Why don't dentists care about employees receiving breaks or a lunch hours?

I have worked 17 years in the dental field. I quit working in the dental field for this very reason. I would like to know the answer. I worked for 3 different dentist and they were all the same. I do not believe they care about anything other than themselves and there pocket book. I am a mother of two. After working at least 10 hrs per day without a break and rarley receiving a full lunch hour I have to go home do homework with kids, make dinner, and get what ever house work I can done. I also have to get the kids to what ever practice or event they may have. For being a profession dominated by women it is hard to swallow that dentist have no concern as to how hard they work their employees and how they are unresponsive to the fact that we have family too. Our day does not end when we leave the office. We have to keep going! just Why not give us breaks and make sure we receive our full lunch. This would make a huge difference in our lives. Michigan Dental Assistant

Why don't dentists care about employees receiving breaks or a lunch hours?
I say I hear your pain!!!


I have worked in the dental field first as a dental assistant for many years then as a Hygienist. I have only worked in a few offices. The office I work now, the dentist comes in late, has the front desk many times move patients up then runs behind all day. Drives us NUTS. She want to get out early. I only work with her one day a week. Usually no lunch and makes her Hygiene patients wait many times for 30mins or more.


Last man I worked for ran on time, rarely did we miss lunch-rarely-there is NO excuse for this happening over and over. Sometimes yes, all the time NO! Selfish.


I don't have a cleaning lady, or someone to do my wash. Homework every night....I hear ya sister. BUT there are Dentists out there that don't do this...Where are you?? lol
Reply:i think you just have bad luck with jobs...
Reply:It is not that we don't care about our staff (front office, assistants and hygienists) it is that we have devoted ourselves to helping our patients as well. Often that comes at a cost of personal sacrifice to ourselves and


I'm sorry to say, our staff as well. Whenever a patient calls with a concern, pain, question, or something broken, we find the need to make time for those people that we have devoted ourselves to help. If you were a dental patient with an emergency, would you like to be told that "I know that your tooth really hurts, and you haven't slept all night and your face is swollen up like a basketball, but the doctor and his staff have to eat lunch for an hour, But we can see you in about a week and a half when we have a 5 minute opening, is that ok with you?". Now this may sound a little extreme; however, this is how our patients hear it. Our patients need to know that we are there for them, and unfortunately, that means sometimes having to work through lunch, arrive early and stay late...even come in on the weekends! Now don't get me wrong, our staff works really hard and are appreciated for all of their effort, we could not do the work without them! I know in my office at least I try to give the staff the hour break that is promised to them (if it means having to work by myself sometimes), but do they always get an hour straight (I am sorry to say) No! If I ever have to put a patient in during lunch or at the end of the day, I am sure to check with my staff to see if they have a problem with it! Now it sounds to me that either you never spoke about your concerns with your previous employers, maybe some are not as nice as I am, or maybe this is not really the career for you. In this profession, Patient Care Come First. To me it sounds like you are in it more for yourself than the patients that you are trying to care for. Don't get me wrong, I understand that everyone has lives outside of the office, but in this field, you have to be willing to make sacrifices sometimes - for the good of the patients (and it is not just so that we can pad our pocketbooks!!!!!!)!
Reply:WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB YOU MUST BE VERY SPECIFIC AND FIND OUT WHEN YOU ARE ENTITLEDEDTP A LUNCH BREAK.


IT IS A LABOR LAW IN THE U.S.A. THAT AFTER EVERY 4 HOURS OF WORK YOU TAKE A 15 MIN. BREAK. TO FIND OUT MORE CHECK THIS SITE:


http://www.dol.gov/
Reply:Id say unionize but most dental offices dont have that many employees
Reply:for the most part, i never make my employees work longer than they are supposed to. on the other hand, i expect not to hear any bitching if an extraction runs a little long. it's part of the job. and it's not like i earn any more money if things take longer.





i smell some untruth in your complaints too. those posters in the break room with employees rights have all of the labor laws in plain sight. you could have showed them to the dentist if it was really a problem.
Reply:I schedule 90 minutes for lunch to be sure that we get a full 60 minutes. Not all dentists are the way your bosses have been. If you like your job, keep looking!





We see patients 7 hours per day.