089 Creating a Dental Career That You Love with Darin Dichter

We are live at Spear Studio, and so excited to introduce Dr. Darin Dichter. This studio is where a lot of the recorded video content for Spear Education is filmed. Dr. Dichter is the resident prosthodontist at Spear Education. He brings with him 20 years of clinical, research, and teaching experience. He is also an instructor for the upcoming workshop Restoring the Edentulous Arch.

Sully and Dr. Dichter kick the show off with Dr. Dichter sharing his background growing up in Oregon, and how he almost become a ski instructor instead of a dentist. They also talk about how Dr. Dichter grew a practice from scratch before deciding to do a residency. We also learn about the chance phone call that ended up placing Dr. Dichter at Spears. Sully gets to ask a lot of questions about dental careers, clinical procedures, dental education, and more. 

You can find Dr. Darin Dichter here:

Dr. Darin Dichter Spear Education

Darin Dichter on LinkedIn

Restoring the Edentulous Arch

Show Notes:

[02:48] Dr. Dichter grew up in Gearhart, Oregon. He went to college at the University of Oregon. He had a family friend who was a dentist, and that inspired him to take the Dental Admission Test (DAT).

[04:27] He had to choose between being a ski guide or a dentist. He chose being a dentist. 

[07:22] He went to Oregon Health Sciences in Portland. After school, he worked with a family friend for a year, and then started a practice from scratch.

[12:01] Some dental schools are designed to make people really good clinicians, and others are designed to prepare people for the next step. It would be helpful to know what you wanted to do before choosing a school.

[13:31] When working in a small town everyone knows who you are and where you are. It's still easier to start a practice in a small town.

[16:08] He then moved to Portland to practice. He was at a lecture and was approached to join a study club. 

[18:39] The most impactful study club that Dr. Dichter was in also had the periodontist, orthodontist, and endodontist that he worked with as members. They would study past cases to know what they would want to do differently on new cases. 

[23:37] He ran a practice in Portland for about 5 years, and then decided to do a residency.

[24:11] He ended up going to UCLA. 

[28:33] He almost started a practice in Orange County, but was invited to work at Spears. 

[30:16] He still sees patients and then has workshops. 

[31:32] He is looking for specific patients to fulfill certain dental needs. He does comprehensive restorative dentistry. 

[33:44] The challenge is that everything is designed about a technique, but people need to learn the other options. And then need to know which system or technique would work the best.

[40:44] Everything we do digitally is fundamentally the same as the analog world. It's a tool that could make you more efficient or more predictable.

[45:36] You learn so much by doing your own lab work. 

[49:01] Preserve the teeth, because it will preserve options for you. 

[50:34] Find conservative options if you can.

As always thanks so much for listening! If you like the show we would love for you to review the show on iTunes as well as spread the word! If you have any questions or want to get in touch, shoot me an email at [email protected].  

Links and Resources:

[email protected]

The Millennial Dentist Website

@Millennialdentist on Facebook

@MillennialDDS on Twitter

On Instagram  Dr. Sully…@Millennialdentist on InstagramDr. Peyman…@drpeyray on Instagram

Dr. Sully’s website and blog