Dental Express bolsters its workforce through empowerment in tech

Sponsored Content: Dentrix Ascend

Using the right technology can help with training in group practices, allowing them to focus on good employees

Talented people are out there. Some are in your practices and others are looking to work for you. The challenge for DSOs is creating an environment where they can thrive and grow. 

Teresa Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Dental Express in San Diego, Calif., said technology can play a key role in attracting, retaining, and empowering DSO workforces. “It’s a talent war, but talented people are out there,” she said during the DSO Leadership Summit in 2021. “And technology helps us discover that talent in them and helps them see that in themselves.” 

Williams discussed how to empower employees through technology. “Reading through job descriptions in the past for dental office receptionists, I’d see something at the bottom about being a team player. It was always listed after requirements like knowing how to file a PPO insurance claim, having experience with certain dental software, and knowing how to work with HMOs and Medicare.” 

Being a team player within a strong cultural setting seemed like an added benefit. “We were looking for them to empower us to be successful and then talking about culture,” Williams said. She argued that it’s DSOs’ job to empower their employees to be successful, not the other way around.  

“Some of the cloud-based dental software and analytics platforms that are out there now allow us to make expert operators out of people that we hire from Starbucks or people who were thinking about working at Target,” Williams said. 

Dental Express trusts Dentrix Ascend^® to empower its team. The cloud-based practice management software by Henry Schein One grants DSOs and group practices the ability to integrate workflows within and across locations, no matter how many there are. Its easy-to-use interface allows easy staff training, moving even novice employees quickly from new user to expert and reaching full productivity almost immediately. 

“Most successful DSOs have a formula that works,” Williams said. “They may have analytics plugged into the back of their server software or maybe things that have been custom written. They’re invested in these things and it’s scary to think about doing something different. But my challenge at Dental Express was not letting my experience of what had worked in the past get in the way of what could work better now and in the future.” 

Dentrix Ascend provides a unique workflow that guides DSOs and their teams to greater efficiency using popular devices from any location. When you’re not physically in the practice every day anymore, you must lead through influencing other people and verifying what’s happening in the practice. That’s hard if you cannot access the data. Dentrix Ascend eliminates these silos, helping you build a stronger culture and empowering your people across your locations. 

“Don’t just lean on what made you successful,” Williams said. “But pivot and be more responsive to what you need now. That’s something we learned. The types of challenges DSOs face today are much different than they were before.”