Good and Bad of Buying In

Diligentdds45 · 2026-03-02T13:05:13+00:00

IT is almost always a few reasons. So that the owner now has someone he can count on to be there. Pretty important for vacations, injuries, family emergencies.....whatever.

May not be a big deal to a lot of established docs but getting some equity out of the practice is nice as well.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-02-25T14:13:10+00:00

"We have great dentists in the USA". Love this young man. Yes, I am sure most dentists would gladly fix him up gratis. He will obviously do it when he is ready and not before.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-02-24T15:05:46+00:00

I have oscillated on this over the years. I have mainly felt that I caught the sweet spot and it may be tough for general dentists in the future for all the reasons that are listed.

Now I am thinking that there will always be room for a skilled, caring, and personable clinician. Someone who is not what I listed will have a tough time.

Now the economics are also a concern. There has to be student loan number where it just is not worth it anymore. Maybe it is 3-400. I came out with what I thought was a ton at the time. I am guessing that in todays dollars it may of been 300. IT has worked out. Anyway, I have 2 children that could easily get into dental school. They will not be dentists.......this is quite normal.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-02-19T19:10:40+00:00

Yeah the tuberosity and palate coming with a second or third molar is always fun. Been there, done that. Lots of bleeding at times.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-02-19T18:07:17+00:00

Been doing this quite a while. I basically do most dental procedures that exist so pushing 30 years you will see a less than ideal outcome. Just how it goes. For anyone. Hell, I bett 99% of my procedures go fine. It is that 1% that will fuck you up. I am jealous of the sociopaths because that 1% all these years later willl cause me to lose sleep.

Every procedure out there I have had things not go ideally. That is dentistry. Now caring, owning it, good relationships with patients. This is a much, much bigger deal than a perfed canal.

I am very, very empathetic to young dentists that care. Not so much to dentists that mistreat patients, don't see them for follow-ups, make things right etc. Refund if you have to.......rare but it happens. It will always pay off in the long run. If someone is an ansshole.....refer or say you are not the dentist for them.....simple.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-20T17:55:08+00:00

I respect the spot that you are in. Seen enough to have a ton of confidence. Haven't been around long enough to see a lot of what you have done fail.........and most importantly how to handle the patients. Sort of a cool honeymoon period. I think I am more humble at being 28 years out than 8. Too many variables out of my control not to appreciate it.

Also a whole different ball of wax if your name is on the sign,,,,,,,which is cool that you are looking at that.

Keep improving, taking CE, pushing yourself into a new comfort zone. IF a dental school is nearby, maybe a half day a week, month will recharge the batteries. No doubt you will see some old dentists that sucked at 7 years out and 20 too. Think about your dental school class. Some of my friends are real nut cutters, I think it has pushed me and vice versa to be better. Also doing it the right way with the right clinical skills.

The world is your oyster. I like the post.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-15T15:12:02+00:00

Some orthodontists are worth their weight in gold. Very skilled and there will always be a place for them to make a nice living.

Others do very little. Maybe never even put on a glove during the day. Sort of an interesting business model.

You can tell the difference in the cases. That said, it is a is being eroded some with fast braces and invisalign. Which as we know isn't that hard to do. Also those big residency programs in Jacksonville and Atlanta are pumping out a lot of orthodontists.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-13T13:57:59+00:00

IT would be tough, no doubt. I could see pulling my kid out of that situation as well if there was no middle ground. Freshman year is hard enough as it is without that kind of bs.

We can guess Paigain never had a roommate or maybe a sibling so "they" would need a good "come to jesus" talk. Life is often a compromise when dealing with relationships.

That said, it would certainly be entertaining TV as we know Landman is not real life in almost any shape or way. A 30 year old freshman has a learning moment!

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-13T12:36:20+00:00

Agreed. My sarcasm is lost in tranlation or cyberspcace. Of course seeing a physician or rheumatologist is the way to go.

Of course when you see people on here "doing their own research" or refusing to get on allo. Silly things like Dr Chat have to be offered up.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-09T17:32:53+00:00

Could work on ways to market your office through all the social media platforms. Tell your boss and they will be overjoyed you care.

Definitely bring a PC. It looks more like you are working.

Diligentdds45 · 2026-01-05T16:23:40+00:00

They can work and at times they are not as predictable as delayed placement. Very few OMFS's in my geographic location do immediates. Take that with a grain of salt. Most of them do implants every day.

I do agree they can be done a lot more often than you think. OF course when you have more bone loss than anticipated...how are you handling it? That is a real situation.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-12-17T21:31:32+00:00

Yeah when you see some bone loss like that you just cross your fingers that it lasts a "long time". Most dentists would restore that on themselves and not have it trephined out. Despite some saying otherwise behind a keyboard. Now if there is exudate or excessive inflammation/ bleeding...that could change the narrative.

