How does continuing dental education turn into a coping mechanism for some dentists? By becoming an emotional substitute for addressing the harder business and operational realities of practice. Learning new procedures is something many dentists, by training and inclination, do unusually well. The classroom environment, the structured curriculum, the visible mastery progression, all feel familiar and rewarding. When the business side of the practice is struggling, the doctor who finds CE comfortable often turns to it for psychological relief. The course pulls them out of the practice for a few days. The new technique gives them something to feel competent about. [...]