🍂 Can you build a successful dental career without losing your joy along the way?

Welcome back to Gums & Gossip™ with Hope Loyd, RDH, BSDH, the Gum Goddess! This fall, we’re talking about something every dental professional needs to hear: how to enjoy the ride while building a joyful, profitable life in dentistry.

I’m joined by Dr. Alan Stern, author of Enjoy the Ride: Lessons for the Quest to Live a Joyful Profitable Life in Dentistry, for an honest conversation about redefining success, navigating financial pressure, protecting mental wellness, and remembering the human side of healthcare.

With more than 30 years in dental hygiene, I’ve seen how the dental experience affects everyone involved, from the patient in the chair to the professional standing beside it. We can’t truly humanize dentistry if we care for the patient’s mouth but forget the human being behind the smile.

🦷 IN THIS EPISODE, WE GET INTO:

🍁 What it really means to be successful in dentistry

💰 The relationship between profitability, financial well-being, and happiness

🧠 Dental professional stress, burnout, and mental wellness

❤️ Building healthier dental teams and more positive workplace cultures

😬 Dental fear, shame, trust, and why patients sometimes avoid care

🤝 Creating compassionate patient experiences without losing sight of business realities

🌱 Knowing when it’s time to change direction and rediscover your purpose

Whether you’re a dentist, dental hygienist, dental student, dental team member, or someone who has put off dental care because of fear, this conversation is for you.

THE TAKEAWAY: Success isn’t just about what you build. It’s also about how you feel while building it, the people you impact, and the life you get to live along the way.

📚 ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Alan Stern is the author of Enjoy the Ride: Lessons for the Quest to Live a Joyful Profitable Life in Dentistry.

Explore his profile: https://dentallifestylesmagazine.com/dr-alan-stern/

🎙️ ABOUT YOUR HOST

I’m Hope Loyd, RDH, BSDH, host of Gums & Gossip™. My mission is to humanize dentistry, open honest conversations about dental fear and anxiety, and help people move From Fear to Freedom.

Because every smile has a story, and everyone deserves to feel heard, respected, and safe.

💗 LET’S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING!

Follow Gums & Gossip™ on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Share this episode with a dental professional who needs a reminder to enjoy the ride, or with someone who deserves a more compassionate dental experience.

Find dental fear resources and services: https://fearfreedental.org/work-with-me

🌸 Gums & Gossip™ — Fear Less. Smile More.

#GumsAndGossip #DentalPodcast #DentalHygiene #DentalLeadership #DentalAnxiety #MentalWellness #EnjoyTheRide

Dental professionals spend their days taking care of everyone else — but who is taking care of the person behind the chair?

In this episode of Gums & Gossip, Hope Loyd, RDH, talks with Dr. John Besharse, PT, DPT, CSCS, founder of The Dental Physical Therapist, about the physical demands of dentistry and what they can mean for our bodies and careers.

Hope met John at AADH, and they continue the conversation about dental ergonomics, posture, neck and shoulder pain, back pain, repetitive strain, injury prevention, strength, movement, and career longevity.

They talk about the aches and pains dental professionals often consider “just part of the job” — and why paying attention to what your body is telling you matters.

In this episode:

• Dental ergonomics and the operatory

• Common musculoskeletal challenges in dentistry

• Neck, shoulder, and back pain

• Repetitive movements and strain

• Strength and posture

• Injury prevention

• Career longevity

• Taking better care of the body behind the chair

If you’re a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, or dental professional, this conversation is for you.

Because taking care of your patients shouldn’t mean forgetting about yourself.

Every smile shares a story.

🎙️ Hosted by Hope Loyd, RDH

🦷 Gums & Gossip

Learn more about Dr. John Besharse and The Dental Physical Therapist:

https://www.thedentalphysicaltherapist.com/

What if the person sitting next to you is struggling—and nobody knows?

This episode of Gums & Gossip™ goes beyond the dental chair and into a conversation about mental wellness, burnout, trauma and suicide prevention.

Hope sits down with Sherri Lukes to talk about the human side of dentistry—and why sometimes the most important thing we can do isn’t fix, teach or diagnose. It’s notice, ask and listen.

We talk about mental health in dentistry, the mouth-mind connection, professional burnout, dental fear, generational attitudes toward emotional pain, and how to recognize when someone may need support.

And we ask the question:

“What do you say when someone tells you they’re not okay?”

This is a conversation for dental professionals, patients, leaders, educators—and anyone who cares about another human being.

🎧 Listen.

💬 Start the conversation.

❤️ Share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Content note: This episode discusses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or suicide crisis in the U.S., call or text 988.

@sherrilukes

@gumsngossip

#GumsAndGossip #MentalWellness #SuicidePrevention #Dentistry #DentalHygiene