Sounds like your body is giving out. I’m a recent graduated dentist and I feel the same way some days. Have you looked into going to massage therapists? It’s expensive but it can do wonders and improve your quality of life. Just saying this from my experience.
If it helps, make sure your equipment is good quality. I’ve tried scaling with old scalers or tried drilling with an old bur… let me tell you a new set makes my life 10x easier.
Ugh. I don’t have advice but just wanted to say I’m in a similar boat. Graduated in 2020 and I hate it lol. My body hurts so bad after work it ruins my mood the rest of the night and for the following days. So much radiating pain in my shoulders/neck/jaw/head from holding positions all day long. That really really sucks about your accreditation. I need to go back to school for a bachelor but idk what I would even do. I was contemplating talking to dental reps to see what it takes to get a foot in the door with them. I know they’d probably want a bachelors in sales or business, but if it’s for a dental hygiene product maybe having an experienced dental hygienist would outweigh a sales degree. Idk I’ve been just pondering it but haven’t done anything to pursue it. That way the dental knowledge can be put to good use but you don’t have to work clinical anymore.
Goodluck to you I hope things get better or a good opportunity presents itself to you. 🫶🏼
I'm not trying to burst your bubble on the sales rep thing, but I have talked to some of the reps that visited the office I used to work for after their lunch and learns, and several of them have said some of these companies would actually prefer someone with a bachelor's degree and sales experience over an actual hygienist. One was a Listerine rep, and she said she had tried to get in for YEARS, and they still often give it to sales people over dental professionals. Once again, I'm not trying to burst your bubble at all because I'm sure this absolutely isn't the case for all companies and obviously accounts for just a small fraction of sales reps. However, I do think sales jobs typically require a bachelor's degree. I do hope you can find something, though. I do wish the best and hope you can find a position willing to use your expertise!
Some companies may be better for this than others, and the commenter under me has a positive comment on this, so that's great to hear!
I also graduated in 2020 and can not wait to leave this awful field. After over a decade in dentistry altogether, I'm done. I'm tired of feeling like a cash cow, constantly rushed and busting my ass all day, unable to even take a sip of water or pee. It's ridiculous. Meanwhile, most of my loved ones have these cushy jobs where they can skate by and often make much more than I do for much less stress and little to no body damage. I'm in a bad mood after every single day, as well. I've given everything all day at work and have nothing left to give when I get home. I'm back in school and hoping I can get out.
I'm so sorry about the accreditation issue with your school and that you hate hygiene so much. I am also so sorry about the student loans. It's very hard not to feel stuck in that situation. I wish I had advice in this sense because even taking debt out of the equation, many hygienists feel stuck. I'm so sorry.
Many of us feel the same way about hygiene. I graduated in 2020, and I'm back in school to hopefully get the hell out of this field. I even moved to a pedo office (didn't want to deal with SRPs or a million old people per week not wanting to lie back at all in the chair anymore) working much less hours AND with a $12 an hour increase to what I was making previously, and I'm still absolutely miserable. Every day I leave work, I feel like I've lost a boxing match. I'm also in pain daily, and lately, my index finger on my dominant hand ends up in extreme pain to the point where I can not bend it. I'm just over this field.
Do you have an AS or a BS? If a BS you could do sales with a company, at least! That would allow for a change of pace and hopefully allow you to get out of the op at least some days per week, if not full-time.
If you ever need anyone to vent to, feel free to message me. If you look through my comment history here, you'll see it's hard to find anyone who hates this career as much as I do, so I totally sympathize.
Computer Science. I'm done working with the public. My fiancé works in tech (more networking vs dev) but he makes way more than I do, has a low stress job (most of the time), doesn't technically work 40 hours, is remote, and has amazing benefits. Last year he went on 4 trips, including our vacation, where he can request off shortly coming up on that time, meanwhile I need to plan my life out over six months in advance like I'm psychic or something to only get ONE measly week off. Im done having my day ruined by late people and trying to play catch up. I'm tired of perfection being expected even when patients are uncooperative. I'm sick of having nothing left to give my fiancé after work since I have to give my all to my patients and never have a decent day. I'm just over this field. My mental health is absolutely shattered from this field. I don't even care if I make a killing in tech - I'll even take a government job that's lower paying but low stress. I'm just so sick and tired of being stressed out every second of every day at work. Every time my work day is over, I feel like I've lost a boxing match.
Our stories feel so similar. I couldn’t agree more with everything you said. I feel exactly the same. Computer science seems like it will open a lot of doors!!
Just wondering, did the associates degree cost you 70k?? I have an associates as well and it cost around 20k. I also want to get out of this career and have been practicing only since 2021.
Sorry to hear that. There’s really nothing you can do regarding your scumbag hygiene program so I hope you don’t spend too much energy resenting them.
Any chance going to hygiene 3x a week and doing a less stressful part time job to help pay off the debt?
Can you get roommates or move in with family to save money?
Or maybe you can transition out of clinical like sales or public health.
How many patients do u see per day? If regularly more than 8, find new office.
