When Growth Feels Lonely in Your Dental Office (and What to Do About It)
- Sarah Beth Herman
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
Sarah Beth Herman, Founder & CEO, Dentistry Support®
Growth in the dental world is exciting—but let’s not pretend it’s always easy. If you’ve ever found yourself scaling your practice or running a growing dental billing company and suddenly thought, "Why does this feel so lonely?"... you’re not alone.
At Dentistry Support®, we work with hundreds of dental offices, billing teams, and practice owners, and I can tell you with confidence: when things start to succeed, the emotional weight can get heavier. Whether you’re leading a dental insurance eligibility team or overseeing front office training, leadership often feels isolating.
training is meant to speak directly to that feeling—and serve as a precursor to a deeper conversation I unpack in my latest No Silver Spoons™ podcast episode. If you're ready to stop feeling alone in this journey, keep reading. The podcast will be waiting for you when you're done.
The Truth About Growth in Dentistry
You start with one chair. One patient. One front office coordinator.
Fast forward: you now have an office manager, a full hygiene column, a back office team, and maybe you're outsourcing to a dental billing company or training on dental insurance eligibility protocols.
That success is beautiful. But it also brings pressure.
The team looks to you for answers. The vendors want quicker decisions. The insurance questions pile up. And somehow, you’re the final say on everything.
If you’ve ever thought:
"Why does it feel like no one understands what I'm carrying?"
"I can't vent to my friends—they don’t run dental offices."
"I need support, but not just from people who want to sell me something."
...then this is for you.
Why Growth Feels Lonely in a Dental Office
When you’re just starting out, you’re typically surrounded by people cheering you on. But as you grow?
You enter a different level of responsibility and isolation.
This is common across industries, but especially in the dental field. Why?
You're expected to have all the answers.
You can’t share everything with your team.
You’re juggling leadership and operations.
Your personal circle may not understand the industry.
You might find yourself watching other dental offices or billing companies on social media and thinking, "How are they doing all that?" You start comparing. Doubting. Spinning.
And let me tell you: that spiral is toxic.
Comparison overload is more than just an emotional response. According to Social Comparison Theory, originally developed by Leon Festinger in 1954, people evaluate their own worth by comparing themselves to others. This can have a devastating impact on mental health, especially for high-achieving leaders under pressure to constantly outperform.
The Brain and Behavior Journal (2017) also revealed that upward comparison—comparing ourselves to those we perceive as more successful—can trigger the same areas of the brain activated in physical pain and anxiety. Your brain literally processes perceived inadequacy as a threat.
Protecting Your Mindset as a Dental Leader
This is one of the most important things we train on at Dentistry Support® when we work with virtual dental office support teams and front desk staff:
A strong leader must first protect their mindset.
Here are 3 quick steps to reset:
1. Focus on Your Lane
You don’t need to watch what every other practice or dental billing company is doing. You need to focus on the patients and people right in front of you.
2. Choose Strategic Solitude
Isolation isn’t always bad. In fact, solitude gives you the space to think clearly. Schedule 15 minutes a day to unplug from content and just think.
3. Curate Your Input
What you consume matters. If watching other training platforms or listening to dental eligibility debates causes stress, shut it off.
4. Accept That Solitude is a Growth Season
Periods of solitude allow you to grow without distraction. Some of the best decisions you will ever make as a practice owner or team leader come from quiet moments where you reconnect with your vision, not from loud environments filled with pressure.
From Solo to Supported: What Help Really Looks Like
Here’s the truth: You don’t have to do it alone.
Dentistry Support® offers:
Virtual Dental Team Support (from billing to eligibility to admin)
Front Office Training customized for your practice
Digital SOPs & workflow creation
Mentorship for dental leaders & office managers
Leadership speaking and event training for DSOs, private practices, and dental teams
If you need someone to:
Offload the insurance eligibility process
Manage the billing headaches
Train your new front desk hire
Or even just help you breathe again...
We’re here.
Free Resource: The Growth Clarity Guide™
If this training has resonated with you even a little, I created a companion resource you’re going to love:
🎁 The Growth Clarity Guide™ – A 6-page printable download designed to help dental office leaders:
Process comparison triggers
Detox mentally from industry pressure
Create boundaries around energy and leadership
Reconnect with purpose and priorities
This digital product is normally paid, but you can get it FREE by listening to this week’s episode of No Silver Spoons™ and checking the show notes for your code.
🎧 Listen to the episode: “When Growth Feels Lonely” – available now on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Keywords & Search-Optimized Learning
If you're looking for training on dental insurance eligibility, hiring dental billing companies, or strengthening your dental office training, this blog and podcast episode will give you real-world insight.
Many dental leaders make the mistake of thinking they just need more staff or more systems. But often? What you need is clarity. This training exists to get you there.
If you are part of a DSO, running a private practice, or managing multiple team members across specialties, this conversation is for you. Our free training is your reminder that growth doesn’t have to feel disconnected. There are systems, support, and people to walk with you as you build the next stage of your business.
Let’s Work Together
If this message hit home, there are a few powerful ways we can support you:
💼 Virtual Dental Office Support
Outsource dental billing, insurance eligibility, or administrative tasks to our trusted team.
🧠 1:1 Mentorship with Me
I mentor practice owners, office managers, and DSO leadership teams to lead better, scale smarter, and stay mentally well doing it.
🎤 Book Me to Speak
If you have a team training, DSO event, or leadership workshop coming up—I’d love to bring this message to your stage. I speak on:
Leadership in dentistry
Mental health & boundaries in practice management
Scaling virtual support teams
Dental office culture and training
You are not alone. You’re growing because you’re capable .And sometimes, it feels heavy because it matters.
Take a breath. Read this again if you need to. Then go listen to the episode.
We’ll walk through it together.
References:
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140.
Luo, Y., et al. (2017). Neural correlates of social comparison: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies. Brain and Behavior, 7(11), e00817.
Disclaimer:
To learn more about Sarah Beth Herman, the author of all free training content you can read her bio here. These materials are intended to provide helpful information to dentists and dental team members. They are in no way a substitute for actual professional advice based on your unique facts and circumstances. This content is not intended or offered, nor should it be taken, as legal or other professional advice. You should always consult with your own professional advisors (e.g. attorney, accountant, or insurance carrier). To the extent, Dentistry Support ®has included links to any third-party website (s), Dentistry Support ® intends no endorsement of their content and implies no affiliation with the organizations that provide their content. Further, Dentistry Support ® makes no representations or warranties about the information provided on those sites. You can view our privacy policy and terms and conditions by clicking those pages in the footer of our website.