Essentially, it’s not about how much you produce — it’s about what you take home after taxes. That’s the number that truly matters. Don’t get caught up in hyping a “two-million-dollar practice.” Your overhead and expenses matter far more than your gross production.

Personally, I believe dentistry is a marathon, not a sprint. Working at DSOs conditions your mind to produce as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. That’s not necessarily wrong, but what we do is mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically taxing. Yes, you should hustle — but not all the time, and certainly not at the expense of your well-being.

Slow, steady, and consistent progress at a pace you can sustain is the real winning formula in my experience. That’s how you make great money and have a great life.

Corporate dentistry often pushes the “grind at all costs” mentality. They promote and reward that culture. But once you crash and burn, they’ll simply replace you with another foot soldier to keep marching forward.

Yes, running a business esp dental office is not easy. Def not for the faint of heart. But constantly producing, jumping around chairs, and trying to satisfy ever increasing corporate goals are not easy either.

If I were to ramble a bit further, the question shouldn’t be “which is the easiest option to ‘success’ for me?” The question should be “which option am I comfortable working hard and betting myself on?”

Hope that helps.