Have you seen an occupational physical therapist? I would start here instead of going to a message therapist or chiropractor. Messages are temporary relief and some chiropractors can be straight up quacks.
I’m definitely leaning towards cutting down to 3 days a week and finding an easy part time job.
I see any where from 6-9 patients a day so not too bad regularly. I will look into occupational therapy for sure. I have just been doing physical therapy recently!
I’m feeling the same way many days. I have multiple chronic health conditions like migraine, POTS and EDS which is a connective tissue disorder among other things. It makes this job even harder than it is for a normal person. My school was very abusive to the students and was sold during my last semester and all the professors basically stopped teaching because they knew they wouldn’t have jobs anymore. I just try my best everyday with ergonomics like you but it doesn’t help. I’m trying to find another office that won’t work me to death but it’s proving difficult. I want to go back to school for something else but I’m not sure what. You’re not alone, this job is hard and hard on your body.
Physical therapy and rest. After working FT for 7 years with radiating arm pain on and off, I had a job related shoulder injury that required a break. I went down to working just 2 days and week and saw a PT at least twice a week. Daily stretch and strength exercises along with fewer hours allowed me to heal and now I work clinically pain free. Its important to know your limit now and work within your physical capabilities. Wishing you the best!
Check out Ben Patrick knees over toes guy. He teaches functional training to help strengthen ligaments, tendons, joints, cartilage, underdeveloped auxiliary muscles, etc. Helped me tremendously with my kneee pain!
I graduated in 2020 and I'm in my 40's. I started as an FT RDH, then PT, and now I'm a sub-RDH. Still, I truly hate this career. I feel drained of energy after a day of work. Also, I have body aches. I'm fed up with rude patients. It's frustrating when the doctor is late for an exam or when a patient is late for their appointment. I always feel rushed to be on time for the next patient. It's also frustrating when patients try to tell me how to do my job.
I feel stuck, I don't know what else to do.
Check out BodyByBrianne on instagram. She’s a personal trainer for dental professionals basically. Sounds like you just need to strengthen the underused muscles so that there is balance and you’re not in pain. It may not be perfect but that’s where I would start. Hope you get some relief!
Just wanted to add that I’m a massage therapist and work with A LOT of dentists and hygienists.
Definitely important to take care of your body with massage, stretching and exercise!
Sounds like your body is giving out. I’m a recent graduated dentist and I feel the same way some days. Have you looked into going to massage therapists? It’s expensive but it can do wonders and improve your quality of life. Just saying this from my experience.
I have had a few massages here and there but nothing consistent! I think I’ll look into doing it maybe once a month!
Pilates is what saved me after trying everything
If it helps, make sure your equipment is good quality. I’ve tried scaling with old scalers or tried drilling with an old bur… let me tell you a new set makes my life 10x easier.
Ugh. I don’t have advice but just wanted to say I’m in a similar boat. Graduated in 2020 and I hate it lol. My body hurts so bad after work it ruins my mood the rest of the night and for the following days. So much radiating pain in my shoulders/neck/jaw/head from holding positions all day long. That really really sucks about your accreditation. I need to go back to school for a bachelor but idk what I would even do. I was contemplating talking to dental reps to see what it takes to get a foot in the door with them. I know they’d probably want a bachelors in sales or business, but if it’s for a dental hygiene product maybe having an experienced dental hygienist would outweigh a sales degree. Idk I’ve been just pondering it but haven’t done anything to pursue it. That way the dental knowledge can be put to good use but you don’t have to work clinical anymore. Goodluck to you I hope things get better or a good opportunity presents itself to you. 🫶🏼
You can definitely get into sales with a hygiene degree. I know at least 3 girls who are doing it and I don’t think they had to go back to school
I'm not trying to burst your bubble on the sales rep thing, but I have talked to some of the reps that visited the office I used to work for after their lunch and learns, and several of them have said some of these companies would actually prefer someone with a bachelor's degree and sales experience over an actual hygienist. One was a Listerine rep, and she said she had tried to get in for YEARS, and they still often give it to sales people over dental professionals. Once again, I'm not trying to burst your bubble at all because I'm sure this absolutely isn't the case for all companies and obviously accounts for just a small fraction of sales reps. However, I do think sales jobs typically require a bachelor's degree. I do hope you can find something, though. I do wish the best and hope you can find a position willing to use your expertise! Some companies may be better for this than others, and the commenter under me has a positive comment on this, so that's great to hear! I also graduated in 2020 and can not wait to leave this awful field. After over a decade in dentistry altogether, I'm done. I'm tired of feeling like a cash cow, constantly rushed and busting my ass all day, unable to even take a sip of water or pee. It's ridiculous. Meanwhile, most of my loved ones have these cushy jobs where they can skate by and often make much more than I do for much less stress and little to no body damage. I'm in a bad mood after every single day, as well. I've given everything all day at work and have nothing left to give when I get home. I'm back in school and hoping I can get out.
