It's hard to describe. Dentistry collision of medical and business. Everyone in the office depends on you to generate income for the office. Very high overhead. The field is getting way over saturated so that "insurances" are able to cut fees so low that you lose money doing certain procedures. The cost to run an office keep going up while what you get paid keeps going down. The guy I work for has not raised his fees in like 12 years but the cost of everything in the office continues to go up. Dental schools just keep pumping out new dentists with 400K in student loan debt and need a job. Cooperate dental clinics grab them right up, teach them bad habits, and put pressure on them to produce. You want to do what's right but you also need to produce the numbers or they will find someone that will.

Honestly, I can live with that part. What makes it hard for me is the people and their irrational fears. People hate you and tell you constantly. Grown men cry in the chair over absolutely nothing. People don't understand what you do. A dentist can do an awful job and if it does not bother the patient they think it's great while another dentist will do an awesome job but the patient thinks he terrible because they were sore afterwards. That's really hard for me. To do a great job and be proud I was able to complete a difficult procedure and have the patient think I suck because the appointment went longer then they thought it should have.

It's hard to work in a dark small mouth. Especially as someone is fighting and squirming the whole time. Something does not go as planned and now you're running behind. People will get so mad if they have to wait, they hate being there and want out as soon as possible. Have to keep everyone happy or else they will leave and go next door. Literally, there is another dentist next door to us. After you made sure everyone is taken care of, the grown man is done crying over nothing, and you are back on schedule then you get to sit down and read the negative Yelp review you just got from the person demanding more Vicodin and you would not give it to them.

It's my livelihood and I really work hard to be honest, make everyone happy, and do a good job just to be told how much I suck by patients and other dentists. Dentists are brutal to each other.

I am 37 years old, single, 400k in debt, and live with my dad. Yet I get to hear all the jokes about my big house and boat.

I know other jobs have similar stresses as well. It's life. There are a lot of positives as but you asked for some of the bad stuff so that's all I talked about