Retirement for Dentists: How to Stay Healthy, Happy, and Energetic in Middle Age

Dentists struggle with burnout, fatigue, and irregular schedules. Buckhead Longevity can help

Dr. Gregory Charlop here. I’ve worked with countless dentists across the country as an anesthesiologist in dental and maxillofacial surgery suites. I’ve seen firsthand what twenty or thirty years in the chair can do to a dentist. It’s rough!

I hear about (and see) chronic neck and back pain, early mornings, late-night charting, and the aggravating, low-level stress of running a practice while staying sharp for every patient.

Dental burnout is real, and it is spectacular.

Dentists struggle with burnout and physical ailments at levels most outside the profession can’t comprehend. The American Dental Association’s 2024 TrendReport found 82% of dentists feel major stress and burnout, while another study reported 92% had musculoskeletal pain in the last year, usually in the neck, shoulders, or lower back.

As dentists reach middle age and beyond, folks start thinking about the next chapter of their lives. How do I keep my energy up for the long haul? How do I stay healthy without turning my life upside down? And how do I make sure I still feel like I matter once the practice slows down or eventually sells?

Mattering is a concern I hear from dentists more than nearly anything else. Most dentists don’t want a retirement focused on golf and prune juice. They want to wake up feeling needed, stay deeply connected to friends and family, and still feel like they’re contributing to society. After years of working with overworked physicians, defense leaders, and family office executives, I’ve found that retirees who maintain a strong sense of purpose report significantly higher life satisfaction and happiness. Without feeling like your life has meaning, even folks with huge bank accounts can feel adrift.

How can you stay happy, healthy, and energetic in the second half of your dental career and in retirement?

The good news is you don’t need extreme protocols or risky biohacks to enjoy international travel, adventure with your spouse and kids, and exciting hobbies. Common-sense longevity and lifestyle medicine solutions are your answers, especially when they’re tailored to a dentist’s real life.

In my concierge Buckhead Longevity concierge lifestyle medicine practice, we start with dental-specific health plans: simple mindset adjustments, personalized nutrition that fuels long procedure days without complicated meal-prep, deep sleep strategies that survive call weekends and early starts, quality relationships that combat the isolation that can come with owning a practice, and exercise routines that keep you strong and mobile without requiring you to live at the gym.

Because many dentists and OMFS work irregular, demanding hours, it is essential to develop a sleep plan that works with your schedule, not against it. Wearables (Oura Ring, Apple Watch, etc) can track your real patterns, while basic sleep hygiene (keeping the bedroom dark, cool, and quiet) often makes a surprising difference in how refreshed you feel the next day. On the nutrition side, lab tests and wearables can show exactly how each of us reacts to different foods, so we don’t need a one-size-fits-all diet. We build a plan that matches your metabolism, energy needs, and the realities of long days in the OR, while still leaving room for a glass of wine or a steak when you want one.

The same practical approach pays dividends in retirement. We examine your interests (some from childhood!) and collaborate to identify hobbies and adventures that will keep you energized, we nurture deep (non-transactional) social connections so you don’t lose that sense of community, and help you stay active in ways that suit your taste and motivation. The goal isn’t just to add years to your life, it’s to add life to your years so you can travel, enjoy dinners out with friends or family, chase new interests, or simply feel like you still matter in a world that sometimes forgets the value of experience.

Dentists in the Atlanta, Buckhead, and Alpharetta areas have built remarkable careers taking care of others. Now it’s worth taking a moment to protect your own healthspan and sense of purpose, whether you’re still in the chair or already thinking about what comes next.

Have questions? Let’s chat.