My Neck, My Back (Fix Your Posture While Removing Plaque!) – PDP220

Are ergonomic loupes and fancy chairs really worth the investment? Is back pain an inevitable part of being a dentist—or can it be prevented? Are you setting yourself up for a long, pain-free career in dentistry? What’s the number one thing you should be doing right now to protect your body for the long haul? Dr. Sam Cope is back, and he’s not just any dentist—he started as a physiotherapist before training in dentistry. That means when it comes to musculoskeletal health, posture, and career longevity, Sam knows his stuff. In this episode, Jaz and Sam revisit the crucial topic of back pain in dentistry and dive even deeper into what actually works to keep you practicing pain-free. So, if you clicked on this because you’re worried about back pain, take this as your sign—your future self will thank you. https://youtu.be/lUC45aLXZKk Watch PDP220 on Youtube Protrusive Dental Pearl:  Motion is lotion. Staying active prevents back pain and keeps your career strong. If you’re not making time for exercise, it’s time to rethink your habits. Knowing isn’t enough—action is what matters. Prioritize your health now. Key Take-Away: Posture and back pain have no direct correlation. Apprenticeships provide invaluable experience and learning opportunities. Investing time in learning and shadowing can accelerate career growth. Ergonomic tools can enhance comfort but should be tailored to individual needs. Mental health is crucial for dentists, and seeking help is a sign of strength. The human body can adapt to various postures with training. Choosing a specialization should align with personal interests and strengths. Preventative measures in ergonomics can improve career longevity. Continuous learning and adaptation are essential in the dental field. Choosing the right dental chair is crucial for comfort. Preventative strategies for back pain include regular exercise. Need to Read it? Check out the Full Episode Transcript below! Highlights of this episode: 02:05  Protrusive Dental Pearl 04:26 Sam's Journey from Physio to Dentist 10:33 The Value of Apprenticeships and Mentorship 16:24 Niching in Dentistry 22:30 Ergonomics in Dentistry: Loupes and Chairs 27:03 Choosing the Right Chair for Your Comfort 29:54 Top Tips for Dentists to Prevent Back Pain  This episode is eligible for 1 CE credit via the quiz below.  This episode meets GDC Outcomes A and C. AGD Subject Code: 130 ELECTIVES (149 Multi-disciplinary topics) Aim: To highlight the importance of ergonomics and physical well-being in dentistry. To share strategies for preventing occupational strain and burnout. Dentists will be able to - 1. Assess the role of ergonomic loupes, chairs, and posture in reducing strain and improving long-term musculoskeletal health. 2. Understand the significance of muscle conditioning over posture correction. 3. Incorporate exercise routines to manage physical strain during long procedures. If you enjoyed this episode, you won’t want to miss Got Your Back – Physios and Dentists – PDP025! #PDPMainEpisodes #BeyondDentistry #CareerDevelopment Click below for full episode transcript: Jaz's Introduction: Over 270 episodes ago, I had on Dr. Sam Cope when he was a a baby dentist, and he's unique because he's a physio who trained to then become a dentist. Back then, we discussed about back pain and dentistry and how to prevent it, and we talk a bit more about those themes today. Are ergo loops worth it? Jaz's Introduction:Are those posh Bambach kind of chairs. Are they worth it? What's the number one advice to have a career with longevity and good health from a back pain perspective and as a physio come dentist, what does Sam do? What are the things that he practices? Because he's a bit like when Christiano Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United. He was like a, he was a big deal, right? He is the goat. He's the greatest of all time. I'm a Ronaldo fan. Anyway, when he was in the canteen of Manchester United, he was like eating with all other players. Everyone just looked at Ronaldo, what was on his plate. They wanted to model Ronaldo. So why do I mention that? Because I'm looking at Sam, whatever Sam's doing with his posture, with his back, et cetera, I wanna be doing that because he has the most knowledge. He's musculoskeletal with his physio background. He's a really good dentist. So let's see what advice Sam has for us today. Now, after this episode, if you wanna go deeper into back pain, chronic back pain. We've got Ben Physio and Sam Physio come dentist, that was PDP 025, like I said, over 280 episodes ago. In fact, it'll be good for you to revisit some of the old episodes to see my journey and the journey of Protrusive now that we have team members and whole production line to bring you all this content. And a special thanks for all of you that member listening to that episode on Spotify all those years ago. There is some new information, applicable information, and Sam's no longer a baby dentist. He's really accelerated a fast rate. So I made a big deal over at the beginning of this podcast to talk about his journey. Because his journey really exemplifies the advice I give to every single young dentist. I get the question all the time, how do I structure my career? How do I grow at the fastest rate possible? How can I find the right clinic? How can I be doing the more of the higher end dentistry? Well, Sam's playbook is there, and he shares it with us in this episode. So you'll get some career advice as always, plus how to get more longevity from your career.  