Interview Summary

Dr. Wildenberg is a dentist, which stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD). Dentists are doctorate-level trained providers who perform oral health assessments, complex dental procedures, and post-operative management, and they often work in private practices.
Dr. Wildenberg prepares for clinical care by reviewing patient histories, setting up sterilized dental equipment, and preparing local anesthetics and procedural materials. They then administer anesthesia, perform operations such as root canals, oral surgeries, and soft tissue or periodontal procedures, and monitor the patient throughout the appointment. After the procedure, Dr. Wildenberg checks the patient's recovery and provides post-op care instructions. Finally, they ensure the clinical notes are documented and the operatory is prepared for the next patient.
To become a dentist, you must first get a bachelor’s degree, which typically takes three-and-a-half to four years. Then, you must complete a four-year dental school program. Unlike medicine, completing a residency is not a requirement to practice, as over 50% of students go straight into work right after dental school. However, some choose to complete a one-year General Practice Residency (GPR) to gain advanced experience. Overall, it takes about eight to nine years to become a practicing dentist with residency training.
Dr. Wildenberg emphasizes that dentistry offers a highly rewarding career path that provides an excellent work-life balance for pursuing personal passions. The profession allows professionals to maintain a strong commitment to patient care while fully enjoying family life and personal hobbies.
Dr. Wildenberg typically works a standard full-time schedule in private practice. Outside of work, they are highly passionate about the outdoors, spending their free time camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, and traveling to the Boundary Waters and national parks. On the weekends, they can usually be found teaching their three kids how to downhill ski and waterski, drawing from their past experience living in mountain ski towns and working as a summer camp waterski instructor.

Dentistry Interview With Dr. Wildenberg

What does a day in your life as a dentist look like?

Most of my days start with me getting to the office at around 6:30 a.m. I am the only one in the office that starts this early, and I start working with some patients around 7:00 a.m. Because I get to the office so early, I am usually able to leave by about 4:30 p.m. During the first half hour of my day, I am mostly reviewing the charts of every patient that I am going to see. This helps me to see where I was at with specific patients before, what I will be doing with them that day, and if there are any specific needs that they have. I will usually see about 6-10 patients, but it all depends on the day and the procedures we are doing. If I am doing a crown for a patient, that tends be a longer procedure. If I am doing multiple fillings, then it can take from one-to-two hours for an appointment. In some cases, we might have an extremely large amount of work to do. For example, we may have to do six crowns across the front teeth. In these instances, we will probably have the patient in the clinic for the entire morning or afternoon. I also see hygiene patients who come in for their regular check-ups to get their teeth cleaned and checked for cavities or other issues. I typically see between 8-10 of these patients every day.

When I was growing up, I had pretty good teeth, so the dentist would come in after my teeth got cleaned to check for cavities and then leave. Because this was all that I saw, I thought that being a dentist would be a pretty boring job. However, there are plenty of people that need much more dental work and help. I did not really realize this until I shadowed my brother-in-law who is a dentist. This experience really got me interested in dentistry and taught me a lot about the field. There is definitely a lot more to the field of dentistry than checking for cavities or looking at fillings. For instance, when you come in for your check-up with the dentist, there could really be anything going on in the room next to you. Our dentists could be working on fillings and crowns, restoring an implant (the best technology to replace a missing tooth), having a consultation with patients looking for a second opinion, or making things such as retainers, nightguards, and partial or complete dentures for patients.

I would also say that I get a good work-life balance as a dentist, and I think that most dentists would also say the same thing. I am at the office from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and I only work three-and-a-half days a week. I work my typical hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then every other Friday I work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I work less than 40 hours a week of actual in-office time, but we are also on call (although it is not typically very busy because we do not tend to have a lot of emergencies). I would also say that it depends on if you are an associate like myself (meaning I do not own the practice and I work for the owner), or if you own the practice. I think that if you own the practice (depending on your ownership style), it can definitely be a lot more stressful and work-heavy both in and out of the office. It is nice that there are options within dentistry so you can decide what setting you want to work in. You can work in a smaller practice (like I do), you can go to a large group where there are 20-50 offices across the city, or you can start your own practice. You never really know where the field of dentistry may take you. There are even more options beyond these because you can get into education and teach at a school, you can get into research, you can go into public health, or you could even get into the armed forces (lots of dentists go into the military).

