Overworked, Underpaid, Unstoppable: How to Lead, Rise, and Thrive in Dentistry's Toughest Role Hardcover – May 1, 2026

You didn't get a manual.No one handed you a leadership playbook when you stepped into the dental office manager role. You figured it out the hard way—through recall lists no one wanted to touch, staff conflicts no one prepared you for, insurance chaos that made your head spin, and days when you wondered if any of it was worth it.This book is the manual you never got.Overworked, Underpaid, Unstoppable: How to Lead, Rise, and Thrive in Dentistry's Toughest Role is the real story of what it takes to build a career in dental management—and a practical roadmap for doing it with confidence, clarity, and purpose.Kyle L. Summerford started at the bottom. Literally. A cramped back office in Queens. A wired phone. A recall list nobody wanted. Half a bagel for breakfast, the other half for lunch. Over the next 24 years, he turned that unglamorous starting point into a career that took him from the front desk to the keynote stage—and along the way, built one of the most influential communities in the dental industry.In these pages, you'll discover:How to master the recall list—the single best training ground for everything you'll need as a leaderThe three stages every new leader must navigate (and what happens when you skip one)How to turn around a failing practice, rebuild trust from scratch, and create a culture people fight to stay inThe Bagel Method™—a six-layer case acceptance framework that turns nervous patients into confident yesesHow to scale yourself, delegate authority, and build a practice that runs without youWhy getting fired, betrayed, and burned out were the best things that ever happened to Kyle's careerHow to create the career you weren't handed—and stop waiting for someone to give you permissionThis isn't theory from someone with an MBA who's never sat in your chair. This is battlefield medicine—practical, proven strategies from someone who's been in the trenches, made every mistake, and figured out what actually works.If you've ever felt overworked, underpaid, and invisible—this book was written for you.You're already a leader. It's time to start owning it. Read more