Finding a passion is really hard, and a lot of people don’t have a passion. It’s a weird, elusive thing, and it can be frustrating to think you need to have a passion. Keep exploring and being creative with your thoughts… you never know what you will discover about yourself.

Hey Laura,
No problem with asking questions, if anything I invite them as I have no qualms about sharing my experiences.

In relation to working in short spurts I’ve been in 6 different clinics in the past 3 years, with 3 of them being a maternity leave type coverage. The other ones I would associate at, mostly part-time, and try to keep seeing if one day I’d wake up and see that maybe it all wasn’t so bad. I usually end up working for a place for 4-6 months, during which time I know I’ll never be happy working for them – sometimes a mix of what I see them do, and a mix of that doing dentistry just isn’t a passion of mine or something I even remotely enjoy doing. So I eventually move on, try another clinic, and hope maybe what I need is a change of scenery, so to speak, to help me get by a little longer. Truthfully nothing ever changes, I go in, I hate it, feel sore/wonder how I’ll make it another year let alone 30+ working in the chair, and spend more time thinking about how to get out early for that day/how to get out permanently down the road.
Even though most of my other times off were mostly for surgeries, or some injury, even the recovery periods of those were a hundred times better than waking up to go to the clinic. I stopped working in my last clinic September 1st, the first time I’ve had a break while not recovering from something, and it’s just amazing. It’s still stressful trying to determine the next steps/figuring out how long I’ll be able to not work before having to find another place to associate at while my other plans get into place; however, the time away from that handpiece is never missed!

Oh everyone that actually knows me, friends/colleagues alike, know how I feel about dentistry – it was actually a friend/colleague that sent the link to your blog since he understands exactly how I feel/found his way out already. Even staff I’ve worked with know my hate for it, and even knowing that they still prefer me to do any of their work that I’m willing to do (which is only basic procedures since I just hate all surgeries and endo, and am very unlikely to do any), since I do quality work, but just have no passion or enjoyment from doing it day in/out. Will someone ever know I take the time to properly shape their restorations, compared to my colleagues that make square boxes of single fill fillings. Staff knows, but patients will only appreciate the colleague taking those couple units less of time and nothing else.

Hi C,
Even though it hasn’t happened yet, you’re laying the groundwork for a change to come. I’m curious about a few things because your story is so interesting. How are you able to work in short spurts? Do you temp? I bet that 1 month away felt great for you!

Do any of your friends and colleagues know how you feel about dentistry? Thanks for sharing your story here. The more people that do, the more people can feel comfortable about being real about it!

Mark – I am so happy for you. It takes courage to face that honesty, and I admire you for that. Looks like you are on the right path. What good is a large amount of money if you wake up every morning, dreading to face the day?

Mark, thanks. It’s what we do, isn’t it? We ignore it. We just go blindly through life, and then one day it smacks us in the face (usually in the form of a depression, as you suggest.) It’s great that you tried everything you could to do to make it better for yourself. At least you were able to walk away knowing you did everything you could. CE and constant learning work for some people. That’s the case for my husband in his field. He is a super nerd because taking CE and continually growing is what keeps him interested. But we know that doesn’t work for everyone. Your last sentence is so beautiful, it gave me goosebumps. I’m so glad you were able to do what you felt was best for yourself. I’d love to interview you for the blog… look out for an email from me.