1 00:00:00,270 --> 00:00:03,160 This is Riz Hatton with the Becker's Dental Past Soul Podcast. 2 00:00:04,220 --> 00:00:06,280 I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr. 3 00:00:06,370 --> 00:00:11,160 Brett Gilbert of King Endodontics and US Endo partners. Dr. 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,120 Gilbert, thank you so much for being here today. 5 00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:15,690 Thank you for inviting me. So. 6 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:17,460 To start us off here, 7 00:00:17,460 --> 00:00:19,860 could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background? 8 00:00:21,250 --> 00:00:25,190 Yes, um, so I'm Dr. Brett Gilbert. I'm a board certified endodontist. 9 00:00:25,540 --> 00:00:28,150 I've been in private practice for 20 years now, 10 00:00:28,150 --> 00:00:31,950 which is really incredible to think about. And yeah, 11 00:00:31,950 --> 00:00:35,150 I have a keen interest in all things related to our specialty, 12 00:00:35,150 --> 00:00:37,550 which is very near and dear to my heart. 13 00:00:37,710 --> 00:00:41,630 I think that endodontics is an incredible space to be in, uh, 14 00:00:41,630 --> 00:00:45,510 where we're able to really help patients get out of pain and save their teeth 15 00:00:45,770 --> 00:00:49,110 and often be a very integral part of the dental team. 16 00:00:49,690 --> 00:00:53,430 So I trained at the University of Maryland for both my undergrad, my dental, 17 00:00:53,490 --> 00:00:55,190 and my Endodonic residency. 18 00:00:55,730 --> 00:00:59,390 And then I've been in practice here in the Chicago suburbs, like I said, 19 00:00:59,390 --> 00:01:00,223 for 20 years. 20 00:01:00,370 --> 00:01:04,670 And I also teach at the University of Illinois in Chicago at the dental 21 00:01:04,670 --> 00:01:08,030 department of the partner of Endodontics. And so I have a, 22 00:01:08,110 --> 00:01:09,670 a great background in education, 23 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,710 being a lecturer and having an opportunity to lecture around the world and more 24 00:01:14,150 --> 00:01:18,230 recently to be able to partner with an entity like US Endo Partners, 25 00:01:18,230 --> 00:01:22,470 which has allowed me to truly develop some incredible relationships with my 26 00:01:22,470 --> 00:01:26,110 colleagues in a way that's very unique to anything I knew before. 27 00:01:26,610 --> 00:01:28,790 And so I feel like with the, 28 00:01:28,970 --> 00:01:32,590 the colleagues that I'm associated with and the private practice and the 29 00:01:32,620 --> 00:01:33,453 education, 30 00:01:33,710 --> 00:01:38,470 I just feel really lucky that I feel that I'm really in the flow of where our 31 00:01:38,710 --> 00:01:40,590 specialty is, where it's headed. 32 00:01:41,010 --> 00:01:45,310 And there's been some incredible developments in technology and really some more 33 00:01:45,310 --> 00:01:47,670 sophistication to the root canal process. 34 00:01:48,090 --> 00:01:52,910 So how that fits in with the overall dentistry and treatment plans has also been 35 00:01:52,910 --> 00:01:57,630 really exciting because endodontics ultimately you make a call on one 36 00:01:57,910 --> 00:02:00,470 specific tooth and an entire treatment plan might change. 37 00:02:00,770 --> 00:02:04,270 So I'm really excited to be an endodontist. I love what I do, 38 00:02:04,650 --> 00:02:07,950 and it's just great to be able to share some of this information and education 39 00:02:07,950 --> 00:02:08,783 with your audience. 40 00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:11,330 Thank you so much for that introduction. 41 00:02:11,670 --> 00:02:15,330 It sounds like you're really passionate about endodontics. 42 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,090 What made you choose this specialty over others? 43 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,980 You know, it's a, it's a great question. I was, 44 00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:26,340 I was the son of a general dentist, so I always, as a kid, always said, 45 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,140 if you ask me at age six or beyond, what are you gonna be when you grow up? 46 00:02:30,140 --> 00:02:32,500 And I would always say, I want to be a dentist like my dad. 47 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,340 And ultimately when I got into dental school, I started to see how much, 48 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,980 how much really variation there was in what a general dentist did. 49 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,180 And I started to realize that I might have a mine that's more focused on one 50 00:02:45,460 --> 00:02:48,580 specific area. And so I told my dad this, 51 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:50,780 and he sent me to all of his specialty friends. 