Empowering Practice Managers, Enriching Dental Practices

Of course, if business isn’t one's strength, the clone might not be the ideal office manager either. Dental office managers need a mix of leadership and financial skills to keep practices running smoothly and profitably. Before AADOM was founded about 20 years ago, many had to figure out how to develop those strengths on their own.

“AADOM is an organization I wish I'd had when I was an office manager,” Reed said. “It’s a tribe of people who are all committed to making this daunting task of running a dental practice something where you really look forward to going to work every day, where there can be financial rewards for the doctor and the team, and where the patients still win.”

A Passion for Improvement

Reed was introduced to dental office management in 1992 when her dentist asked her to run his practice. She had a BBA degree in management and worked in IT services briefly, but the office manager role was mostly foreign to her when she started. “I knew how to work hard, I knew customer service, and I knew how to bring a team together, but I had no idea what drove revenue, how much the over-head was, nothing,” she admitted.

Still, she could see that despite its great culture and loyal patient base, the practice was underperforming. So, they brought in a consultant, and the experience changed her course forever.

“I caught the fever,” she recalled. “I saw what we were able to accomplish, and I thought, 'Everybody needs to know how to do this.'”

Years later, having become a dental practice consultant herself, Reed would attend an AADOM conference in the as-sociation’s early years—and she saw what the dental industry had been missing. “There were just a couple of hundred office managers there,” she said, “but I remember thinking, 'Man, this is the vibe!'”

That shared passion has driven AADOM’s incredible success. Today, the annual conference exceeds 1,400 attendees and features dozens of leading industry speakers. AADOM members have access to a wealth of training and educational resources, including the ability to earn levels of distinction similar to those offered to other dental professionals, as well as peer-driven networking and support.

AADOM’s growth in the 2 decades since its founding has paralleled the increasing challenges of office management. “Technology has brought some amazing efficiencies,” Reed acknowledged. “But I think it's harder to run a practice—the business side of it—than it used to be. I think the level of skill and the ability to be tech savvy and to work with the rest of the team is more complicated.”

A Community of Learning

AADOM members join a nation-wide network of peers. Many also join Dental Professional Learning Networks (DPLNs), which coordinate virtual and in-person events where members—and their entire dental teams—can listen to expert speakers or share their successes, trials, and wisdom.

“We listen to our members and try to give them exactly what they want,” explained Danielle Dailey, a founding member and president of a Maryland DPLN. “It’s been super helpful for not only my professional growth but also my practice’s growth.”

But nowhere is that sense of com-munity and camaraderie stronger than at the annual AADOM conference, the premier event for dental office managers and business team leaders.

“It's magic,” Reed said. “There’s a feeling of electricity that is unlike any other meeting I’ve ever attended. And a lot of it is because there’s this sense that this is our home. It’s very welcoming, very positive, and you see and hear conversations like, ‘Oh, I met her at my first meeting and she taught me this.’ Or, ‘I was ready to go work at Target when she shared with me a better way to do my job.’ Sometimes, it’s a speaker who inspired them, but just as often, it's another member.”

The Future Is Bright

AADOM will continue to build on this foundation, with Reed sharing her excitement over plans to expand both the annual conference and educational offerings. Efforts are taking shape to hold regional meetings that will bring the AADOM experience to different parts of the country, and to assist with the curriculum and growth of the DPLN.

The organization also is looking to broaden its programming for specialty practices as well as small to mid-sized DSOs, among other initiatives.

A Resource for Everyone

One of AADOM’S strongest attributes is that its benefits aren’t limited to front-office employees.

“Dentists can join AADOM,” Reed noted. “In fact, I think the conference is one of the best meetings in the country for dentists to go to.” She suggested that any practice owner considering having their office man-ager join AADOM attend a conference themselves.

“There’s very little risk in joining the community,” she said. “Membership costs about the same as a single-surface composite. And if the office manager goes to the conference, the dentist can say, ‘We want you to come back and tell us 5 things we need to work on and map out a plan from what you learned.’ That's probably a better ROI than you could get from a lot of other dental education.”

It’s a small investment that can make a big difference.

“A strong dental office manager who continues to grow in their role brings lasting value," Reed concluded. "When we support their development, we increase both their satisfaction and the practice’s success.”