Free Training for Dental Practices: Efficiency Over Perfection
- Sarah Beth Herman
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
By Sarah Beth Herman, CEO of Dentistry Support®
Running a dental practice today is more complex than ever. Between insurance verification, patient communication, scheduling, billing, claims follow-ups, and managing a growing team, the administrative side of dentistry has become one of the most demanding parts of the business. Many dental leaders feel the pressure every day.
Phones are ringing.
Patients are waiting at the front desk
Insurance questions are stacking up.
Claims need follow-up.
The schedule has holes that still need to be filled.
And somewhere in the middle of all that activity, practice owners and office managers are asking the same question:
“Why does it feel like we’re working so hard, but still can’t get everything done?”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why we created Episode 114 of the No Silver Spoons podcast, which we also consider part of the free training we offer to the dental community. Because the real issue most practices face isn’t effort.
It’s structure.
And once you understand the difference between efficiency and perfection, the way you build your dental practice can completely change.
Why We Provide Free Training for Dental Practices
Dentistry is one of the few professions where highly trained clinicians suddenly find themselves responsible for running complex businesses. Dental school prepares doctors to provide excellent clinical care.
But it rarely prepares them to manage:
• Staffing structures
• Administrative workflows
• Insurance systems
• Operational efficiency
• Leadership strategy
• Business growth
Yet every dental practice quickly becomes a multi-department organization with dozens of moving parts. That’s why we created No Silver Spoons — to provide practical insight and real-world operational guidance for dental professionals.
Episode 114 focuses on one of the most common operational challenges we see across practices nationwide: Front office overload.
The Hidden Strain on Dental Front Office Teams
In many practices, the front office has quietly become responsible for almost everything.
They answer phones.
They greet patients.
They verify insurance.
They submit claims.
They follow up on aging reports.
They post payments.
They collect balances.
They schedule treatment.
They coordinate with clinical teams.
They handle patient questions and concerns.
They support the doctor and hygiene department.
And they are expected to do all of this while maintaining an excellent patient experience.
That’s an enormous amount of responsibility.
When one team is responsible for everything, something important happens:
The tasks that actually grow the practice often receive the least attention.
And those growth-driving activities include:
• Answering new patient calls
• Scheduling treatment
• Filling cancellations
• Maintaining recare appointments
• Protecting the daily schedule
• Supporting treatment acceptance
These responsibilities directly impact production and patient retention.
But when administrative work dominates the day, those high-value activities often get pushed aside.
The Financial Reality of Dental Practice Staffing
Staffing is one of the largest expenses inside any dental practice. Most dental practices operate with approximately 60–65% overhead, and personnel costs often account for 25–30% of collections.
That means payroll decisions significantly affect the overall health of the business. When administrative workflows are inefficient, the financial impact can be felt throughout the practice.
For example:
• Claims may take longer to process
• The schedule may develop unexpected gaps
• Phone calls from potential new patients may go unanswered
• Staff members may feel overwhelmed or burned out
• Leaders may spend more time managing personnel issues than focusing on growth
Many practices respond to these challenges by hiring additional staff.
But hiring alone does not always solve the problem if the underlying workflow structure remains the same.
The Hiring Cycle Many Practices Experience
After working with dental teams across the country and hiring hundreds of employees in the dental support space, one pattern appears again and again. When administrative tasks pile up, practices assume they simply need more people.
So they hire.
But hiring introduces new challenges:
Recruiting
Interviewing
Training
Onboarding
Managing schedules
Handling turnover
Providing ongoing coaching
Even when the right person is hired, the same structural challenges remain if administrative tasks continue to compete with patient-facing responsibilities. In many cases, the issue is not a lack of effort from the team.
Dental professionals are incredibly hardworking. The challenge is often how work is distributed across the practice.
The Difference Between Busy and Productive
One of the biggest misconceptions in dental operations is confusing busy activity with productive activity.
Front office teams are often extremely busy throughout the day.
Phones are ringing.
Patients are asking questions.
Insurance is being researched.
Claims are being followed up.
Tasks are being completed.
But busy schedules do not always translate into productive outcomes.
The activities that truly grow a dental practice are very specific.