What does dentistry mean to you?

I think of dentistry as a really nice blend of both art and science. Everything needs to work right together, and a lot of that has to do with the science and the chemistry of the bonds that we are making with different fillings and crowns. Part of my job also feels like carpentry because I am working with my hands to make things fit together. I think that it is fun to see everything that I am working on come together and have an outcome that is both beautiful and functional. It is definitely a challenging career, but it is also very rewarding.

Can you tell us about yourself?

I was born and raised in Wisconsin. Neither of my parents worked in dentistry or medicine, which was probably a more common occurrence back then. I earned my undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and actually graduated a little bit early as I completed my degree in three-and-a-half years. After college, I took a year-and-a-half long break before I completed my four-year dental school program at the University of Marquette. After dental school, I went to a general practice residency (GPR). A general practice residency is an additional one-to-two years of additional training (mine was a one-year program) to gain experience in all facets of dentistry. These residencies also dive deeper into some bigger operations like root canals and surgeries (such as oral surgery, soft tissue surgery, and periodontics). Some students will use this residency as a launching point before going into a specialty training program. However, I used my residency to get a lot of experience before going into private practice.

Although I completed a residency after dental school, it is not a requirement to become a dentist. During dental school, there is built-in clinical practice that prepares students to work with patients right out of school. I believe that the majority of students (at least more than 50%) just go straight into work right after dental school. This is unlike many careers in medicine where doctors must complete a residency in a field like orthopedic surgery in order to practice.

Outside of my job, I am very passionate about the outdoors. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved camping, fishing, hunting, and hiking. I love going to the Boundary Waters, national parks, etc. I am also really interested in both downhill skiing and waterskiing. It is a lot of fun now that I have three kids that are old enough to travel and be introduced to some of the things that I am passionate about. On the weekends, you will usually find me teaching my kids how to ski.

During my gap year-and-a-half, I spent a lot of time out in the mountains where I skied and had fun before I went to dental school (I lived in Big Sky, Montana for a winter season and Crested Butte, Colorado for another season). In the summertime during my gap-year-and-a-half, I was also working as a camp counselor at a summer camp in Maine where I was one of the waterski instructors.

Full Q&A With Dr. Wildenberg

What is your favorite part about being a dentist?

I often see challenging cases where patients are uncertain about problems they are having and how they will be treated. Being able to successfully complete work on these patients is one of the best parts of my job. For example, I was working on a patient’s front tooth, and my patient was concerned about outcomes and whether their tooth would look the way they wanted it to. Procedures like these are very important because your smile is one of the first things that others notice when they see you. It is extremely rewarding to be able to help patients and see a weight lifted off their shoulders after I treat them.

How much education is required to be a dentist?

You first need to graduate from high school and earn your diploma. Afterwards, most people will complete their entire four years of undergrad to earn their degree. For me personally, I got done a little early because I graduated with my degree in three-and-a-half years. Technically, you could go to dental school after three years of undergrad without earning your degree. However, it is strongly encouraged that you complete your four-year degree before you apply to dental school. Most students earn their undergraduate degree before applying to dental school. Before you get into dental school, you also must take the DAT (Dental Admission Test), which is kind of like how pre-med students take the MCAT to get into medical school.

Dental school lasts four years, and it has a similar path to medical school. However, dental school varies from medical school because of the fact that it has a built-in clinical application. This clinical application time is kind of like a residency within your schooling where you work with patients and learn to practice dentistry. During dental school, you will also take board exams that are similar to the ones in medical school. There is a part one board exam, taken after you complete two years of dental school, and a part two board exam, taken during your fourth year of dental school.