52 00:02:50,860 --> 00:02:54,580 I went to ortho and oral surgery, perio, peto. 53 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,420 But I gotta tell you, when I went to the endodontist, I just was, 54 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,540 it was like I was struck by lightning. I think the technology drew me in. 55 00:03:02,980 --> 00:03:07,620 I think the idea of saving the teeth and working in this very intricate 56 00:03:07,750 --> 00:03:12,220 blind space somehow just felt very exciting to me. And to be honest with you, 57 00:03:12,220 --> 00:03:15,060 from that moment that I was there visiting with the endodontist, 58 00:03:15,460 --> 00:03:16,300 I never looked back. 59 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:20,340 I just knew in my heart that this was the area I wanted to practice. 60 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:25,620 And so it's been a quite a joy actually to start in that way and 61 00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:28,580 then have the opportunity to learn from so many experts and mentors. 62 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,620 So I really did a full scale review of them all. 63 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,380 And the honest truth is Endo just absolutely struck me like lightning and I, 64 00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:37,940 I think I'm still buzzing from it. 65 00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:41,510 Well, that's fantastic to hear. Glad you got to find, 66 00:03:41,820 --> 00:03:43,830 find your passion and work in that field. 67 00:03:45,130 --> 00:03:46,910 So my first question for you is, 68 00:03:47,020 --> 00:03:50,510 what are the biggest issues you're following in dental today? Well. 69 00:03:51,780 --> 00:03:53,100 I think quite honestly, 70 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,020 the biggest issue that I am concerned with is the mental, 71 00:03:57,020 --> 00:03:58,500 emotional health of the dentist. 72 00:03:59,020 --> 00:04:03,660 I think that we learn an awful lot in school about the clinical aspects of 73 00:04:03,660 --> 00:04:07,940 dentistry, the, the science behind it, you know, the technical skills. 74 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,820 But I don't think we learn an awful lot about management of ourselves. 75 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,580 And I think that what we see in dentistry is a lot of stress, uh, 76 00:04:16,580 --> 00:04:21,580 related to performance, related to finances, related to, you know, 77 00:04:21,580 --> 00:04:26,060 growing your practice or even finding your place where you can practice and feel 78 00:04:26,060 --> 00:04:29,180 fulfilled. And I think ultimately, as practitioners, 79 00:04:29,180 --> 00:04:33,900 without a lot of education on emotional intelligence and stress 80 00:04:33,910 --> 00:04:38,220 management, what happens is, is we actually absorb, because we're so empathetic, 81 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:43,300 we absorb a lot of the energy and the really the anxieties of those 82 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:44,193 around us. 83 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,860 And then we couple it with all of the things that come with being just a dental 84 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:48,733 practitioner. 85 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,700 And so I think one of my biggest issues that I'm following is just the potential 86 00:04:53,810 --> 00:04:57,460 that dentists are not feeling fulfilled and, you know, 87 00:04:57,460 --> 00:05:01,980 the emotional quality of their life is unfortunately not as positive as it could 88 00:05:01,980 --> 00:05:04,340 be. So one thing I'd like to see, and, 89 00:05:04,340 --> 00:05:08,900 and one thing that I'm really working on myself is trying to share a path for 90 00:05:08,900 --> 00:05:12,460 dentists to really start to learn a little bit more about how to take care of 91 00:05:12,460 --> 00:05:15,780 themselves. You know, the proverbial concept that, you know, 92 00:05:15,890 --> 00:05:18,540 when you can't help others when you're empty, 93 00:05:18,650 --> 00:05:23,460 meaning you have to fill your own cup first before you can fill everyone else's 94 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:23,660 cup. 95 00:05:23,660 --> 00:05:27,700 And what Dennis typically do is they fill everyone else's cup and they leave 96 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:29,500 theirs empty. So, um, 97 00:05:29,580 --> 00:05:33,980 this is a big issue because I think that when a dentist walks into the operatory 98 00:05:33,980 --> 00:05:38,140 to treat a patient and they feel good about themselves and they're working on 99 00:05:38,140 --> 00:05:42,140 themselves and they're doing things to support their emotional and mental health 100 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:43,620 as well as their physical health, 101 00:05:44,020 --> 00:05:48,300 I think that translates into the best patient treatment. And unfortunately, 102 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:49,340 when it's the opposite, 103 00:05:49,690 --> 00:05:53,340 when a doctor walks into the room and they're carrying quite a heavy load of 104 00:05:53,340 --> 00:05:57,060 emotions and stress and anxiety, then unfortunately, I don't think, 105 00:05:57,140 --> 00:05:58,500 think that's a win for the patient. 