In a recent episode of The Independent Dental Practice Podcast, host Dr. Sonny Spera sat down with Dr. Paul Goodman—founder of Dental Nachos and Dentist Job Connect—for a candid conversation about one of the profession’s most under-discussed topics: retirement planning. The wide-ranging discussion tackled the financial mistakes that leave dentists trapped in clinical practice well past their prime, the emotional weight of debt, and the practical steps every practitioner should take to retire on their own terms.

The conversation was prompted, Goodman explained, by two things. The first was a legendary Dental Town forum post about why dentists struggle to retire by 65—a thread that has accumulated tens of thousands of comments over the years. The second was an event where a practice seller shared the story of a colleague, roughly 73 years old, who was still practicing dentistry not out of passion, but out of financial necessity.

“The message is simple,” Goodman told Spera. “Put yourself in a position so that if you’re doing dentistry at 73, it’s because you want to, not because you have to.”

Goodman identified three core mistakes that leave dentists financially vulnerable as they approach the later stages of their careers.

Uncontrolled spending after years of deprivation. Goodman pointed out that dentists go from $400,000 in student debt to earning $400,000 a year faster than almost any other profession. While that sounds like a windfall, the rapid transition often leads to reckless spending. After years of living as students, newly earning dentists feel they’ve earned the right to indulge—and without automatic retirement contributions or financial literacy, it becomes alarmingly easy to spend everything that comes in.

The emotional weight of compounding debt. Transitioning from associate to practice owner adds a second layer of financial pressure. A dentist carrying student loans, a home mortgage, a practice loan, and possibly a building note can find themselves in what Goodman described as “financial survival mode.” In that state, retirement planning gets pushed to the back burner. Spera echoed the sentiment, recalling his own early ownership days when he had no concept of how much money he was actually taking home. “There’s really a discipline to being clueless,” Spera admitted candidly.

Arrogance and frugality in equal measure. Goodman’s third mistake was perhaps the most provocative: dentists are either too arrogant to think they need professional financial help, or too frugal to pay for it. He compared it to hiring a personal trainer—the professional both knows more than you and holds you accountable. “Your job is to find someone good,” he said, “and say, my goal is not to be that 73-year-old who has to practice dentistry. Help me get there.”

Both Goodman and Spera emphasized a point that younger dentists often overlook: the physical toll of clinical dentistry is real and cumulative. Goodman referenced a colleague’s memorable observation that everything in a dentist’s career relies on a single hand. An injury, an illness, or the simple wear and tear of decades of chairside work can end a career abruptly.

Spera, a passionate advocate for disability insurance, shared that the practice he purchased was from a dentist who had suffered an eye injury. That dentist, he noted, was able to transition smoothly because he held a strong own-occupation disability policy. Both doctors agreed that disability insurance should be a non-negotiable from day one of a dentist’s career.

Goodman expressed frustration with dental schools that charge upwards of $500,000 in tuition but provide virtually no financial education. “If I do a $50,000 implant case, I spend a lot of time teaching the patient how to take care of it,” he said. “These schools are extracting $500,000 and then don’t have to give any of the fundamental oral hygiene instructions for their career.”

When the conversation shifted to what works, both doctors had clear and consistent advice.

Automate your savings. Goodman’s top recommendation was automatic deductions into retirement accounts—money that comes out before you ever see it. “Good habits are hard to start, but once you start them, they’re hard to stop,” he said. Whether it’s $500 a month or $1,500, the key is making it non-negotiable. Spera shared his own strategy of doubling whatever his financial advisor recommended, then simply not looking at the account for extended periods.

Build a team of professional advisors. Both doctors stressed the importance of assembling a board of advisors—accountants, financial planners, and other professionals who have the context of working with dentists just like you. Goodman dismissed the common objection that some financial advisors are bad. “Imagine someone at Thanksgiving saying you should go to a dentist, and they reply, ‘I heard there are some bad ones,’” he said. “That’s not an excuse.”

Start with a plan—any plan. Spera emphasized that a retirement strategy doesn’t need to be sophisticated. It needs to exist. Having even a basic framework provides the discipline to make consistent decisions and resist impulsive purchases. Both doctors noted that dentists should avoid accumulating debt on non-essential equipment and shiny objects that don’t serve the core business.

For dentists in the 45–65 age range, Goodman offered pointed advice: start preparing to sell your practice now, even if you have no intention of selling for another 20 years.

He noted that a dental practice is one of the most complex assets anyone can own. Unlike a house, which only requires a willing buyer, a practice sale requires a licensed dentist in your state who wants to live in your area and is prepared to take over the business. That’s a significantly smaller pool of potential buyers, and the process takes time.

Goodman also flagged a psychological trap that Spera readily recognized: once a dentist announces they plan to retire, they’ve often already mentally retired. Of the six or seven practices Spera purchased from retiring dentists, he said only one continued to work with genuine engagement through the transition. Both agreed that this “fear of retiring early”—or what Goodman jokingly acronymized as “FORE”—is a real phenomenon that deserves more attention.

When Spera asked whether an aggressive debt-payoff mindset changes a dentist’s long-term outcomes, Goodman offered a nuanced response. People who prioritize eliminating debt tend to be more financially responsible overall, he said, but they can also be too extreme. He cited a young dentist who paid off all their student loans while living in their parents’ basement—only to be denied a practice loan because they had saved nothing.

The takeaway: debt can be a useful tool when managed responsibly, but it deserves serious respect. Splitting available funds between loan repayment and retirement contributions, for example, may serve a dentist far better than dumping everything into debt elimination.

Both doctors closed the conversation by stressing the value of finding a professional peer group—people who can hold you accountable, share experiences, and offer perspective from different stages of their careers. Goodman encouraged dentists to seek out local study clubs and in-person continuing education events in addition to national conferences. “The people in your backyard are the ones you can call with problems and concerns,” he said.

Spera agreed, noting that the dental community’s growing openness about finances, overhead, and practice profitability on social media represents a meaningful shift from the secrecy that defined the profession just 15 years ago.

“It’s never too late to start making good decisions,” Goodman concluded. “If you’re 47 and you have $10,000 saved for retirement, start today. Put yourself in the ‘want to’ category—not the ‘have to.’”