{"id":28787,"date":"2025-03-26T10:58:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T15:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/?p=28787"},"modified":"2025-03-28T10:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T15:00:07","slug":"the-value-of-mentorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/the-value-of-mentorship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of Mentorship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By David Landwehr, DDS, MS<\/em><\/p>\n

Where does 25 years go?\u00a0 As a private practice endodontist for the last two-and-a-half decades I have been witness to tremendous changes.\u00a0 My career began with dipping working length films in developer and hand files for instrumentation.\u00a0 That has evolved into an apex locator and completely mechanical instrumentation resulting in a significantly better experience for me as a clinician and the patients I treat.<\/p>\n

However, the evolving climate in which we practice is not limited to technological changes. The worlds of dentistry in general and endodontics specifically are in a state of flux. The cost of dental education is at an all-time high along with students\u2019 indebtedness on graduation. The number of new procedures and techniques in the repertoire of the general practitioner has resulted in dental school graduates possessing competency, but lacking mastery in endodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. The influx of dental service organizations and private equity have influenced how care is provided and clinicians are compensated.\u00a0 And quite possibly the biggest change has been in my patients\u2019 level of expectation. Patients still express fear about the root canal procedure and at the same time expect the treatment to last less than 30 minutes and last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

With all of these changes on a macro level, some days the future of dentistry and endodontics seems to be in doubt. This can be an ominous feeling for someone in the last decade of practice, but may be downright depressing for dental students, recent graduates and residents. However, these changes didn\u2019t happen overnight and the new normal is likely here to stay.\u00a0 So, what are we to do as individuals and as the American Association of Endodontists to promote both the health of dentistry and the viability of our specialty?<\/p>\n

As with many other issues that are problematic in our society, I believe that education is the silver bullet and the key to our collective future success. I believe it is of the utmost importance that endodontics is taught by endodontists in dental schools across the United States. However, this is the beginning of the journey to endodontic mastery and meaningful opportunities for continuing and advanced education are also needed both at the GP and specialist levels. To me, this process has to be facilitated by experienced clinicians through mentorship. Without the help and guidance of numerous people, I would not have been given the opportunity to advance my dental education and become a part of the endodontic community that has meant so much to me.<\/p>\n

It is in this spirit of giving back that I have hosted an endodontic study club for more than a decade. This is an opportunity for me to educate and elevate the level of discussion about endodontics in my community. A moment to highlight the importance of saving the natural tooth and not immediately assuming an implant is a superior option. It is in no way limited to my referring partners and affords me a chance to interact with my GP colleagues to learn their strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n

Also, I believe it can be extremely beneficial to young clinicians for us to \u201cpull back the curtain\u201d allowing them to see exactly how and what we do on a daily basis. I have had several clinicians shadow me and indicate that it was the most educationally valuable endodontic experience of their young careers.\u00a0 A few have gone on to specialize in endodontics which brings me great personal satisfaction.\u00a0 When an inexperienced clinician witnesses a pain-free, efficient and successful root canal treatment it opens them up to the possibilities of what lies ahead following the dedication and work needed to advance their endodontic skill set.<\/p>\n

Mentorship doesn\u2019t need to be an ongoing study club or a teaching appointment at a university.\u00a0 It can be a one-day symposium for a local referral base to discuss their needs and what you can do to make the referral process run more smoothly. Mentorship can be a dinner with a small number of colleagues about a specific topic that interests the group. It can be taking that phone call during the day to help out another clinician in need or writing a letter of recommendation for a residency program.<\/p>\n

I think it is critical that endodontists share our knowledge and expertise through mentorship.\u00a0 I maintain that mentorship leads to better case selection by our referring partners.\u00a0 I believe the more information we share, the better the endodontic outcomes will be and our GP colleagues will have a better understanding of the complexity of teeth that endodontists can save. Ultimately, mentorship can help grow an endodontic practice and is critical for the success of our specialty moving forward.<\/p>\n

Dr. David Landwehr is a part of Capital Endodontics.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Landwehr, DDS, MS Where does 25 years go?\u00a0 As a private practice endodontist for the last two-and-a-half decades I have been witness to tremendous changes.\u00a0 My career began…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":28812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[240],"tags":[],"feature":[237],"class_list":["post-28787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-aae-foundation","feature-eyeoned"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Value of Mentorship - 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