106 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,740 So that's something that I take very near and dear to heart, 107 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,540 and it's something that I try to utilize my social media channels and my 108 00:06:05,540 --> 00:06:09,540 educational opportunities to not just educate on the dental part, 109 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,140 but on the human part and about how we as dentists can take better care of 110 00:06:14,140 --> 00:06:14,973 ourselves. 111 00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:20,440 That's very interesting. Thank you for sharing. Sort of going off of that, 112 00:06:20,670 --> 00:06:24,240 what are you most excited about and what makes you nervous in terms of 113 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:25,073 dentistry? 114 00:06:26,490 --> 00:06:29,900 Well, I think something to be super excited about is the technology. 115 00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:30,800 I think it's, 116 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,420 it is pretty amazing over 20 years in my career to see some of the 117 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:40,100 advances and what it means for efficiency, what it means for, you know, 118 00:06:40,100 --> 00:06:43,780 really providing patients with expert care. Uh, 119 00:06:43,780 --> 00:06:47,700 the ability to even collaborate is so much easier now with some of the 120 00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:50,820 technologies, certainly in imaging and in endodontics. 121 00:06:50,820 --> 00:06:55,140 There's just a litany of amazing advanced breakthroughs that we've seen. 122 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,100 So I'm very, very excited about that. I think what makes me nervous, 123 00:07:00,110 --> 00:07:03,140 quite honestly, deals with the next generation, you know, the, 124 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,180 the generation of students that are coming out of school with just such an 125 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,420 almost unimaginable debt load in order to get that degree. 126 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,980 And then ultimately not finding a lot of opportunities that are, you know, 127 00:07:15,980 --> 00:07:20,540 really lucrative enough to get them out of that deep financial hole. So, um, 128 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,540 in the same way that I'd love to see more education on self mastery 129 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,140 and emotional intelligence and stress management, 130 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,740 I'd also like to see the same thing with financial management, 131 00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:34,180 because I know in my own generation, 132 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,060 we really had very little education on the business side of dentistry and had 133 00:07:39,130 --> 00:07:42,900 even less on financial management and how to, you know, 134 00:07:42,900 --> 00:07:46,860 really allow yourself to grow in a way where financially you'll wind up in a 135 00:07:46,860 --> 00:07:47,700 health healthy spot. 136 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:52,540 So whereas I'm super excited about the technology and where things are headed in 137 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:55,220 patient treatment, I am concerned about that, 138 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:59,660 that younger generation and how they're gonna be able to manage this tremendous 139 00:07:59,660 --> 00:08:04,460 financial burden that quite honestly, many of us in, in our, you know, in the, 140 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,300 the midst of our careers now, really never had to quite deal with. 141 00:08:11,150 --> 00:08:13,670 Fascinating. And as we talk about this next generation, 142 00:08:14,100 --> 00:08:18,190 what will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the 143 00:08:18,190 --> 00:08:19,310 next two to three years? 144 00:08:21,380 --> 00:08:26,360 So I think what will make healthcare leaders most effective and successful is 145 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:30,000 th many of the things we've discussed. You know, number one, 146 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:35,240 recognizing that we have stress not just in our offices anymore, right? And, 147 00:08:35,300 --> 00:08:39,400 and not just in our homes, but society in general. You know, we're all under, 148 00:08:39,700 --> 00:08:42,320 in some senses the threat of violence, you know, 149 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,440 that comes into our communities, you know, in a moment's notice. Um, 150 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,680 we're all dealing with some certain financial situations and economical 151 00:08:49,690 --> 00:08:50,523 situations. 