49. Dental Students: Don’t Buy the Hype (Or the Shiny New Tech)
Stepping out of dental school and into real-world dentistry can feel overwhelming. Shiny technology, leadership pressures, debt, and the weight of patient care — it’s a lot to handle. In this episode of The Dentists Show, Chase and Ryan get real about what matters most for dental students and new grads.
Chase shares insights from speaking to a room of over 200 dental students, answering their burning questions about affording tech, buying equipment, and stepping into leadership roles. The takeaway? Don’t get caught chasing every shiny new tool. Being a step behind the bleeding edge is often smarter — and cheaper.
Instead, the guys emphasize what really matters: putting in reps with bread-and-butter dentistry, investing in quality CE (even if it costs you), and surrounding yourself with strong mentors and teammates. They get into the importance of reflection, the role of personality and hobbies in interviews, and why being intentional with your growth early in your career pays off forever.
Whether you’re still in dental school, a fresh grad, or mentoring young dentists yourself, this episode will leave you with practical, honest advice you won’t get from a textbook.
LINKS: https://www.thedentistsshow.com
Episode Minute By Minute:
00:00 – Recording filters, background noise & real-life interruptions
02:30 – Chase speaks at Smiles event: 230 dental students
04:30 – Students’ biggest questions: tech & equipment costs
06:00 – Why new grads shouldn’t chase shiny new technology
08:00 – Being a step behind the bleeding edge (car & boat analogy)
09:30 – Focus on patient experience and team leadership first
11:00 – Put in reps: bread-and-butter dentistry is your foundation
12:30 – CE courses: why even expensive ones are worth it
15:00 – Live-patient CE and safe ways to build advanced skills
17:00 – Ryan’s story: working with Chase was like a “mini residency”
19:00 – The role of mentorship (finding mentors & mentoring others)
21:00 – How they evaluate new dentists in interviews
22:30 – Why reflection and personality matter as much as skills
25:00 – Students: reach out, invite us for pizza + Q&A
27:00 – Closing laughs & reminders to like, share, and subscribe