Aesthetics in Dentistry Is Very Profitable for Dentists, Says Orofacial Harmonization Student

Dr. Gabriel Monte has been a dentist for 3 years, but his story in the profession spans four generations. “My whole family is made up of dentists.” Unlike his grandfather, mother and uncles, he chose a different specialization in the career. Keep reading to understand everything about aesthetics in dentistry, which was the field Gabriel chose.

One more dentist in the family

He is originally from Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, and lives in the city of São Paulo (SP). He works in a private office and at some private-sector dental clinics. He works in restorative dentistry and minimally invasive dentistry.

“I work in restorative dentistry, which covers all of white aesthetics (contact lenses, general composites, cosmetic reshaping, restorative mock-ups, conventional restorations, aesthetic restorations) and also minimally invasive dentistry (whitening and micro-abrasion).”

In a short time in the market, he is already a reference. And one of the reasons for this quick success comes from his family. Gabriel Monte says he is the 4th generation of dentists in his family, which meant he already knew the work routine even before graduating.

However, he never settled for following in his relatives' footsteps. He combined the desire to stand out in dentistry with a taste for aesthetics. “I was the first in my family to specialize in restorative dentistry.”

The topic of aesthetics in dentistry

The dentist says it was in college that he discovered this “gift.” “That's when I truly entered the world of aesthetics. With the boom in aesthetic dentistry and orofacial harmonization, I wanted to dive in and understand a bit more about it.”

In his view, as in every field, the beginning has its challenges. And in his profession, he discovered how to overcome these barriers: by specializing. “To reach gold-standard dentistry you need to specialize a lot.”

The gift combined with study is what turned Gabriel into a reference. He says that aesthetics in dentistry runs on references, which means you need to be inspired by and learn from those who have the courage to take risks.

“You need to have that focus on specialization to also become a reference with your technique, your field or whatever it is. The differentiator is having your own technique. Of course, that won't happen overnight.”

Aesthetics in dentistry is profitable

If family history was a motivation for starting in dentistry, Gabriel, for his part, wasn't afraid to risk entering a field that no relative had specialized in. Today, he sees that he made the right choice, and for several reasons.

“The advantage of being able to work with aesthetics is that it is very profitable for the dentist. You can see fewer people and have much higher profitability and financial return.”

From the financial return, he mentions that new benefits can be seen. “So you have quality of life and quality of work. You work with what you like. So your day-to-day is going to be enjoyable.”

The dentist has the experience to speak about this because he saw his close relatives work hard, in intense shifts, for much of their lives. “I see it's a draining routine. I tell my mother I don't know how she endured working that long like that.”

And he adds: “Instead of being in that draining routine of seeing 15 or 20 people a day, working fast and living stressed, all of that changes, and it changes us too, as professionals.”

The HOF course

But you, reading this content, may have wondered how Gabriel Monte went about specializing in this field? Postgraduate courses. In fact, the most recent one was in HOF, that is, Orofacial and Surgical Harmonization.

“I started the postgraduate program to cover more and make my office more complete because in reality it became an “obligation.” Patients were asking me about and requesting these procedures.”

With that, he saw an opportunity to broaden his range of services and guarantee patients procedures performed safely with aesthetics in dentistry. “I found myself needing to enter this field of orofacial harmonization.”

Even with a full roster of clients, the dentist says this was an assertive choice in his life. “I'm not entering because I need to increase my profitability, but also on the aesthetics side because I like aesthetics.”

Dentistry beyond the mouth

Gabriel says that after choosing aesthetics in his profession, he began to see other differentiators this specialization could offer. For example, by bringing in the idea that the dentist can work beyond the mouth.

“People are understanding more about what can be done in dentistry. And that's good because it shows the breadth dentistry is bringing us, especially in this part of orofacial harmonization. And that made us move out of that mouth-only niche.”

This explanation ties in with the theory classes and hands-on classes he has been taking in his HOF postgraduate program, which has everything to do with aesthetics in dentistry. “Understanding more about facial patterns lets me improve the patient's dental pattern. Because we see there is a correlation between dental aesthetics and orofacial aesthetics.”

Despite the certainties he sees in the market, he recalls that it wasn't always this way. “My mother graduated in the 80s. You can see it's a different dentistry, totally different. My uncles graduated recently. Even so, I see a discrepancy between my training and theirs.”

About training, he adds: “My training is very focused on aesthetics. Nowadays, everything is very focused on aesthetics. We study some things in college that they didn't.”

Orofacial and surgical aesthetics as a trend

Gabriel says that just as aesthetics in dentistry has become a trend, it comes with the fact that patients are more attentive to procedures. He even mentions an example of this change in habits and consumption.

“In these more common procedures, we do what makes us dentists satisfied with the procedures. Because that clinical patient doesn't understand. The aesthetics patient is different: they arrive at the office well informed.”

For him, this is one of the differentiators of his profession today. “Our goal is to meet the patient's expectations. I see that as a differentiator. Always working with the same thing, but with different challenges.”

A reference in aesthetics in dentistry

To end the interview and his opinion on aesthetics in dentistry, Gabriel Monte says his experience speaks volumes about the courage to risk something new and leave the comfort zone, which is something that holds many professionals back from growing in their careers.

“What I would like to say is that people shouldn't be afraid to take risks. When I said I was going to do the postgraduate program, nobody understood because they said I was already established in the job market, being a reference in resins, with good patient demand. It didn't make much sense to them for me to go back to studying.”

“And I always said I shouldn't be afraid to take risks because I may reduce my financial return now and need to invest more, but I believe that in the future my results will double, as will my experience and knowledge as a professional.”

“Everything must be done at the right time and without fear of taking risks. I see a lot of people who are complacent and afraid to leave the comfort zone. A specialization is different from a free course because it makes you the best at that and creates your best technique.”

You can watch excerpts of Gabriel Monte's interview in the video below:

Success Stories>Orofacial and Surgical Harmonization