The Power of Curiosity in Dentistry: 5 Practice-Changing Lessons

I’ll be honest: curiosity doesn’t come naturally to all of us. I know they didn’t focus on it in undergrad or dental school. However, I have been fortunate to be curious about everything I do my entire life, about the world and how it works.  As dentists and dental teams, we were trained to follow standard operating procedures, increase our efficiency, and avoid risk. But after decades of leading dental teams and running multiple practices, I’ve learned this:

👉 Curiosity is not a distraction. It’s a competitive advantage.

In his recent book “Curiosity: The Secret Ingredient for Success,” Stefaan van Hooydonk challenges everything we’ve been taught about playing it safe. His message is clear: in a world that’s changing faster than ever, being curious is the only way to stay relevant.

Here are five insights from the book that I thought were important for all of us to know – whether you are in dentistry or not, understanding them will serve you well - Especially every leader—this is what you need to know:

1. Curiosity Builds Adaptive Teams

According to Van Hooydonk, 65% of employees don’t feel safe asking questions at work. That’s a red flag—because the best teams are the ones that question everything. When you create space for curiosity, you give your team permission to learn, adapt, and improve.

Dental application: At morning huddles or team meetings, ask:

• “What’s something you’ve been wondering about in our processes that you might not understand?”

• “Where do you think we can do better?”

The answers might surprise you—and improve your systems.

2. It’s Not Just About Learning—It’s About Leading Differently

Leaders who model curiosity set a powerful tone. Asking your team for feedback isn’t a weakness—it’s a strength. J.D. Rockefeller did it, and so can we.

Dental application: Ask your team, “How am I doing as your leader? Is there anything I can do better to support you as a team?”
Yes, it’s vulnerable. But it builds trust faster than any management book ever could.

3. Curiosity Is a Brain Booster

Neuroscience shows that curiosity activates the brain’s reward system. When we’re curious, we retain more, focus better, and even feel more engaged. Stress shuts this down. But curiosity? It turns it all back on.

As I “gracefully mature,” I find myself trying to learn new things every single day.  Why, you might ask?  Because I want to ensure that my neurons continue to fire and learning new things is one way to rewire our brain and keep it active and on point. 

Dental application: Foster a culture that allows room for questions, experimentation, and learning from mistakes. A team that’s curious is a team that’s growing.

4. There Are 3 Types of Curiosity—And We Need All of Them

Van Hooydonk outlines three dimensions:
🔹 Transpersonal: curiosity about the world (continuing education, new tools)
🔹 Interpersonal: curiosity about people (team members, patients)
🔹 Intrapersonal: curiosity about yourself (why you lead the way you do)

Of the three types of curiosity, I find at this point that the intrapersonal curiosity is the most important – why do I do the things I do?  Some of those things I represent in my mind as good or bad.  The bad ones keep me up at night, wondering why I keep doing things that don’t support me.  Well, our internal limiting beliefs and conditioning keep us doing that.  In other words, our paradigms keep us from performing at our highest level. We don’t even know why, and it’s frustrating!  But what I have learned is that this conditioning is subconscious, and we aren’t even aware why we do the things we do!  Becoming aware is the first step to change.  But we will leave that topic for another day! 

Dental application: Try rotating roles occasionally. Let your assistant shadow the front desk. Watch how your team builds empathy—and better systems just by watching and supporting each other.

5. Without Curiosity, We Default to Comfort

The hardest part? Staying curious when we’re tired, stressed, or overwhelmed. But that’s when it matters most. Staying in your comfort zone eliminates growth and progress.  Get out of your comfort zone if you want the practice to grow, or if you personally have a desire to grow and change your life!  From a dental perspective, the practices that thrive aren’t always the smartest—they’re the most inquisitive. They ask more questions, test more ideas, and explore what others ignore. If you have children, you’ll remember that as toddlers, the question “Why?” was asked millions of times daily!  Get curious and ask yourself “why?” every day!

Dental application: Build “learning time” into your schedule—even 30 minutes a week. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to understand better? Block time and pursue it. Encourage your staff to do the same in their downtime. 

Final Thoughts

Curiosity isn’t just a leadership tool—it’s a life strategy.

Whether you're running a dental practice, raising a family, launching a business, or simply navigating what’s next, the ability to ask better questions and explore unfamiliar territory is what separates stagnation from growth.

We were born curious—just watch any toddler. But somewhere along the way, many of us traded questions for answers, exploration for efficiency. We stopped asking why and started saying, “This is just how it’s done.” My team knows NEVER to ask that question! what if we choose differently?

What if, instead of defaulting to routine, we made curiosity a daily ritual?
What if we questioned our habits, beliefs, and assumptions—not with judgment, but with wonder?

Because the truth is: every breakthrough begins with a question.
And every meaningful change starts with a willingness to see things differently.

Whether you're in dentistry or any other field, curiosity has the power to reconnect you with your purpose, reignite your energy, and remind you that growth is always possible—at any age, in any season, and in any role.

Let’s not just do more. Let’s wonder more.
That’s where real change begins.

Want help building a team that’s driven by curiosity, not just compliance?
Let’s talk.

👉 Schedule a free consultation with Hanlon Group, LLC → https://calendly.com/drmjhanlon/the-hanlon-group-consultation