Kyle Stanley

When I heard speak about this exact moment in her life, I really resonated with her as a dentist who went through burnout…

Below is Rhonda’s story and how it relates to me:

-first American woman to win Olympic medal in Judo
-first female fighter to sign to the UFC
-39x Judo Medalist
-considered a Judo prodigy by age 16
-named “Female Athlete of the Year”

Rhonda was beating every female fighter in the UFC, many times within 30 secs. Everyone was saying she is unbeatable…

Until she was kicked in the head by and everything changed.

She ended up losing that fight.

When asked how she felt after that fight she said “I felt like a failure. This was my whole identity. I had been working toward this my entire life.”

Wow, as a dentist who went through burnout, I DID feel like a failure. This WAS my whole identity. I HAD been working toward this my entire life. 😔

We must diversify our identity just like how we diversify our investment portfolio. We can’t have our entire identity be our profession.

It takes so long to become a dentist that within those 8-16 years we can lose ourself. We are so used to grinding that we never stop until burnout creeps in.

We need self awareness and to work on ourselves, not just our clinical abilities.

If anything I post helped you, please share this with your colleagues to help our profession with the burnout epidemic. ❤️

Most dentists know how important it is to talk about complications…

But only the top dentists know how to prepare patients for these complications properly

You see, most dentists make 1 or more of these 4 common mistakes...

Mistake #1: Thinking patients read and understand their consent forms
Mistake #2: Being afraid to talk to patients about complications due to fear of lower case acceptance 
Mistake #3: Not mentioning the cost of future revisions
Mistake #4: Not defining warranty policies that you can enforce

If you’ve made these mistakes it’s not your fault

But to have sustainable success in dentistry, you must stop making these mistakes and start harnessing the power of the complication compliance method

Fortunately for you, I’ve helped thousands of dentists (including some big names) harness their communication skills so that they can prepare their patients with ease for these difficult situations

And unlike those thousands of dentists, you can get access today for just the price of a few tacos!🌮

Introducing: The Complication Compliance Method!

Comment or DM “complication” to learn more & get access today!

It’s sounds silly (especially to non-dentists) but it is easy to forget this when all you think about is our profession.

I used to think my entire self worth was in my work. I had to really spend time remapping my life to understand my true purposes in life.

After diversifying my identity, a concept we discuss in my Light Side Academy , my life changed.

I set my priorities straight. Dentistry became a part of my life, not the whole thing.

Sometimes we have to remember that we can love dentistry, be passionate about it, but it can’t be our purpose in life.

So repeat after me…

“There’s more to life than dentistry.”

If you agree, like, comment, save and send this to a colleague that needs this reminder.

Make sure to follow me for more tips on wellness in dentistry

We are officially raising Michelle Tanner over here.

You got it dude! 🌉

Dentists need to perform at an extremely high level (measure in microns)for 6-8 hours per day for decades.

We need to start treating our bodies and minds like those of the top professional athletes.

In my Light Side Academy we call this the DREAMS system.

An F1 car is an amazing machine but without being serviced, it can’t perform.

My son loves baseball. I don’t. 😇

But there is still something special about going to Angels Stadium for me. So many memories here with my dad and brothers from Angels games to Rams games to 80s Monster Truck Rallies.

The game was extremely boring, like most baseball games IMHO, but the hotdog was good and my son had fun 🤷🏼‍♂️

Thank you for adding me to your clinical ambassador program 🙏🏻

I am honored to be among a group of doctors I really admire along with close friends.

MIS has always taken such good care of me over the years.

Many of you may know that I cofounded a dental AI company many years ago that has gone on to be in 120 countries.🦾

Because of Pearl’s success, I have been advising many dental tech companies over the years.

At times, these companies are raising capitol and prefer to do it through dental professionals who have invested interest, industry knowledge and can give product feedback.

If you are interested in getting in on my investor list please DM me with your email and I will add you to my list and make intros to the companies I advise.

Investments usually are a minimum of $10,000-$50,000 USD depending on the company and at what series they are raising. 👍🏼

Did you know there is research to show people living within 1 km from the coast have 40% less mental health disorders and report better well being?

