Feeling tired, stressed, or overwhelmed in your dental practice? You’re not alone. In this episode, co-host Michael Walker talks with Kari Carter-Cherelus—a dental hygienist, speaker, and author who has walked that same path and now helps others find a better way forward.
Kari shares her personal story of burnout, what caused it, and how she turned things around. She opens up about the real pressures dental professionals face—tight schedules, insurance frustrations, lack of appreciation, and feeling like there’s never enough time for life outside of work.
You’ll learn how reducing insurance dependence can help create more balance, better patient care, and a happier, healthier team. Kari also shares simple, real-life strategies to manage stress, improve office culture, and support one another.
If you’re ready to feel more in control of your time, your practice, and your well-being—this episode is full of helpful tips and inspiring insight you won’t want to miss.
Key Takeaways
- Burnout is real-and common in dentistry. Kari shares how many dental professionals feel tired and overwhelmed without realizing it’s burnout.
- Appreciation and respect matter more than money. A kind word or recognition goes a long way toward team happiness.
- Insurance dependence adds to the stress. Reducing insurance reliance can help you and your team work with more time and less pressure.
- A strong, supportive culture keeps teams together. Celebrating small wins and talking openly helps teams feel valued and work better together.
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Episode Timestamps
- 00:00:00 – Introduction and Welcome
- Michael Walker introduces the show and guest Kari Carter-Cherelus.
- Overview of the episode topic: work-life balance and reducing insurance dependence.
- 00:02:20 – The Impact of Burnout in Dentistry
- Kari talks about her own experience with burnout.
- Many professionals feel stressed without realizing what’s really going on.
- 00:04:00 – Main Stressors Dental Teams Face
- High patient loads, low appreciation, and poor communication add to burnout.
- Practice owners, assistants, hygienists—everyone feels it.
- 00:06:00 – Respect and Recognition
- Why do simple thank-you’s and celebrating wins help teams feel valued?
- When people feel respected, they stay longer and work better.
- 00:08:30 – Insurance Stress Hurts Everyone
- Insurance rules rush care and create burnout.
- Reducing dependence gives teams more time to care properly for patients.
- 00:11:00 – Building Team Culture
- Co-diagnosis brings teams closer and improves care.
- Strong communication helps practices grow together.
- 00:13:30 – Celebrating Small Wins
- Real stories show how kindness and teamwork lift office spirit.
- Small wins, like a patient brushing daily, can make a big impact.
- 00:16:00 – Tips to Prevent Burnout
- Get help from a coach or mentor.
- Focus on healthy routines and build support around you.
- 00:18:30 – Supporting Teams Through Change
- Practice owners should involve teams in transitions.
- Allow flexibility, respect time off, and build trust.
- 00:21:00 – The Future of Work-Life Balance in Dentistry
- Dentistry is moving toward wellness and lifestyle care.
- Respect, diversity, and communication are key to long-term success.
- 00:24:00 – Take Care of Your Team and Yourself
- Work-life balance starts with small steps—better culture, better care, better conversations.
- When your team feels heard and appreciated, your whole practice wins.
If you’re stuck in the parameters of you can do all this work on a patient and only get this much reimbursement, it’s gonna be very stressful knowing that you have to pay for everything else… What can be helpful is actually making sure that you give more options, no different protocols.
Kari Carter-Cherelus
Healthy conflict is the one that we’re looking for—the ability to communicate and connect with each other and build wins and understand what people’s desires are, their appreciation languages, all those things. Healthy conflict is passionately disagreeing and not taking it personally.
Michael Walker
Resources
One of Gary's most significant achievements as a dental practice management coach is transforming his own practice, LifeSmiles, from one that was infected with PPO plans, no effective marketing strategy, and an overhead of 80% to a very successful dental practice that is currently one of the top-performing practices in the US.
As CEO of Ekwa Marketing, Naren has over a decade of experience working with dental practices and helping them attract the ideal type of patients to their practices. It is his goal to help dentists do more of the type of dentistry they love with the help and support of effective digital marketing.
