to help people out of pain.

• You rebuild confidence with a single veneer.

• You create healthy smiles that ripple into improved marriages, careers, and self-worth.

There are few professions that let you make such a direct, visible, immediate impact on someone’s life. You get to be part artist, part scientist, part healer, part detective (and unfortunately, part insurance hostage negotiator).

But here’s the good news: you get better with time. You become calmer. More confident. More efficient. You develop scripts that work, systems that save time, and boundaries that protect your energy. You learn that the one-star Yelp review from the patient you fired is not a crisis, but a badge of honor.

Most importantly, you evolve. That’s what professionals do. They evolve.

Let’s Be Honest — No One’s Career is a Fairytale

Even pediatricians get bitten. Even lawyers have to chase their own clients for payment. Even pro athletes end up doing toothpaste commercials in retirement.

If your biggest frustration is that you’re exhausted, know this: you are not broken. You are becoming.

Becoming a seasoned professional.
Becoming more emotionally resilient.
Becoming smarter with your time and your energy.
Becoming the dentist that your younger self dreamed of being — the one who doesn’t flinch at a bleeding sulcus or a rude patient.

You’re not done. You’re just getting started.

Final Thoughts (aka the Pep Talk You Didn’t Know You Needed)

If you’re in a rut, don’t assume it means you picked the wrong path. Sometimes it just means you’re climbing a hill that leads to something better. Talk to other dentists. Get coaching. Outsource your insurance madness. Take more CE. Say no to the wrong patients and yes to yourself more often. And most importantly — stick with it long enough to get good at it.

Because you will get good.

And one day, a new grad will look at you and say, “Wow, I want to be like that.”

And you’ll smile and say, “You can. Just don’t forget to commit to the journey, learn from your mistakes, and choose to find joy every day!”

Benjamin Tuinei

Founder - Veritas Dental Resources, LLC
Phone: 888-808-4513

Services:
PPO Fee Negotiators | PPO Fee Negotiating | Insurance Fee Negotiating
Insurance Credentialing | Insurance Verifications

Websites:
www.VeritasDentalResources.com | www.VerusDental.com