In dentistry, stress isn’t a random visitor; it’s an uninvited team member. Whether you’ve been in the business for 40 years or four, you’ve probably felt it: the pressure to produce, the emotional strain of difficult patients, the financial burden, and the loneliness that sometimes comes with leadership.
In the past, we’ve waited until problems arose to address them—thinking of burnout, depression, and anxiety as afterthoughts. But what if we thought about it the other way around?
Mental health is like that.
Just as physical health prevents injury and improves performance, mental health is proactive. It requires daily practice to build emotional strength, clarity, and resilience. In this high-pressure, high-touch profession, mental health may be the most important skill we develop.
Mental health isn’t therapy, it’s not fluff, and it’s not just for “other people.”
It’s daily practice to strengthen your emotional core—so you can lead, act, and live with more clarity and purpose, especially when under pressure.
Harvard psychologist Susan David describes it as emotional agility—the ability to respond flexibly to challenging situations instead of spiraling into anger, avoidance, or self-criticism.
Martin Seligman, often called the father of positive psychology, came up with the PERMA model: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. Together, these pillars form the foundation for thriving, not just surviving.
Carol Dweck’s book Mindset reminds us that change and growth are possible at any age or stage. You don’t stand still, and neither do your teammates.
Mental health doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. In fact, Alanism #20 (yes, I have 96): No one gets there alone! Coaches, therapists, and even genuine friends can help us discover our blind spots and grow from them.
We must not only prepare for success, but also for failure. Because in dentistry, failure is not an assumption, it’s an inevitability.
Our work is a human exploration. And human exploration is inherently imperfect. Add to that the complexity of the oral environment—variations in home care, the patient’s microbiome, biology, and even the occasional inevitable human error—and the chances of every case being perfect are slim to none.
But these results—these “failures”—do not define us.
This doesn’t mean you’re not a good dentist. It doesn’t mean you don’t work hard enough. It means you’re human.
Let’s stop fearing these outcomes and start preparing ourselves mentally and emotionally for them. Let’s stop letting them shake our identity and values.
Mental health isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what you already do with greater awareness and intention.
Here are some ways to get started:
Before you see your first patient, take 3 minutes to breathe deeply.
Reframe stress. Instead of “this is a disaster,” say “this is an opportunity to lead.”
Write down a moment of gratitude at the end of each day.
Celebrate your wins—yes, even the smooth Class I composites.
Say something heartwarming to a difficult patient. You may be the first person to have a full week.
Add humor. Even a bad joke can boost morale—trust me.
But it’s not just about you, it’s about your team.
Create safe spaces for assistants, hygienists, and administrative staff to speak up. Let them see your blind spots and know that their voices matter. And be open to them. Feedback must be a two-way street and given and received in a spirit of love.
One of my favorite quotes is, “You’re not perfect. Accept it. I’m not perfect either—I’ve gotten over it.”
Said with love and humility, it defuses tension and strengthens relationships. And when paired with laughter, it’s divine.
Dentistry is a serious profession. Humor unites the team, breaks tension, and brings healing. Even my eye-rolling team and patients eventually admit they appreciate the lightheartedness.
Olympic athletes train their minds just as they train their bodies. Simone Biles and Michael Phelps have both spoken about the important role mental health plays in performance and survival.
The U.S. Army developed the Integrated Soldier Physical Training Program because they know that soldiers need more than just muscle, they need resilience. Business leaders are also realizing that emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and empathy are not “nice-to-haves” but essential to leadership.
If this is true for athletes, soldiers, and CEOs, why not dentists?
We are precision professionals, working in emotionally intense, physically constrained, and financially complex environments.
Mental health is not a nice-to-have, it’s the edge we’ve been missing.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Your words matter.” They do. But so do your tone, your body language, your presence.
In today’s world, filled with messages that can be misinterpreted, especially when sent via email or text. Nothing can replace an empathetic voice, eye contact, and authentic presence.
In her book Presence, Amy Cuddy explains that how we act and speak not only affects how others perceive us, but also how we perform under pressure.
So let’s show up as fully human beings. Let’s listen with our hearts, let’s listen with curiosity, let’s lead with humility.
Mental health is not about being weak, it’s about being strong, proactive, and powerful.
And this may be the missing piece of the puzzle you are looking for to create a career and a life you love.
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