152 00:08:50,700 --> 00:08:55,420 So I think having some effective way that one can go to the, 153 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,060 go into themself, right? 154 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:01,940 To find a quiet space daily and just sit and be with yourself and be 155 00:09:01,940 --> 00:09:05,700 comfortable with that. And maybe do some breathing, maybe, you know, 156 00:09:05,700 --> 00:09:10,260 listen to some relaxing music, but dedicating some time to themselves. So, 157 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:11,020 you know, 158 00:09:11,020 --> 00:09:14,660 that comes back to what I was describing with the emotional mastery and self 159 00:09:14,730 --> 00:09:15,980 mastery is, you know, 160 00:09:16,250 --> 00:09:19,980 investing your own healing potential that we give to others. 161 00:09:20,450 --> 00:09:24,780 Investing some of that back into yourself so that you always know that you're 162 00:09:24,780 --> 00:09:27,660 filling your cup. I think that is about as important as anything. 163 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,700 The other thing is the business part of dentistry. We're seeing, obviously, 164 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,820 you know, this is a podcast related to DSOs and DSOs, you know, have, you know, 165 00:09:36,820 --> 00:09:38,180 been around for a long time, 166 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:43,020 but it's clear that there's an acceleration in their growth. It's clear that, 167 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,460 you know, um, venture capitalism and, 168 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:50,140 and the economy in general is looking to invest in this profession in 169 00:09:50,140 --> 00:09:52,340 dentistry. So I think the, the effect, 170 00:09:52,340 --> 00:09:56,020 the most effective dental and healthcare leaders will be those that have enough 171 00:09:56,300 --> 00:10:00,940 business acumen to understand what they are valued for and act, 172 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,820 you know, that meaning yourself as a clinician, 173 00:10:04,050 --> 00:10:06,380 that meaning any practice that you might own. 174 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:10,980 And being able to understand how practices are evaluated, 175 00:10:11,350 --> 00:10:15,020 understand what makes one practice more valuable than another, 176 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,260 and recognizing that you know, 177 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,980 who you partner your practice with ultimately is such a big decision. 178 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:25,780 And what my experience has been is you wanna look for good human beings. 179 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:30,180 So number one, being a good human being yourself, taking care of yourself. 180 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:31,060 And with that, 181 00:10:31,060 --> 00:10:35,260 being able to recognize other good human beings and then connecting that to a 182 00:10:35,460 --> 00:10:37,860 business acumen that allows you to, number one, 183 00:10:37,860 --> 00:10:41,700 make a great decision as far as who you want to associate with business. 184 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:46,660 But then also being one that can help to guide not only the commercial side of 185 00:10:46,660 --> 00:10:51,140 dentistry, but also this investment side. You know, being able to be, uh, 186 00:10:51,220 --> 00:10:54,660 a leader that can articulate the needs of the clinicians, 187 00:10:54,990 --> 00:10:57,420 which always have the patient in mind first. 188 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,580 And recognizing that we wanna always be patient-centric more than 189 00:11:01,860 --> 00:11:05,780 business-centric. But I think we have to be able to recognize the difference. 190 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:10,220 And I think that that comes with investment in self and investment in business 191 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:11,420 and financial knowledge. 192 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,780 And that's something that for many of us as dentists is new and it's not easy, 193 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,260 but I think the investment in both will pay massive dividends to the next 194 00:11:19,260 --> 00:11:20,300 generation of leaders. 195 00:11:21,710 --> 00:11:23,320 Fantastic. Well, Dr. Gilbert, 196 00:11:23,410 --> 00:11:25,960 thank you so much for your fascinating insights today. 197 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,320 I really look forward to connecting with you again in the future. 198 00:11:29,670 --> 00:11:30,503 Thank you so much. 199 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,860 My pleasure to be here and sending best wishes to everyone that hears this.