Spear and Cain Watters & Associates Partner To Equip New Dentists With the Tools for Career and Financial Success

New e-book bridges the gap between dental school and real-world practice, giving young professionals a blueprint for long-term growth

Spear Education announces the release of its new e-book From Graduation to Greatness: Your Guide to Thriving in Dentistry. Created in partnership with Cain Watters & Associates, a comprehensive financial advisory firm that understands dentists’ unique challenges, the resource helps dental graduates and early-career dentists prepare for career and professional success through clinical growth, financial planning, and learning how to manage a business. It addresses new dentists’ common challenges and offers actionable strategies to overcome them and achieve long-term career, financial, and personal fulfillment.

“Dental school equips students with essential clinical skills, but it often leaves critical gaps in how to succeed day to day by excelling in patient communication, leadership and creating financial stability,” said Dr. Dan Butterman, Chief Dental Officer of Spear Education. “This e-book gives new dentists real-world strategies to handle important issues like managing student debt wisely, building leadership skills, and planning for practice ownership. The end goal is for young dentists to move confidently from graduation to long-term career and financial success.”

The new e-book offers an integrated approach to early-career success, providing both strategic guidance and practical tools:

• Proven strategies for business management, patient communication, and clinical confidence.
• How to tackle student debt by reframing loans as “useful debt” and learning to invest in long-term career growth. Understanding when and how to transition from associate roles to practice ownership.
• Tips for gaining essential business and leadership skills to run a profitable, well-managed dental practice from day one. Ideas for developing strong mentorship and networking connections to avoid isolation and accelerate professional success.

“At Cain Watters & Associates, we’ve seen firsthand that clinical mastery alone isn’t enough to build a thriving dental career,” said Charles Loretto, partner at CWA. “Success also demands strong business skills, financial acumen, and the confidence to communicate value to patients.”

To further support early-career dentists, Spear has also introduced the Foundations membership, a new membership tailored specifically for dentists in their first five years of practice. With on-demand continuing education, an accessible annual price, and a built-in peer community, the membership is designed to fast-track clinical confidence and help new professionals build a career that’s both fulfilling and profitable.

By combining Spear’s clinical and practice management expertise with CWA’s deep experience in financial planning and wealth management, the partnership delivers a comprehensive roadmap for personal and professional growth. Together, the two organizations are equipping new dentists with the skills, strategies, and confidence to thrive in today’s competitive dental industry.