Where’s The Instruction Manual?

I recently attended a dinner put on by a group of dental business advisors. They talked about the usual: how to choose a practice, how to get a business loan, what kinds of insurance you need. But, like most of these talks, there were few specifics given. Essentially, any question that asked for numbers went unanswered.

For example, many graduating students want to know how much money they should allocate for a retirement account, an emergency fund, and payments on student loans. The response was always, “It depends on how much your living expenses and what your interest rates are.”

“How much should disability insurance cost?”

“It depends on your age and gender!”

I understand that no two individuals or practices are the same, but there must be some rules of thumb or examples that can be given. There must be better answers to all the questions that arise as we transition into our careers. It sure would be nice if a dental school diploma came with an instruction manual! There are, of course, many great resources out there, including the AGD Graduate Transition Manual, but no resource will ever come close to covering all there is to know.

This is going to be my last post for The Daily Grind. I’ve enjoyed being a part of it, and I want to thank you for reading and especially thank those who have posted comments. I want to encourage you all to stay active in this online community, as I believe it is vital to our success as individuals. Please remember that our educations do not come with all the answers and that your knowledge and experience can help future generations avoid the same mistakes that you have made. Together, we can continue to elevate the profession and make the daily grind just a bit more enjoyable.

Dave Coviak