To most of the world an inch is a small amount of space. To a dentist that’s at least three teeth. Dentists spend their whole professional lives working inside of a tooth, with literally only millimeters of room to work in. A molar is maybe 7-8 millimeters wide. So, spending a lifetime worrying about drilling into the pulp causes major stress for the dentist as well as for the patient. I guess that’s why low speed drills were invented!
As a result of all this stress, they say that dentists have the highest rate of suicide and the highest rate of divorce. Personally, I did the divorce…I’m trying to put off the suicide for as long as I can!
I’m writing this as a recognized authority on humour and laughter. I think it’s safe to say that I am the only dentist with a decades long career in the comedy world writing for and working with such international comedy stars as Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Andrew “Dice” Clay and Gilbert Gottfried, to Kevin Hart, D.L. Hughley, Bill Burr, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney.
This background has led me to become a motivational speaker and a Keynote Speaker at dental conferences. In the past year, I was the Keynote Speaker for AGD ’24 and the Oregon Dental Conference. The topic they gave me was “How To Survive A Career In Dentistry Using Positive Thinking And Humour” based on my history in comedy and as an author of 8 best-selling books on comedy and happiness.
So, I understand the power of laughter. My dental office was always fun. Not because I told jokes but because I created an atmosphere of humour. I don’t think anyone wants a dentist who’s joking around making it look like they’re not serious about their work.
Like most dentists, I was taught to be a perfectionist. Perfectionism takes a toll on people, but when you’re working in such a small field with people who are afraid that you’re going to hurt them, it can take a particularly devastating toll on people. And when I say “people,” I’m referring to us dentists!
Dental school instills a sense of perfectionism and not always in a healthy way. When I went to dental school, one instructor insisted we write our name one inch from the bottom right-hand corner of a test paper, and we had to measure exactly one inch with a ruler or else we would fail, no matter how well we did on the test.
We had to carve a full set of 32 teeth out of wax to exact millimeter measurements. In dentistry, we rightly seek perfection knowing we often have to settle for something less.
Only another dentist knows what it’s like to be a dentist. Dentistry is such a stressful field that we must find balance in something else we enjoy doing. For me it was comedy. It’s no accident that they say that laughter is the best medicine. I’m on the Board of Laugh M.D., a company that brings comedy to people in hospitals and people in recovery.
In a dramatic example of the power of laughter, a young patient in recovery who kept relapsing was in a terrible state of depression. The pre-programmed iPod he was given with comedy films and stand-up performances was credited with bringing him out of it and helping him to achieve sobriety.
Laughter releases endorphins, the pleasure chemical. So even if you think you have no sense of humour, you still owe it to yourself to go out and have a few laughs.
About the author
Dr. Jeffrey L. Gurian is often described as a “Renaissance” man because he’s involved in so many things. He’s a former Cosmetic Dentist and Clinical Prof. at NYU in the Oral Medicine/Oro-Facial Pain Department. He’s also a practitioner of Spiritual Healing and Energy Work and spent 20 years on the Board of The Assoc. for Spirituality and Psychotherapy. Dr. Gurian is also a nationally known comedy writer, performer, and best-selling Amazon author with 8 books.
