291. I Left My Dental Practice to Work for Free (Here's Why)

Discover why I left my dental practice to work for free on a dental humanitarian trip and how this experience reshaped my definition of success in dentistry.

In this episode of the Lifestyle Practice Podcast, Dr. Steve Vandegraaff shares a powerful and personal story about dentist humanitarian work, freedom, and building a lifestyle dental practice that supports family, travel, and purpose-driven dentistry.

Dr. Vandegraaff reflects on a life-changing dental mission trip to the Galapagos Islands, where he volunteered on an Ecuador dental mission providing care to underserved communities. This experience highlights the impact of humanitarian dentistry, practicing dentistry without money or insurance, and rediscovering the purpose behind becoming a dentist.

If you are a dentist, dental practice owner, or dental student feeling burned out or chained to the chair, this episode will show you how dentists can take time off work, avoid burnout, and design a dental career around their life. Learn how building a well-run dental practice allows dentists to step away from daily chairside dentistry and pursue dentist freedom lifestyle, travel, and meaningful experiences with family.

This conversation explores dentistry with purpose, choosing memories over production numbers, and why purpose-driven dentistry leads to a more fulfilling dental career. From a family dental mission trip to global dental outreach, this episode proves dentistry can be about more than production—it can be about impact.

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