A Healthcare Provider’s Journey Through Holiday Loss (by Dr. Parul Dua Makkar) Grief changes everything. It alters how we move, how we breathe, how we belong to the world. When I lost my younger and only sibling, Manu, and then later my father, the ground beneath me shifted in ways I could never have prepared for. Their deaths did not …
Compassion Fatigue in Dentistry
(by Catherine Murphy, DDS, MSD ) Dentistry demands empathy, compassion, and dedication from its practitioners. Dentists often find themselves immersed in the daily challenges of alleviating pain, restoring smiles, and improving oral health. However, amidst the pursuit of serving patients, there lies a silent struggle known as compassion fatigue. The world renowned traumatologist, Charles Figley, who referred to compassion fatigue …
The Bombardo
(by Dr. Lori Noga) A dear friend called me last week, and I could hear the shell shock in his voice before he even said hello. He had just sold his dental practice. His youngest had just left for college. He sold his dream house. Moved to a new state. And started working in a totally new capacity. In other …
Shift Your Energy to Shift Your Burnout
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) Do you ever feel burnt out by burnout? The word is everywhere these days. I’ll admit, as someone who loves helping others reduce burnout, even I get sick of hearing it. There’s a reason this word gets so overused though. Burnout is a pervasive problem that we, as a profession, still struggle to solve. During my …
Grief Without a Village: A Journey Through Loss, Healing, and the Signs That Guide Us
(by Parul Dua Makkar, BSc, DDS, FACD) When I lost my younger and only sibling, Dr. Manu Dua, my world shifted in an instant. I didn’t have the comfort of a village of grief to wrap around me — no circle of people to act as a buffer from the pain. My parents were in another country, holding on to …
Not My Poo. Not My Problem
What Dr. Wayne Dyer Taught Me About Emotional Sovereignty (by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) Dr. Wayne Dyer was one of my earliest self-development mentors… though he would’ve had absolutely no idea. I’ve listened to every audio version of every book he recorded at least once, and most of them many times. His voice was one of the first to accompany me …
Beyond Dentistry: Achieving Personal and Professional Balance
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say, “You can have it all?” I get it. Right about now, you’re probably thinking I’m delusional. It’s impossible to balance work, kids, family, rest, and fun – right? What if we changed the cliche to, “You can have what you want!” Does that feel a …
You Didn’t Get It Wrong. You Got a Mirror.
(by Vanessa Emerson, FDSI) There’s a conversation that keeps finding its way to me lately. Quietly at first, then louder, then impossibly clear. It’s a whisper from within and echoed by others – the reminder: What if this is all happening in service of my growth and development? Not in a toxic positivity kind of way. Not in a “just be grateful” …
Finding Light in the Liminal
(by Dr. Lori Noga) The Tibetan word “bardo” describes the space between spaces—the liminal realm… …between death and rebirth. …between one life phase and the next. …between who you were and who you’re becoming. Here’s what the ancient texts don’t fully capture: how suffocating it feels to actually be there. If you’ve ever found yourself caught between jobs, relationships, identities, or …
The Golden Rule Reversed
(by Laura Brenner, DDS) The Golden Rule is great, but there is one area in which it is lacking. Howard Farran recently wrote a column in Dentaltown titled, “Follow the Golden Rule.” In it, he offered excellent examples of how we can share our greatest and highest good with patients. When it comes to clinical care, we should only do …
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