Her Story
About Jinny
Jinny Bender is a dentist currently working full-time at Glidewell Laboratories. She has been practicing dentistry for many years and continues to lecture, sharing dental pearls with audiences so they can implement learnings immediately. Bender mentors other young dentists, finding it fulfilling to support the future of the profession. She is a highly self-motivated and empathetic practitioner who prioritizes patient comfort based on her own early experiences. In her professional life, she values being constant learners and kind to oneself, while in her personal life she emphasizes work-life balance through hobbies like gardening and exercising.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jinny
01What do you attribute your success to?
I am a very highly self-motivated person. Given my early childhood experience having been a patient sitting in the dental chair as a child needing a ton of dental work, I am a very empathetic type of dentist. When a patient sits in the chair, they are the most important person to me at that moment. It's really important for me to care for them the best way that I can to make sure that they're comfortable.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice is that dentistry we're not gonna make a lot of money in dentistry. It's important to also invest. Somebody told me that I needed to tuck away 10% of my income to create my nest egg. And this was early on in my career. So I have been investing since the very beginning.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is to seek out a really good mentor. The way to do that is to join your local dental society or go to a continuing education course, seek out leadership opportunities, and find another dentist to give you advice on patient communication, clinical cases, and leadership opportunities.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge for dentists right now is that the dental education is extremely expensive. The average student loan debt is about $500,000 to $700,000. Another hurdle is dental insurance and third-party reimbursements. On the opportunity side, there is a lot of opportunity for dentists that are out there if you invest in yourself and your education.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In professional life, our greatest asset is ourself. We need to make sure as a dentist that we continue to learn. We are constant learners. We need to be kind to ourselves. In personal life, work-life balance is important. I think it's important to have hobbies. For me, it's gardening and exercising, making sure that my health is good.
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