What does retirement mean to you? For a long time in dentistry the prevailing model has been to work hard, build a thriving practice, then turn the keys over to someone else. But over the years I have helped a lot of dentists who assured me that they were ready for retirement make the move, only to find that they soon ended up restless.
A life of leisure can sound great, but the reality for many people is that you can only read, or play golf, or walk on the beach for so long before you want to do something more fulfilling.
So maybe we need to rethink what we mean by retirement. To me the ideal life is to do what you want at the intensity you want to do it – when you want to do it. If you could perform dentistry in that way without all the extra responsibility of ownership, wouldn't that be a kind of fulfilling "working retirement?"
What if you worked just two or three days a week with your favorite assistant on your favorite patients? What if you just practiced your favorite kind of dentistry and someone else took over the rest? Under those conditions how long would you be willing to extend your career (and your earning years)?
Naturally, this kind of scenario assumes that you will bring in the right partner who is willing to be mentored and take over the bulk of the practice while allowing you to maintain a "legacy" presence in the practice. And yes, the right kind of person for this role may not be easy to find; the arrangement can bring with it its own issues. However, everything worthwhile in life comes with issues to be resolved.
There is not just one style of retirement anymore. I have seen dentists have great success moving right into complete retirement and not looking back. I have seen dentists have success by entering into a partnership and gradually reducing their presence in the practice. I have also seen dentists sell 100 percent of the practice to a new owner but retain the right to work in the practice for 50 days a year just to keep themselves in the game.
The point is you have choices. You spend a lifetime building a career and a practice. When the question arises as to how to exit, you should have the right to select the answer that works best for you.