Be The Best Version of Yourself & Become a Better Clinician

Caitlin ParsonsFounder of The Aligned Hygienst

It’s time to start become the best version of ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for achieving this. In this article, I share three simple tips for dental professionals to become a better version of themselves, and get to the bottom line faster.

Although this post talks specifically to dental professionals, it’s extremely relevant for ALL OF US who believe that by becoming a better version of yourself, you become better at your work, in your business, and relationships.


What is the bottom line for dental practice owners? This article in Dentistry IQ talks about the importance of ergonomics for the companies bottom line but for the most part, it is simple: they want to make money, they want their patients to get good care and be pleased enough with their experience that they share it with all of their friends, and they want their employees to be happy.

And ultimately, as dental practitioners, that’s what we want too but how do we do that naturally and with ease?

Become the best version of yourself.

It’s as easy as that because when you are the best version of yourself:

Your patients get better care

Your patients feel more comfortable and leave happy

Your patients refer their friends and family to your practice

Your practice makes more money

Your practice and owner are happy

Let’s dive into the top 3 tips for becoming the best version of yourself so you can watch the ripple effect trickle out to your patients, team, practice, and relationships.


#1: Get Your Physical Health In Check


A hygienist, or any employee and employer for the matter, who feels good physically vs. someone who has a bunch of areas of aches and pain, doesn’t feel connected to her body and doesn’t feel good about her body are two different patient experiences.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the way we take care of ourselves physically has a direct correlation to our patients experience, the way we interact with our team, and therefore the bottom line of the practice.
Here’s a few questions to help you dive a little bit deeper into this:

Do I have areas of aches, discomfort or pain that I’m actively trying to heal and address?

Am I taking time every day to connect to my physical body, even for a minute?

Am I taking time every day or every week to release tension built up, stretch, move and breathe?

Am I focusing on actively bringing balance into my body to counteract all of the sitting, bad posture and poor ergonomics I’m using?

Prioritize your physical health and watch the ripple effect take place throughout your office. I love this article in TodayRDH highlighting important parts for reclaiming your physical & mental well being.

Your physical health is important but I know that you don’t have a ton of time, that’s why I created Aligned, an affordable monthly membership program where you get unlimited access to prerecorded yoga therapy classes, with a ton of options for the office and on-the-go. Sign up and join the community here.

#2: Prioritize Your Mental and Emotional Health

Stress has the ability to disconnect us from our bodies, our intuition, our ability to read people (your patients & doctor!). It effects the way we handle challenging situations and people.

The way we show up when we feel stressed, anxious and unhappy is completely different than how we would show up if we felt calm, centered and empowered. If you’re new to how your emotions are related to your mental health, this article is really insightful.

It’s time we stop blaming other people for our mental and emotional state, and start taking accountability for ourselves. I have so many practices to support stress, anxiety and empowering yourself inside my monthly membership, Aligned, you definitely have to check it out if you haven’t yet!

Here are a few questions and practices to help you find more clarity to become more balanced & less stressed throughout your life:

Learning different breathing practices that you can implement seamlessly into your day that help to keep your stress levels down and

Are you actively doing practices that support mental and emotional focus, clarity and balance?

What practices have you been wanting to try or ignoring that might help you feel more balanced?

Not only will you feel better and less stressed with each patient, but your communication to your team and patients are better, your patients get a better experience, and if any stressful situation comes up, you are more equipped to deal with it.


And the best part? When you feel better mentally, physically, and emotionally, it’s so much easier to not bring your work home.

And when you don’t take your work home with you, you feel more balanced, rested and ready for the next day.

This creates a new POSITIVE cycle of growth and evolution for you, your patients and the entire practice.


#3: Be More Grounded & Empowered By Becoming The Best Version of Yourself to Set the Tone For The Day

Whatever energy you are carrying and however you are feeling will be felt through the patient, whether they are consciously aware of it or not.
If you feel stressed, anxious and overwhelmed with a mind that’s racing all over the place and you go to get your patient with all of that energy stirring around, they will feel it. They won’t feel relaxed, calm or fully safe.

And the opposite is true – when you feel grounded, relaxed and present, your patient has a completely different experience.


Here’s a few tips for exploring ways to do this:

How am I showing up – when I get to work, when I seat my patient and when I talk to my patient?

What are some of the feelings/emotions/energy that I want to feel instead?

What practices and tools could I start to implement throughout my day that will help me feel this way and show up differently? 

You are so much more powerful than you realize. You have the power to feel any way you want to and create ANYTHING that you want to…

Tools for Becoming A Better You

I’m inspired to help you become a better version of you–in your mind, body and life. I know that by making easy change to your routines, you will start to feel the difference. If you’re not familiar with my story and how I did this in my own life, I share my story here.

Start with one practice and focus on that aspect until it becomes a habit. According to NIH, our habits make better choices easier. Check out this article about Building Habits for more details.

How do you want to live your life?

How do you want to feel throughout your days?

What do you want to create from that place?

If you are feeling ready and empowered to start taking care of your physical and mental health but you need practices that are SHORT and EASY TO IMPLEMENT, check out Aligned. Aligned is my monthly yoga therapy & wellness membership where you have a collection of 100+ classes and practices on demand, weekly live classes and new trainings and discussions in community to keep you inspired and choosing health.

“I’m obsessed with this program!!! Aligned is the best membership I’ve ever joined. It’s the best of both world- live classes and so many recorded ones to scroll through, and I get to save the ones I want to go back to!!! It’s such a treat for my low back to have classes where I leave feeling more aware, less stressed and without pain! Thank you Caitlin!” – Rachael

Aligned is only $34/month but if you’re a dental professional, use the code “dental11” and receive 11% off every month as a gift to you! Check out all the details here & sign up if it feels like a fit!

I would love to hear how all of this lands for you, so feel free to leave a comment.

Cheering you on,

xo Caitlin

PS: If you have questions or want additional support, don’t hesitate to reach out with the form below!

Yoga & Ergonomics for Busy Dental Hygienists Ready to Thrive In & Out of the Op