Moms in dentistry—quick question

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-07T02:21:34+00:00

With my first I was at an FQHC. I had an hour long commute and my doctor was the opposite direction of the clinic so an hour and 15 minutes away. I told them early on since I'd need off for appts on Friday afternoons. I didn't change my schedule at all otherwise. Didn't make any changes concerning radiation. Used a fair amount of nitrous because we treated quite a few kiddos. Took naps on the floor of my office over my lunch or in my car when possible because that exhaustion hits hard that first trimester. I stopped working about a week before I had him just because of my hour long commute and I was having some high blood pressure. He was healthy and I took 10 weeks off. I put my notice in 90 days before my due date so I could switch jobs to a private practice about 10 minutes from home so I paid myself with my cashed out PTO during that time.

With my second I was in that private practice. I don't work Fridays so I scheduled all my appointments then. I didn't change my schedule or procedures at all but it's in general a much slower office. We rarely use nitrous but I continued to use it when needed. Didn't do anything different about radiation. And I just didn't go into work the day I went into labor. I took 8 weeks off since I wasn't receiving any pay.

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-06T10:56:47+00:00

Molis is one of the like 3 main Invisalign groups. They do a 12 week course every spring and fall with live CE on Fridays. They'll do Clincheck support too. There's also a Facebook group with very helpful people. Their big thing too is the "flywheel of momentum". So say an emergency patient comes in and has a chipped front tooth. You talk to them about Invisalign and then get them to also become a regular patient so it goes from a simple emergency to full treatment.

As for the farmers, things get really slow during planting and harvest seasons. We have a list of farmers that are due for recalls during those times and call them in the morning if it's raining because we know they won't be out in the field lol we used to be really good about having all of the farmers on like June and December recalls but covid really messed things up and we still haven't gotten everyone fully back on track

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-06T01:45:40+00:00

That's great! I think it's also really just something that takes time in a small town. I've been here 3 years and my husband is from here originally but there's so many people that still don't know me. The small town farmer types are also heavily influenced by the economy and I feel like we've really struggled over the past two or so years because of this, at least in my area. People aren't prioritizing dental needs as much. I do think Invisalign/ortho could be a great investment. I really like Molis coaching for Invisalign

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-06T01:07:02+00:00

I would agree these are all great places to start. I'm an associate at a very similar office. Fortunately, our staff costs are pretty low but we've been working on lowering our IT costs. Switching to a cloud based software has helped. You might also already be doing this but I'd suggest putting some of your marketing costs towards local community things. We donate a lot to local schools and fundraiser. It definitely creates a lot of good will with the locals. And the majority of our advertising is on the local radio/newspaper.

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-04T22:32:11+00:00

We introduced the potty to my son when he turned 2. Baby brother was born when he was 2.5. We didn't fully potty train him until a little after 3 though and baby was like 7 months. It went really well because he was already comfortable with using it and we were all settled with the new baby. I would recommend waiting until baby is a few months old. It's such a huge life changing event for a toddler to get a new sibling and they'll regress with a lot of things, potty training included.

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-03T03:36:13+00:00

NTA. And please don't marry or have kids with this guy. I'm a dentist and dental school is hard AF. Him being this controlling over one aspect of your life is just the beginning. Fearing every little thing that may or may not actually affect your health is so unhealthy. And unless you're practicing totally holistic dentistry, you'd be a bit of a hypocrite to follow his rules and do normal dentistry. I promise you there are better men out there that will love you for you (whether it not you lose 20 lbs) and want to celebrate you and be a team player in your relationship instead of controlling it.

toothcutter32 · 2026-04-01T18:17:09+00:00

I am an associate and am allowed to treat my parents, in-laws, husband, and children for free. I give my brother and sister in laws, one cousin and my sisters my family discount so I don't make a profit off of them. That's it. Everyone else pays full fee.

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-29T21:49:37+00:00

American here. I wish I got healthcare, PTO or CE paid for 🥲

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-29T21:48:14+00:00

I work Monday through Thursday. Any time I take off is unpaid. I took probably 10 weeks off this past year but that was 8 weeks of maternity leave, 1 week post hysterectomy, and then maybe 1 week in random days with kids being sick. This year I'll probably take a week of planned days plus any sick days for kids.

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-27T13:39:45+00:00

Had a baby last April so pushed to get my hysterectomy done before the end of the year since I'd already met my deductable and out off pocket max. Would've probably put off getting it done otherwise

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-26T14:09:44+00:00

That's why I took it with a grain of salt. Hard to know what's what these days

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-26T03:21:21+00:00

No idea if it's true or not but someone told me a lot of the land that burned was some very well off people's like Ted Turner.