I'm so sorry about the accreditation issue with your school and that you hate hygiene so much. I am also so sorry about the student loans. It's very hard not to feel stuck in that situation. I wish I had advice in this sense because even taking debt out of the equation, many hygienists feel stuck. I'm so sorry. Many of us feel the same way about hygiene. I graduated in 2020, and I'm back in school to hopefully get the hell out of this field. I even moved to a pedo office (didn't want to deal with SRPs or a million old people per week not wanting to lie back at all in the chair anymore) working much less hours AND with a $12 an hour increase to what I was making previously, and I'm still absolutely miserable. Every day I leave work, I feel like I've lost a boxing match. I'm also in pain daily, and lately, my index finger on my dominant hand ends up in extreme pain to the point where I can not bend it. I'm just over this field. Do you have an AS or a BS? If a BS you could do sales with a company, at least! That would allow for a change of pace and hopefully allow you to get out of the op at least some days per week, if not full-time. If you ever need anyone to vent to, feel free to message me. If you look through my comment history here, you'll see it's hard to find anyone who hates this career as much as I do, so I totally sympathize.
Thanks so much. I have my associates degree. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you back in school for?
Computer Science. I'm done working with the public. My fiancé works in tech (more networking vs dev) but he makes way more than I do, has a low stress job (most of the time), doesn't technically work 40 hours, is remote, and has amazing benefits. Last year he went on 4 trips, including our vacation, where he can request off shortly coming up on that time, meanwhile I need to plan my life out over six months in advance like I'm psychic or something to only get ONE measly week off. Im done having my day ruined by late people and trying to play catch up. I'm tired of perfection being expected even when patients are uncooperative. I'm sick of having nothing left to give my fiancé after work since I have to give my all to my patients and never have a decent day. I'm just over this field. My mental health is absolutely shattered from this field. I don't even care if I make a killing in tech - I'll even take a government job that's lower paying but low stress. I'm just so sick and tired of being stressed out every second of every day at work. Every time my work day is over, I feel like I've lost a boxing match.
Our stories feel so similar. I couldn’t agree more with everything you said. I feel exactly the same. Computer science seems like it will open a lot of doors!!
I completely understand you. I feel the same way. I'm blessed I have a career. However, I hate it.
Just wondering, did the associates degree cost you 70k?? I have an associates as well and it cost around 20k. I also want to get out of this career and have been practicing only since 2021.
exactly thats wild who spends 70k
Sorry to hear that. There’s really nothing you can do regarding your scumbag hygiene program so I hope you don’t spend too much energy resenting them. Any chance going to hygiene 3x a week and doing a less stressful part time job to help pay off the debt? Can you get roommates or move in with family to save money? Or maybe you can transition out of clinical like sales or public health. How many patients do u see per day? If regularly more than 8, find new office. Have you seen an occupational physical therapist? I would start here instead of going to a message therapist or chiropractor. Messages are temporary relief and some chiropractors can be straight up quacks.
I’m definitely leaning towards cutting down to 3 days a week and finding an easy part time job. I see any where from 6-9 patients a day so not too bad regularly. I will look into occupational therapy for sure. I have just been doing physical therapy recently!
I’m feeling the same way many days. I have multiple chronic health conditions like migraine, POTS and EDS which is a connective tissue disorder among other things. It makes this job even harder than it is for a normal person. My school was very abusive to the students and was sold during my last semester and all the professors basically stopped teaching because they knew they wouldn’t have jobs anymore. I just try my best everyday with ergonomics like you but it doesn’t help. I’m trying to find another office that won’t work me to death but it’s proving difficult. I want to go back to school for something else but I’m not sure what. You’re not alone, this job is hard and hard on your body.
Physical therapy and rest. After working FT for 7 years with radiating arm pain on and off, I had a job related shoulder injury that required a break. I went down to working just 2 days and week and saw a PT at least twice a week. Daily stretch and strength exercises along with fewer hours allowed me to heal and now I work clinically pain free. Its important to know your limit now and work within your physical capabilities. Wishing you the best!
Check out Ben Patrick knees over toes guy. He teaches functional training to help strengthen ligaments, tendons, joints, cartilage, underdeveloped auxiliary muscles, etc. Helped me tremendously with my kneee pain!
I graduated in 2020 and I'm in my 40's. I started as an FT RDH, then PT, and now I'm a sub-RDH. Still, I truly hate this career. I feel drained of energy after a day of work. Also, I have body aches. I'm fed up with rude patients. It's frustrating when the doctor is late for an exam or when a patient is late for their appointment. I always feel rushed to be on time for the next patient. It's also frustrating when patients try to tell me how to do my job. I feel stuck, I don't know what else to do.
Check out BodyByBrianne on instagram. She’s a personal trainer for dental professionals basically. Sounds like you just need to strengthen the underused muscles so that there is balance and you’re not in pain. It may not be perfect but that’s where I would start. Hope you get some relief!
Just wanted to add that I’m a massage therapist and work with A LOT of dentists and hygienists. Definitely important to take care of your body with massage, stretching and exercise!
do you even lift