Girl, Open Your Mouth! A Dentist’s Path to Retirement Dreams

As International Women’s Month winds down, this series of articles about women competing and succeeding in male-dominated fields, both educationally and professionally, is concluded by introducing you to Dr. Thomas, a dentist. Dr, Thomas earned her degree in India and has been practicing dentistry for 25 years, 14 of those years in Canada. She is a mother of three, with one child in university, and two younger children still in elementary school.

“Times have certainly changed since 1898, when Emma Gaudreau Casgrain became the first woman licensed to be a dentist in Canada. Today women are a growing force in the dental industry within Canada and beyond. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the number of women dentists in Canada rose from 16 percent in 1991 to 28 percent in 2001. By 2011, the proportion had grown to 29.5%” —123Dentist

When Dr. Thomas graduated from dentistry school, less than 20% of all dentistry graduates were women. It is anticipated that by 2020 that number will have risen to close to 30%. As with the fields or physiotherapy and architecture, discussed in two previous articles, dentistry is an arduous field of study, requiring a minimum of 8 years of study after high school (four year undergraduate degree and a four year graduate degree), passing the DAT (Dental Aptitude Test) to get into dentistry school, as well as clinical rotations1. If you decide later on in your studies that you want to specialize in a certain field, you may need to take additional courses to make up any shortfalls of knowledge. For women studying dentistry as they move through their life stages, we can see how this extended education process can be interrupted by family demands in a way that men will not experience. Whereas graduates following the standard sequence of events in their studies would be in their mid-20s when they receive their accreditation, women are often in their late -20s or even their 30s before they start practicing.

“Female dentists are said to be more empathetic and better able to communicate with their patients. They seem to be less rushed and willing to discuss their patients’ ailments and concerns in a more caring, humane way than male dentists. Just 8 percent of female dentists expect their patients to experience pain in the chair compared to 46 percent of male dentists. This suggests female dentists will often take greater care to reduce the pain their patients experience than male dentists.”–123Dentist

Upon receiving their DDM or DDS (Doctor of Dental Medicine or Doctor of Dental Surgery), women are not necessarily afforded the same employment opportunities as men. Dentistry is a very competitive field, and, as with a lot of medically related practices, a lot of people will still want to go to a male doctor. As employees, more women dentists work part-time than men, but this has nothing to do with their marital status—it is due to the types of jobs available to them. As employees in a clinic, women earn 47% of what men earn; as solo practitioners they earn 64% or what men earn, proving that the gender pay gap is still very real in this field. Due to the lack of full-time positions and the substantially lower incomes, there are a lot of obstacles facing women in dentistry when it comes to finding financial freedom.

Much like Jas and Maria from the previous articles, Dr. Thomas has determined that her road to success is through opening her own clinic. She is 51 and would like to retire at 65. She would like to pass her business on to a mentee rather than sell at retirement. Her ultimate goal is to have $10 million in investable assets. She would like to start hiring more employees so she has someone who can cover for her when she wants to take a vacation, so she can develop a mentor relationship with an eye to retirement, and so she can start taking on more of an oversight role in her practice rather than being so hands-on in the day-to-day work. She would like to reach the point where 50% of net income goes towards maintaining the business expenses and debt and the other 50% goes towards savings. Dr. Thomas has a holding company that she uses for her investments. She has an RRSP that she pays into and has a TFSA that she admits is under-utilized.

Dr. Thomas does not currently work with a financial planner, so the question becomes is she on the right path to her retirement goals? The short answer is no—she has no liquid cash, she has no personal or business emergency funds, and she has no savings for the younger children’s educational needs, which will be incurred as she approaches her anticipated retirement age.

By working with a Financial Planner, Dr. Thomas can add structure to her current situation which will help her meet her retirement goals in the future. Recommendations for her include:

• A review of her investments to balance income-producing investments with growth-oriented ones, all while considering her tax situation;

• An assessment of whether the holding company is optimally structured for current and future needs, and her investments are structured tax efficiently;

• A reassessment of the insurance snapshot to ensure the family’s and the business’s needs are covered in the event of disability or death;

• Optimizing the use of tax-deferred and tax-free accounts (RESP, RRSP, TFSA);

• Assess additional investment options for educational saving; and

• Create a debt-reduction strategy that also allows them to save for emergencies.

In highlighting the careers and lives of Jas, Maria, and Dr. Thomas over the last month, I have brought you the stories of women who are succeeding in competitive, male-dominated industries. While they are serving as examples for women everywhere, they also highlight the truth behind that old African saying, “It takes a village.” None of these women have succeeded exclusively on their own, and in fact do better because they have a team behind them: family and support for their family; employees and contractors; their clients; and a team of professionals that support their businesses—accountants, lawyers, and, hopefully a Certified Financial Planner.

During International Women’s Month and beyond we should consider the idea of women helping women. What are we doing to help the women we know in business and in our lives? As a Financial Planner, I can help lift you up by working with you to develop a financial plan that will help you meet your financial goals.

For a chat regarding your financial roadmap, please contact Zainab Williams, Happy International Women’s Month. I hope you enjoyed this series.

This article is intended to provide general information and for discussion purposes only. Accordingly, the information in this article is not intended to constitute accounting, tax, legal, investment, consulting or other professional advice or services. Please consult a qualified professional advisor before making any decision or taking action that might affect your personal finances or business.