Episode Details

Hosted by Dr David Keir

Poker and dentistry: an unlikely pair with more in common than you’d imagine! 

Welcome to The Dental Mentoring Series, the series dedicated to helping dental graduates thrive in their careers. In this episode, Dr. David Keir reveals the surprising life lessons I learned from playing over a million hands of poker – and how they directly apply to your dental career.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why judging decisions by outcomes is holding you back
• How to handle “variance” when procedures don’t go as planned
• The dangerous concept of “tilt” and how it affects your treatment planning
• Why experience trumps theory every time
• The critical skill of knowing when to refer a case

These poker-inspired insights will transform how you approach difficult clinical situations, handle setbacks, and make treatment decisions. Whether you’re a new grad or experienced practitioner, these mental frameworks will help you maintain confidence and make better clinical judgments.

Ready to level up your dental game? Hit subscribe and share this episode with a colleague who could use these insights!

Key moments

00:00 – Introduction to Poker Lessons

03:10 – Decision Making with Limited Information

06:25 – Understanding Variance in Dentistry

09:21 – Recognizing Tilt and Poor Decisions

12:40 – Experience vs Theory in Practice

14:15 – Knowing When to Fold

16:21 – Reviewing Cases and Managing Resources

Thank you to our sponsors…

Dental Protection Limited

Dental Protection have proudly been supporting the Dental Head Start podcast since day one! The Dental Protection team understands the ever-changing challenges faced by dental prof