Typical Day
At 7:30AM, Dennis Tree, a practicing oral maxillofacial surgeon, is eating his normal breakfast: Wheaties and almond milk. After dropping his two kids off at school, Dennis is on his way to the dental office by 8:15AM. He gets into the office at 8:45AM and greets the receptionist, Marie.
A snapshot of the swanky private school you'll send your kids to. $40,000 per year, per kid? No problem. You're an oral surgeon, after all (source).
"What have we got today?"
"You've got a 10:00AM denture fitting, followed by an 11:00AM impacted, and the usual checkups and consultations."
"Any reconstruction?"
"Umm...." Marie scans the computer. "No, nothing for today."
Excellent, thinks Dennis. A relatively light day. Probably be out of here by 4:00PM, just in time to make his kid's baseball game. Sure, he's on call tonight with the hospital, but fingers crossed that nothing will come up.
"9:00AM huddle?"
"On my way, Dr. Tree!"
Every morning, the team of assistants, receptionists, hygienists, dentists, and oral surgeons who work at the dental office gather to discuss the day's events, which staff member had a baby, who's taking the month of August off, and so on. They call it their "team huddle." With an assistant, Dr. Tree reviews the day's cases, takes a mental breather, and begins the day.
In the first hour, Dr. Tree sees two patients who have already had their surgeries done for post-op checkups. Everything looks good and Dr. Tree is satisfied.
By 10:00AM, Dr. Tree is performing the first oral surgery of the day—a dental re-fitting for one of his oldest clients that he's been seeing for years.
"Hello, Mrs. Payshent! How's your day going?"
The two trade updates on their lives. "Yes, Bobby (Dr. Tree's oldest son) is in the fourth grade already....he's picking up baseball...has a game tonight..."
Mrs. Payshent's turn. "My granddaughter Milly is headed to university...they sure do grow up fast, don't they?"
Eventually, Dr. Tree sets to work. The procedure goes smoothly, and the assistant schedules a follow-up with Mrs. Payshent on her way out. Dr. Tree has two more surgeries scheduled for the day—both relatively routine tooth extractions but requiring sedation all the same. On average, Dr. Tree's office does three surgeries per day. With the second surgery done, Dr. Tree takes a quick break for lunch: tuna salad, a banana, and yogurt.
In the afternoon, Dr. Tree groans inwardly with the realization that he has yet another tooth extraction to do. The excitement of oral surgery wore off years ago, he thinks as he goes to consult with the patient briefly.
He checks himself. Excitement? Sure, there was a time when he wanted to be a big shot oral maxillofacial surgeon who stays in the OR until the early hours of the morning trying to resect a tongue....but he's not in his twenties anymore. He has kids, and mortgages, and neighborhood barbeques.
Tooth extractions it is, then. After all, that's where the money is: a stable, quiet private practice. There's no money in hospitals, where you just end up overworked, treating jaw fracture after jaw fracture.
By around 3:00PM, Dr. Tree just has a few remaining follow-up appointments and consultation visits. Marie, his receptionist, knows to schedule these kinds of things—the "no-brainers," as Dr. Tree calls them—for the afternoons when he's tired of abusing his eyes to see tiny fissures, tired of using his fingers for what amounts to hours of intense, detailed needlework, and tired of surgery overall.
By 5:00PM, the last patient of the day is out the door, and Dr. Tree is right behind him. Grabbing his coat and the keys to his sweet ride, Dr. Tree flicks off the light, locks the door, and speeds off to his son's baseball game. Glancing at the clock, he realizes that he'll be just on time.