Another review article of 35 articles found a positive association between greater exposure to outdoor blue spaces and both benefits to mental health and well-being.

I love seeing my kids play together at the beach. There’s something special about kids just playing with sand, sticks and rocks. I love their imagination.

No matter what is happening in the world, when we go to the beach, everyone leaves happier.

Moving to the beach has really changed our lives for the better. We severely downsized our house to be able to live by the beach and I have seen positive changes in me and my family.

It doesn’t bother you the first few times but after a decade of hearing this repeatedly, it can impact some of us.

When I was watching Wreck-it Ralph with my son, I heard this line and it really spoke to me at my lowest point.

I hear this from dentists around the world. “I love dentistry but never really feel appreciated for what we do.”

Listen I get it. Dentistry can be uncomfortable, it can be expensive, and you’d rather be somewhere else other than the dental chair.

But just remember, under the white coat is a human being just trying to do their best.

Share this post to help our profession.

Join us tmw as from and I discuss the industry norms in dentistry that we believe need to change.

We aren’t holding back on this IG live so join us live or put the topics you’d like us to discuss in the comments or DMs.

Paul and I always have fun together.

We can’t just keep getting better clinically and think that will solve our problems.

We need to look outside of our clinical abilities to solve problems.

Improve your boundary setting, your expectations, your communication, your daily habits and your practice management to really thrive.

Thanks for featuring me in the latest AGD Impact issue. 🙏🏻❤️

I hope my social presence has helped some colleagues over the years with topics such as implants, smile design, AI, and of course mental wellness. 🤓

Date night ❤️

Dentists hustle for 8+ years so this is what becomes our new normal.

We’ve been so busy trying to become dentists that once we reach that point, the hustle continues until many suffer from burnout.

The secret is to grow in a sustainable way that allows for longevity in the profession.

This is achieved by self mastery. Looking inside yourself and behind honest about how you feel.

Make sure to follow me for more tips on wellness in dentistry.

Do you need a dental diet?

When I was at my darkest point, I was completely consumed by dentistry. Everything I looked at or listened to for years was all about dentistry.

When I went on my journey to improve my life, I went on a dental diet. My Instagram started to include more positive models, my podcast list focused on self improvement and even entertainment, and I tried to disconnect with dentistry when I was at home with family.

This dental diet made a huge difference in my wellness journey and since I’ve been teaching wellness to dentists around the world, they have also benefited.

When people say going on a diet can improve your health, it shouldn’t just be food and it’s not just physical health.

My 10 fav shots from in no particular order. 🏎️

Older docs ask me a lot “why is there so much burnout today? It seems like there’s more than when I got out of school in the 80s.”

There are so many other factors I could have added. What am I missing?

$800k to go to dental school?🫣

I saw this on and wanted to get your thoughts.

I went to school this same school (USC) and got out 14 years ago with $425,000 of dental school student debt. 😱

At nearly $800k, is there an ROI to become a dentist for our next generation?💸

Most of them are being told “you just pay 10% of your income for 20 years and the rest is forgiven by the government. So don’t worry about it.”🙄

Financial burdens are a major source of mental health problems for young doctors. 🧠

How will this impact future doctors, patients, pricing for dental care, inflation, etc?💰

Everyone: OMG the eclipse is a once in a lifetime occurrence! 🌕🌞

My car: hold my beer…

Agree?

I had to dust off the tux I bought in 2016 🤵🏼. I felt like a UK dentist🇬🇧 (they have black tie affairs every week😂)

We had a great time dancing and getting to know lots of our neighbors in our small town. I got to know many of Valko’s friends’ parents and meet people I see around town but didn’t know yet.

Briana looked incredible. She was a beam of sunlight. 😍

Love my new tape! Even works when my beard is long.

I’ve been mouth taping since 2020 when opened my eyes to the world of airway. 4 years later I’m deeeeeeeeep in the research and treatment of myself and my family.

I’m actually creating a lecture to follow the airway journey of me and my son that I’ll be starting to give in Fall 2024.