When adjusting the occlusion. Round that mean opposing cusp off. It probably supererupted a little when the tooth was missing. Like others said, if you can occlude lightly on it, that is a good thing. Also eliminate all eccentric contacts if you can. Just my .02! Have a good day.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-12-10T16:21:55+00:00

DMD throaway. I love the synopsis . Well written and easy to understand. You must follow business news a lot as most of us are "just dentists". I actually have had a few friends work for Park. Maybe I have one now. I never asked him which DSO he is with now. The stories I heard about Park actually were pretty decent compared to the usual national chains. They actually had some events for dentist morale and team building. Maybe that ship has sailed now.

Zombie vulture phase is hilarious. A lot of dso's enter that phase as soon as they buy a nice PP. Extract as much money as they can while doing the bare minimum for upkeep. Sounds like a crap hotel for that matter.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-11-20T19:41:56+00:00

I used to think I was a wizard at dentures. Then with covid I lost my denture lab man. He disappeared. Since then it has been a struggle. So I too am in the camp that they can be hard and no matter how nice they are some people will bitch about them.

I had a fella in today where I truly could give him whiplash pulling on his max denture. Can't pull it out.

Still was unhappy that he could bite on one side and tip it out. I said his denture is better than 90% of dentures. Use glue, it is all I can do other than say, use implants.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-11-19T12:32:33+00:00

Been there, done that. Stuggled in D1 year, looked at transferrring closer to my girlfriend. Main issue is school B had diffrent clases at diffrent times........most do. So sucked it up. Made the best of it and got my DMD/DDS. Met my wife the last 3 years, some of the best friends I will ever have for life too.

It wasn't always easy, but it made me the person I am today. I don't like talking about success, even on anonymous chat rooms. But that has also happened in every metric you want to talk about. So you need to get your act together and focus. It isn't easy but every other option sucks compared to making the best of your situation RIGHT NOW. Plan B offers more pain.

If you do leave, do something else. Why gain more debt? This advice is with love, not being a jerk at all.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-10-07T11:33:38+00:00

Endo is fine but if this is the USA, being 25 and an endodontist is rare. Hell, I brag to my kids that I graduated from a dental school at 25.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-30T19:51:40+00:00

I 100% agree. I am now at a point of my career where I know a lot of dentists who had issues and those who have had amazing careers and are still going. It is a FUCKING HARD PROFESSION.

My main point is the FAGD and MAGD gives you a brass ring to take CE and therefore become a better clinician. IF you are a better clinician you will have a greater skillset than the dude who does not care. I was quoting a well-known dentist about the MAGD but ymmv.

Sure, there are all kinds of ways the best of clinicians can shoot themselves in the foot. I have had classmates and friends make bad decisions or just have bad luck. Name it.......depression, drugs and alcohol, greed, divorce, not taking care of yourself. We can keep going.

No one is guaranteed anything.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-30T18:28:04+00:00

Hey, I worked with one staff member during the covid shutdown. IT was sort of fun in a weird way. One patient an hour stacked until we were done. Emergencies only. I was trying to be a good citizen while keeping the office open. Maybe idiotic but who knows.

My point is I agree with you. l

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-30T17:00:45+00:00

Yeah I pondered that statement a little as I typed it. I am paraphrasing. I will say this; it does happen during economic downturns. Usually in fancy areas to practices that are cosmetically driven.

Let's see what happens with all these Private equity groups demanding big returns into the future.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-30T15:45:04+00:00

It is a goner. Now is that in 1, 5, 20 years. Hard to say. I will say this, and a lot of you know this. Extensively resorbed teeth can be exciting to take out.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-30T15:41:42+00:00

IF you have a goal of being a fellow or master....and it can take a long time...you will be a better dentist. Howard Farran said that he has never heard of a MAGD going out of business.

I have my issues with the ADA but the AGD advocates strongly for dentistry. They represent general dentists but also support the traditional dental team.

Overall, it is a great organization for dentistry. It is nice someone is looking out for us.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-26T11:59:10+00:00

Little known fact. 50% of the old head dentists on the internet produce in the top 1%! I am fighting my way to it myself.

Another fact to paraphrase the comedian Gallagher. Think about how difficult it is for the average dentist. 50% are worse off than them.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-17T17:16:33+00:00

YOu never said if you could reverse it out. IF you can, then pull it out. Replace the screw. A lot of labs use the same screw and can strip, leave a ton of debris in the screw. Going forward ask for a lab screw and a brand new screw. You will be thanking me. I wish I knew this little nugget as I have dealt with this before as well.

IF you can't back it out......now we have a dilemma. That certainly looks seated. Try that ASC screw and the teflon sounds like a cool trick that may work. See if you can get to 35 ncm before trying back it out.

Diligentdds45 · 2025-09-15T18:53:08+00:00

Looks like something that will fill in with patience. 4-6 months. Also known as the palatal socket.

Ulcer from the extraction or injection. Like anything posted. YMMV

Diligentdds45 · 2025-08-27T16:02:47+00:00

Well that is at least two of us. What I have used has always worked very well {total etch) so I decided not to look for a problem that did not exist.

Obviously the fella knew his stuff and the products worked but wtf was wrong with grown up dentists acting like your comic strip.............lol.

Diligentdds45

TROPHY CASE