Where is the sense of community in dentistry?

When I first started my dental practice, back in 1989, most dentists helped each other out. There existed a sense of community that was evident, even within our state dental association. They actually had a “new dentist” committee that was really helpful. The association leadership would assign someone as a mentor, which was also really helpful. 

Back then, it seemed like as long as a dentist was proficient at caring for his or her patients, stayed up-to-date on advancements in the industry, and was active in the community, one could be reasonably assured of making a good living. The problems and issues facing dentists were fewer. It wasn’t uncommon for dental teams to work together for many years. Back then, the pace of change was very slow, comparatively speaking.

Fast forward to today. The pace of change is difficult to keep up with. The problems we are facing in dentistry are larger, though maybe not completely different.