After you graduate from dental school, there are also options to do residencies or post-doctoral training. These programs can be shorter one-year programs like the one I attended. However, they can also be more lengthy, such as the six-year oral surgery programs where you get a dual degree by earning your MD (Medical Doctor license) as well as your license to practice as an oral surgeon. There are options to do other sub-specialties as well. For example, you can sub-specialize in endodontics (root canals), periodontics (hard tissue and soft tissue like bone and gum tissues), prosthodontics (rebuilding and replacing teeth), pedodontics (pediatric dentistry), orthodontics (braces), and oral pathology (assessing suspicions of cancer and lesions in the mouth).

How did you become interested in dentistry?

I have always had an interest in working with my hands. As a kid, my dad built me a little workbench to put next to his where I would try to make things out of wood with my toolkit. I think that dentistry is a lot like this except on a much smaller scale.

When I eventually shadowed my brother-in-law, I realized how my interest in working with my hands could be connected to a job in dentistry. It actually was not until my junior year of undergrad that I finally decided that I wanted to do something in dentistry, and even then I was not 100% sure. However, my sister was very instrumental in getting me to come and shadow my brother-in-law. If it were not for my sister and brother-in-law, I truly do not think that I would be where I am today.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in healthcare and is trying to figure out what profession is best for them?

I think that getting experience is very valuable. In fact, before pursuing a sub-specialty of dentistry like oral surgery, dentists will typically work for a few years in general dentistry to gain more experience.

I also strongly suggest trying to shadow as many healthcare workers and specialists as possible so you can understand what their typical day-to-day looks like. In my experience, I used to think that dentists did not do much because of what I saw as a kid when I visited the dentist. However, I learned through shadowing my brother-in-law that dentists do much more than meets the eye. This led to my interest in the field and my current job now.

Lastly, I would try to make as many connections as you can. You never know how these connections can help you down the road, especially when you eventually begin looking for a job. For example, you might shadow at a certain place during dental school. After you graduate, if that clinic is hiring, you might be able to get a job there more easily because the staff know who you are and that you have a passion for the field.

What is the career outlook for dentists?

I would say that it is very good. However, you still need to consider the rising cost of dental school, which is a significant negative factor influencing the number of students becoming dentists. My office manager’s son is just starting dental school, and the cost of the schooling has increased by about 200% since the time that I went to dental school. This can definitely be a challenge, but I still believe that the career has a good outlook.

Currently, many dentists are reaching retirement age and are looking to sell their practices. This is especially true for the baby boomers, which creates a lot of opportunities to buy a practice. Our population is also aging and holding onto their teeth longer. As a result, dentists need to care for larger numbers of patients, creating a greater need for dental care.

Additionally, there has always been a shortage of dentists in rural and underserved communities, which creates a continuous need for providers in these areas. If you are willing to move and start your job in an area that is underserved, there will always be opportunities for you to work as a dentist.

What is the biggest challenge of being a dentist?

With every patient I see, I need to be giving my full effort to my work. This can be a challenge, especially because every patient has different backgrounds and needs. You could almost say that “I need to get an A on every project” in my job. When fitting crowns and fillings for patients, if there is even just a small gap or if something is slightly off, things can go very poorly. Therefore, it is very important that I am always giving my full effort to everything I do, which can definitely be challenging.

Another thing to consider is that the mouth is a small working environment. Some patients have large tongues and others can be very anxious, so I need to overcome the various challenges that can arise when treating patients in order to best help them.

I also need to be able to understand every patient’s individual needs. What works for one patient might not work for somebody else. For example, a patient might be very averse to surgery. In these kinds of situations, I need to figure out a different kind of procedure that will be the best step for the patient I am treating. It is very important to figure out both what a patient will be happiest with long-term and what they can tolerate procedurally. The mental health side of my job also plays an important role in what I do because I need to determine not only what I can do physically to help a patient but also how I can ensure they will be happiest in the future.