Sleep is one of the 6 remnants that I teach for daily habits within and it has made such a huge difference in my life to breath better day or night. It is highly related to mental wellness.

Thanks .alexkal for the tape. I’m addicted now 😁

My girls ❤️❤️ and the Easter Bunny who doesn’t know how to look at the camera 👀

🎤Spring 2024 speaking cities are here! Spring is always a busy time with events. I look forward to meeting many new colleagues on my travels. ✈️🌎

If you’d like to see me speak in your city, email [email protected] 📧

I remember this time well. I was just back from my surgery residency in Brazil🇧🇷. We were volunteering for a clinic that helps children get free dental work. I could not have been more passionate about dentistry!

Having a dad and brother who are dentists is great. In the beginning of my career I talked to them about clinical cases and practice management.

However, when I went through my depression with dentistry, they were the only people who understood me! Only a dentist knows what it’s like to be a dentist.

Working on that upper second molar on a patient with a big tongue who doesn’t open wide and won’t let you put them back in the chair while your hygienist wants a hygiene check and your spouse is texting you asking when you’re going to be home to help with the kids 🥵.

They immediately got it and were the first to have sympathy for me. Other friends would say “I saw the car you drove up in! You’re a doctor! You’re highly educated. How can you be depressed?”

Community is one of the 6 factors that can contribute to chronic stress and chronic stress is the only contributing factor to burnout.

It’s so important to have a community around you that understands what you’re going through and is there to support.

This is why I created Light Side Academy and Light Side Club. Dentists supporting dentists about the difficult conversations in life around depression, anxiety, burnout, practice management, clinical mastery and mental wellness.

Dentistry has so many opportunities but you need a community.

Thinking that male and female dentists go through the exact same problems is wrong.

Listen, I get it. If you take out our biology, we go through many of the same difficulties with problem patients, owning a business, and clinical complications.

What makes female dentists have specific problems that us men can’t understand? One of them is their biologic clock.

I’ve mentored hundreds of doctors from around the world and I hear constantly the difficulty most women face in balancing starting a family and focussing on their profession that they spent a decade or more pursuing in addition to lots of effort and money.

Many times they get to a point in their life that their business is humming and they then have difficulties creating a family.

They start to blame themselves and suffer incredible guilt. If they want a family and are lucky enough to have a child, they have guilt when they are in the office thinking they should be with their kids and when they are with their kids they have guilt about not being in their dental practice.

This guilt leads to shame about how they handled their choices in their child bearing years.

So please have compassion for our female colleagues who have very specific differences in their careers than us men. Share this post if you agree and support my cause!

If you’re ready to start mastering your mental and relational health hit the like button and follow me for more tips on reducing burnout in dentistry.

I’m so proud of my little boy and his grey belt promotion 🥋after 20 months of training. He doesn’t even realize it but he is learning so many great life lessons through jiu jitsu.

Swipe right to see his rear naked choke technique 🐍. Swipe again to see Femka’s favorite part of jj class 🙋🏼‍♀️

If you see a guy with white hair (or yellowish depending on my purple shampoo usage during the week 🟣) who is hobbling around, it’s not a grandpa, it’s me. 👴🏼

90% of your problems come from 10% of your patients.

What if you dismissed that 10%? 🤯

How would it change your practice and decrease the stress for you and your team?🧘🏼‍♂️🧘🏼‍♀️🧘🏻

Listen, I know that practice management gurus tell us we need more and more patients, but I disagree.

You need the right patients for your practice.

If you have patients who don’t want to take radiographs regularly or pay for exams, dismiss them.

If they are rude to your team or constantly come late or cancel, dismiss them.

Most of us run private businesses and we can decide who we want and don’t want to treat.

Problem patients can drain your energy, cause team members to quit, and hurt the business. In addition, you can rarely do good treatment on them due to the poor doctor/patient relationship.

But if you do dismiss patients, you must do it ethically, legally and in a social acceptable way.

If you want to see how to get all my scripts for dismissing patients, DM me the word “masterclass” and I’ll send you a link to my FREE masterclass where you can learn more.