Dental PearlThe Protrusive Dental Pearl is a nonclinical one, and it's taken from this episode and it's just something that you already know, but it's just important to hear again, and that is motion is lotion. Too many of my dentist friends are talking to me and saying that, oh, I just don't have time to excise, and oh, I really let myself go. I'm not prioritizing it, and that is the wrong way to go. Your physical health and mental health is super important, but just focusing a little bit on the physical aspect, spoiler alert, that is the number one way to prevent back pain and to give you a career with longevity. And you'll hear later in this episode whether deadlifts are recommended or not or what's the best type of exercise. But as long as exercise is part of your life, and for many of you, you guys are running or jogging when you're listening to the episode and you guys are already living and breathing that and more power to you. But so many of you in the car on the train, and maybe the most exercise you get is when you are going upstairs and downstairs of your surgery and you need to really reevaluate life and your life decisions and how you may be neglecting your physical health.  Again, it's stuff we already know, but one of the first dental pearls I ever shared with you may actually have been number one and number two was to know something and not actually do it is as good as not knowing it in the first place. So Protruserati, I'm trying to look out for you here. Are you making time for physical exercise? Are you practicing motion is lotion? I hope you are, and if you're not hoping, this is gonna give you to kick up the backside to make some sort of regime, some sort of promise to change that by yourself. Because the reason you clicked on this episode is 'cause something piqued your interest about back pain and having a career with longevity. And if you're not even doing that, then losing out on so many benefits. Anyway. Hope you enjoyed the rest of this episode. I'll catch you in the outro.  Main Episode:Dr. Sam Cope, welcome back again to the Protrusive Dental Podcast. So nice to see you and your growth and your journey and to see you live at the Protrusive events on the app and doing wonderful things on social media, my friend. Welcome. How are you?  [Sam]Thanks very much and thanks for having me back on the podcast as well. It's a real honor I've seen, 'cause it was in the early stages that I was on last time and it's really grown and kind of kicked off.  [Jaz]You were about 270 episodes ago, mate.  [Sam]Wow. Yeah. Crazy a dinosaur.  [Jaz]Well, honestly, you did so well then. But there's some unfinished business, right? The unfinished business is a little bit of a stir that we created and we talked about being no correlation between bad posture. Back pain. Okay. So we wanna just talk a little bit about that, little finer points about that, and also just revisit your journey from physio to dentistry. But now that you've been in the game for a bit longer, right? How do you feel? Do you have any regrets and that kind of stuff. And I hope you like the title of this podcast, My Neck, My Back Fix your posture while removing plaque. I just wanted to go into some sort of a funny theme, but Sam, for those who didn't listen to that episode, looking at back pain, it was two guests I had at the same time. And so for those who haven't listened to that, please do check it out, but just remind us about your journey and where you practice today?  [Sam]Yeah, so I started off, I did physiotherapy at King's from 2011 to 2014, and I actually met some, I was on a course this weekend and met somebody that was there at the same time who was doing dentistry at the same time. And we were kind of reminiscing because we were in halls and every time you'd go into the kitchen in great Dover Street apartments, which is where we were. You'd see the shard being built a little bit more every time you went for breakfast. So yeah, so I started off at Kings. I did physiotherapy, really enjoyed it. And after I finished physiotherapy, so when you do physio, you do respiratory, neurological physiotherapy, and musculoskeletal. The musculoskeletal element is the bit that most people know that physios do. And whenever somebody says,