Last Updated on September 24, 2023 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. And the ones 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 systems. 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 working together. 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. The things I appreciate most in my coworkers are:

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

“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!