In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, I sit down with Dr. Valerie Woo—pediatric dentist, founder of Valerie Woo Consulting, high-capacity achiever, and a powerhouse advocate for helping women dentists reclaim their joy, identity, and sanity.

Dr. Woo built a thriving multimillion-dollar pediatric practice from scratch straight out of residency… with a newborn, $2M in debt, zero business training, and nothing but grit. Two decades later, after selling her practice to a DSO and navigating identity loss, burnout, motherhood, leadership, and the real emotional cost of ownership, she’s now on a mission to teach other women what she never had: a healthier, more humane path to success.

This conversation goes deep.

We talk about the fantasy of practice ownership vs. the brutal behind-the-scenes reality, the pressure on women to “do it all,” the hidden suffering so many dentists carry, and what it really takes to redefine yourself once the title, the hustle, and the identity begin to fall away.

If you’ve ever cried between patients, felt guilty walking through your own front door, or believed success must come with suffering—you need this episode.

You’ll learn:

• The invisible burdens women dentists carry that no one talks about

• How debt, pressure, and “earning it” culture fuel burnout

• The identity crisis many owners face after selling

• Why women feel guilty celebrating their success

• How high-achievers can set boundaries without losing ambition

• The myth of the “perfect owner” and the Pinterest version of dentistry

• Why saying “no” is a complete sentence

• How to build a business without sacrificing yourself or your family

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We talk about:

00:00 Intro

01:00 The pressure on women to be perfect, put-together, and endlessly capable

02:00 Dr. Woo’s journey from residency → newborn → $2M loan → startup practice

05:00 The emotional crash after selling her practice

06:30 Losing her identity & redefining who she is beyond dentistry

09:00 Navigating the DSO partnership while still practicing

10:30 The early years: newborns, debt, chaos & “build-the-plane-while-flying-it”

12:00 Why women feel they must suffer to deserve success

14:00 The achiever mentality & tying worth to productivity

17:00 The power of looking back 5 years—not just forward

18:30 Celebrating wins (and why achievers struggle with it)

20:00 The role of mentors, coaches & healthy mirrors

21:00 Growth stages, burnout cycles & hitting multiple walls

23:00 Being a high-capacity woman—and the risk of saying “yes” too much

25:00 Boundary-setting and the “not right now” list

27:00 Overscheduling, overwhelm & the myth that “you can do it all”

29:00 The fantasy vs. reality of practice ownership

31:00 The financial stress no one tells you about (loans, payroll, second mortgages)

33:00 Competitive culture in dentistry & why it’s so isolating

35:00 Why women dentists often carry more emotional weight

37:00 The wakeup call: giving your family the “leftovers”

38:00 Reinventing yourself after selling your practice

39:00 Dr. Woo’s new journey helping young entrepreneurs

41:00 Parenting in the “messy middle” & rediscovering identity

43:00 Closing reflections

Connect with Dr. Valerie Woo

Instagram: @drvaleriewoo

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

Website: https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

Leadership Experience: https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222