These include:
• Responding to new patient inquiries
• Scheduling treatment promptly
• Filling open chair time
• Maintaining a strong recare system
• Supporting case acceptance conversations
When these activities receive consistent attention, practices tend to grow.
But when administrative work dominates the day, the growth drivers become secondary.
Why Administrative Complexity Continues to Grow
The administrative side of dentistry has become increasingly complex over time. Insurance verification alone now requires navigating a wide range of variables.
These can include:
• Waiting periods
• Frequency limitations
• Annual maximums
• Missing tooth clauses
• Downgrade rules
• Coordination of benefits
And because thousands of insurance plans exist across the country, each with different policies, the administrative workload continues to grow. This complexity is one of the reasons many practices struggle to balance patient care with administrative responsibilities.
Efficiency vs Perfection
One of the central themes discussed in Episode 114 is the difference between striving for perfection and building efficient systems. Perfection can feel like the goal in a healthcare setting.
However, when administrative systems become extremely complex, expecting flawless execution from overloaded teams can create unnecessary pressure. Instead, many successful practices focus on improving efficiency.
Efficiency means designing workflows where:
• Responsibilities are clearly defined
• Administrative tasks are handled consistently
• Communication systems are reliable
• Team members can focus on the work that best fits their role
When systems become more efficient, teams often feel less overwhelmed and more effective.
How Administrative Support Can Improve Efficiency
Many dental practices are beginning to explore new operational models that allow in-office teams to focus more on patient interaction while administrative tasks are supported externally.
Dentistry Support was created to help practices manage this growing administrative complexity. Our team works with practices across the United States to support tasks such as:
• Phone coverage
• Administrative workflow support
This structure allows the in-office team to spend more time focusing on patients, scheduling, and communication.
What to Expect in Episode 114
In Episode 114 of No Silver Spoons, we take a deeper look at:
• Why front office teams often feel overwhelmed
• The operational difference between busy and productive
• The hidden costs of inefficient staffing structures
• Why efficiency can transform the way a dental practice operates
• How administrative support models are evolving across dentistry
If you’ve ever felt like your practice is working incredibly hard but still struggling to keep up with administrative demands, this episode will provide helpful perspective.
Listen to Episode 114
Episode 114 is part of the free training we offer to dental professionals who want to improve how their practices operate.
You can listen to the episode here:
Inside the episode, we walk through real examples, practical insights, and strategies that can help dental leaders rethink how administrative work is structured inside their practices.
Learn More About Dentistry Support
For practices interested in exploring administrative support, Dentistry Support provides structured onboarding designed to help teams integrate support quickly and smoothly.
Our onboarding process typically takes about 10 days and includes five key steps, allowing practices to begin receiving support efficiently. Practices also have access to our team through a HIPAA-compliant communication system available 24/7/365, allowing secure collaboration from anywhere.
Continue Learning with No Silver Spoons
The No Silver Spoons podcast is designed to help dental leaders build stronger, more efficient businesses.
Each episode explores practical insights around:
• Leadership
• Operations
• Staffing
• Business strategy
• Workflow efficiency
If you found this article helpful, we invite you to listen to Episode 114 and explore additional episodes designed to support dental professionals navigating today’s rapidly evolving industry.
Reference
American Dental Association. (2022). Dental Practice Success: Financial Benchmarks and Practice Management Resources. Chicago, IL: ADA Publishing.
Rutherford, P., Moen, R., & Nolan, T. (2013). Quality improvement in healthcare: Improving workflow efficiency. Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Valenza, J. A., et al. (2017). Practice management and efficiency strategies in modern dental care. Journal of Dental Education, 81(8), eS87–eS98.
Disclaimer:
To learn more about Sarah Beth Herman, the author of all free training content you can read her bio here. These materials are intended to provide helpful information to dentists and dental team members. They are in no way a substitute for actual professional advice based on your unique facts and circumstances. This content is not intended or offered, nor should it be taken, as legal or other professional advice. You should always consult with your own professional advisors (e.g. attorney, accountant, or insurance carrier). To the extent, Dentistry Support ®has included links to any third-party website (s), Dentistry Support ® intends no endorsement of their content and implies no affiliation with the organizations that provide their content. Further, Dentistry Support ® makes no representations or warranties about the information provided on those sites. You can view our privacy policy and terms and conditions by clicking those pages in the footer of our website
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