Last Updated on May 20, 2024 by Anna Baumann

Motivational Quotes for the Dental Office

There’s no better way to start your day than by reading my favorite motivational quotes for the dental office. Share them with your team and add them to your office mission statement. (Especially the last one!) They’re cute and fun, but they also hold true for almost everything we do!

“Focus on being productive, not busy.” ~ Tim Ferriss

The two biggest reasons people are busy, but not productive are:

They make a concerted effort to not work.
They can’t prioritize.

The ones working hard at not working need to go. They are part of the Dental Office Drama we try so hard to avoid. Have you ever worked with someone who appears to be working, yet nothing’s ever done? I often feel like those people work harder at not working than if they’d just do the actual work!

But, those who can’t prioritize just need some help.

I strongly believe in eating the frog. Even if I get nothing else done in a day, if I’ve eaten my frog (or frogs) I know I was productive. And, when you get through the tough stuff first, the rest of the day has nowhere to go but up!

“In every job that must be done there is an element of fun.” ~ Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is awesome! If you haven’t seen the movie, watch it! Not the one where she returns. The original with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

The line is from the song “A Spoonful of Sugar”. I was literally brought up on this premise. When I was little and had to take medicine, my Mom either smooshed up the pill and mixed it with honey, or swirled honey in with the medicine. (Otherwise, I’d spit it out or have a projectile vomitting episode. Proving that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”)

You can find ways to make anything fun! When our office is open on a Saturday, I buy a box of donuts on my way in. Now everyone associates working Saturdays with donuts. It’s something to look forward to on a day that we’d rather not be there.

We still send Recare postcards. Our patients love them and they’re a great tool for us. Running them is my least favorite task. On those days, I listen to my Kindle playlist quietly at my desk while I’m sorting and stamping. Grooving to my favorite jams makes the task tolerable.

Find your fun and see how the day flies by!

“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” ~ Jim Rohn

Initially, this doesn’t sound like a motivational quote. But if it inspires you to get organized, then I’ve made my point.

I’m a planner, and I’m all about organization. As a young Dental Assistant I often felt like I spent my days playing catch-up. When I stopped to evaluate, I realized that I could eliminate most of the chaos by creating some simple system s. It took a while to plan and implement what I needed, but my dental office life improved exponentially when I ran the day!

How to get organized

Self-awareness. The first step of getting organized is to realize that it’s what you need. Take some time for self-reflection and pinpoint the situations that cause stress and chaos.
Compartmentalize. You don’t have to be a manager to create systems and get organized. Do what you need to streamline tasks within your own job. If it ends up helping others too, it’s a bonus!
Plan, Implement, and Revise. Dont give up! Once you identify a problem, don’t get discouraged if your first organizational attempt doesn’t fix everything. Keep revising and tweaking until the situation improves to your satisfaction.

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ~ Mother Teresa

This one is all about TEAMWORK. There are three important parts to Dental Office Teamwork. The first is doing your best work at your own job. The second is helping others do their job. The third is realizing that we wouldn’t have jobs if we didn’t have each other.

Every Dental Office Team Member plays an important role. The clinic can’t work if the front office isn’t there to screen and schedule patients, process insurance, and collect payments. And without the clinic, the front office wouldn’t even exist.

We must work together! So…

BE DEPENDABLE. Show up on time each day and do your best.
BE AWARE. Check on your coworkers. If they’re running behind schedule, give them a hand. If they’re in the middle of a task, don’t give them another one.
BE APPRECIATIVE. Each Dental Office position comes with it’s own unique challenges. You don’t fully understand what anyone is dealing with unless you’ve been in their shoes. Acknowledge that, and appreciate your coworkers.

“Be the person you want to work with.” ~ Unknown

I don’t know who said this, but it is The Golden Rule of the Dental Office. (And of life!)

Be what you want to see in your coworkers. It’s pretty easy because I think most of us don’t want anything difficult or spectacular. And, if we focus on doing a great job and improving ourselves, there’s a great change we’ll create a workplace that we actually look forward to going to each day. I try hard to be the things that I appreciate most in my coworkers. Things like:

Don’t be late.
Be kind.
Work hard and pull your weight.
Be approachable and pleasant to be around.
Don’t take my scissors.

“Positive thoughts breed positive results” ~ Unknown

It’s tough to stay positive and upbeat when we’re looking at short-staffed days with full schedules. But, that’s not all that makes up our day. We also have kind coworkers, nice patients, a steady paycheck, a clean work environment, rewarding careers, and great dental benefits!

Some days they’re hard to find, but there are always things to be happy and thankful for. Find at least one positive thought at the start of the workday to get your mind flowing in an upbeat direction!

Focusing on the blessings gives us the strength to manage the challenges. It also increases our energy! With a postive mindset we’re more productive and have better outcomes to our days!

“Cake! It’s not just for Birthdays!” ~ Me 🙂

Cake is an amazing motivational tool! Any workday that involves cake is a good day! (Go back and read that again.) Words like Staff Meeting and Team Training Day usually trigger groans and eyerolls. But people will show up smiling if they have cake to look forward to!

But don’t think you need a special occasion to bring cake to work. That’s the beauty of it; it’s versatile! Tuesday? Bring cake. Staff Meeting? Bring cake. CPR training, clean the autoclave day, changing the suction traps? CAKE, CAKE, CAKE!