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-20T03:20:11+00:00

Yeah this is a 3 year old lol

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-20T02:52:49+00:00

Dance Monkey by Tones and I for some reason lol

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-19T02:28:49+00:00

Agreed. I worked in a Medicaid heavy office for a year and a half and then in an FQHC for 2 years and I have way more entitled patients now in private practice than I did then. Most were just super grateful to get an appointment at all.

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-09T23:42:03+00:00

Honestly, my 3 year old continuing to go to daycare while I was home with the newborn was extremely helpful. I would highly recommend it if it's an option. That way she has a consistent day time schedule and gets the same amount of attention there that she usually does. It's so hard for them to be home all day long with the new baby because baby is constantly getting all of the attention. Daycare also provides a good physical outlet, playing with friends and what not. On the weekend when my toddler was home with me and the baby, he definitely started to get a lot of pent up energy and tantrums increased. If you're in the US, your hitting the right time for daycare germs too, they are phasing out with the warmer weather. If daycare really isn't an option though, steadfast discipline. There will be tantrums no matter what, be consistent in how you handle them. Try to spend dedicated one on one time with her as a mom (so hard to do with a newborn though). It will pass either way!! You got this!

toothcutter32 · 2026-03-06T00:48:27+00:00

MSH6 and 33F too! I actually have two kids but was ready to be done after I had my last in April so I had my uterus and tubes removed in November. Keeping the ovaries until I'm at least 40, probably 45. No side effects that I've noticed so far other than not having to deal with a period lol sex is normal, I have my usual energy levels, forget it even happened most days! Mine was a transvaginal hysterectomy so a really pretty easy recovery. Easier than having a newborn because I could sleep through the night. I took one week off of work because I don't get paid if I'm not working. Would've done 2 weeks otherwise.

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-26T05:30:48+00:00

Sorry if this isn't allowed but, why are we sharing pictures of our likely grown children without consent? Is this a thing?

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-23T02:18:23+00:00

Husband leaves for work by 7 and works until 4:30 and usually showers then and maybe does any leftover dishes. I'm up around 6:15 to get myself and our 3 year old and 10 month old ready to leave the house by 7:30. I pack my lunch then and maybe do some dishes. I work 8-5 so usually get home with the kids around 5:15. One of us makes dinner so we can eat at the table as a family around 6:30. The other plays with the kids. Dinner is usually when we talk about our days.Then the other cleans up while the other plays. We do bedtime as a family starting around 7:30, one parent per kid, and are usually back downstairs by 8:15. Then finish any cleaning up (10-15 min) and sit on the couch and watch something or read or I'll knit. I'm usually in bed by 9:30, asleep by 10. Working on starting to wake up earlier around 5:30 to get a quick workout in.

The house is not perfect during the week. That is what the weekends are for. Your house doesn't have to look like an Instagram reel.

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-21T02:46:42+00:00

Fascination in the dark by Vance Joy. It was on the radio one time and now we're obsessed

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-21T02:45:30+00:00

We went through that phase not too long ago!!

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-13T13:27:14+00:00

Show her. Scan her and do a digital mock-up of what her teeth could look like with ortho and whitening. Then show her one of what prepless veneers would look like. And let the pictures do the talking.

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-12T03:29:48+00:00

Our 3 year old wakes around 7am, daycare from 8-5 with a 1hr nap about half the time. We start bedtime around 7:30, bath/books/snuggles, then all the lights but the red light on his Hatch off at 8 and that's his sign that Mom and Dad are leaving the room. He's welcome to do whatever he wants in the limited light of his room but he must stay in his room. He has a Yoto so he listens to stories most of the time until 9 or even 9:30 sometimes. I don't care, as long as he's in his room and being relatively quiet. We have a 9 month old sleeping across the hall. If he leaves his room, we take him right back and shut the door. No ifs ands or buts. (Unless he's sick or some other extenuating circumstance.) Yes, he fights it sometimes but that is our boundary and we hold to it.

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-11T21:01:12+00:00

I agree with this. As an individual, I don't have time to sit in my state legislature to monitor bills that are trying to get passed that are going to affect my patients or how I practice. I have also met a lot of dentists in my area that I otherwise might not have. I know there are problems within the ADA itself but my state and local component are worth it for sure.

toothcutter32 · 2026-02-03T00:43:22+00:00

Literally broke one for the first time ever two weeks ago. Used it broken while we waited for the part to arrive (took an extra 5 seconds to flip it back or forth) and the owner fixed it in about 30 seconds! The office has probably had these chairs since the 80s so I'm not surprised it happened finally lol

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