The Truth Behind the Shortage of Dental Assistants

Episode #426 with Shannon Pace Brinker, CDA

If you've got a great dental assistant, you'd better not let them go — especially now, more than ever! And for insight on what you can do to keep them in your practice, Kirk Behrendt brings in Shannon Pace Brinker, founder and CEO of Chairside Assisting. Even without the shortage, your assistants are valuable — so make them feel valued! To learn how, and for other ways to earn their loyalty, listen to Episode 426 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Find ways to make your assistants feel important.

Invest in your assistants with continuing education.

Know what your assistants are best at and love to do.

Believe in your assistants and give them your trust.

Thanking your assistants will go a long way.

Quotes:

“I feel like now, with the loyalty the older assistants have, we’re so much more valued. And now, more than ever, the opportunities are endless for what we can do in the practice. And a lot of times, all we want is just recognition, recognition that, ‘Oh my gosh, thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for staying with me.’ And we’ll stay with you until you retire if you treat us right. And that's one of the things that is so valuable. If you’ve got a good assistant, you'd better not let them go right now, because there are dentists calling me every week, sometimes twice a week, looking for a really good assistant and trying to steal them from other practices. And that's really what's happening right now. The shortage of assistants is almost, I feel, an emergency state.” (6:14—6:59)

“Tell [your assistants], ‘I'm going to invest in you.’ If you invest in the assistant, they’ll stay with you. We’re loyal people. And my team of trainers, I can't tell you how many of my trainers were not certified. I personally paid for it. I said, ‘You know what? You can't work for me if you're not certified,’ because that, to me, is a status and I wanted those credentials for them. And I think this is where it’s not valued anymore. These doctors have got to get these team members certified so we have earned the right. And make them earn it. But we’ll stay with you forever because you invested in us. And I think that's really the secret.” (8:32—9:04)

“If you don't have the money, send one [of your assistants to CE], and really invest in that one. But the expectation, the problem sometimes in dentistry, is we’ll send a team member to go and take these courses, and when they come back, did you ask me what I learned? Did you really make me accountable for what I learned?” (9:40—9:56)

“When you invest in an assistant for courses, you're saying, ‘Listen, I want you to know exactly what I know. But most importantly, I need a sounding board. I need somebody that I can bounce things off of,’ because a treatment plan doesn’t just come from the doctor. And sometimes, we see things a little bit different. Just let us voice our opinion with you, and we’ll do the best dentistry we possibly can together.” (11:21—11:43)

“If we want all of this technology, it’s great to have it. But somebody’s got to own it, and somebody’s got to utilize it. And this is where you tell me, ‘Listen, Shannon. I want you to be my Invisa-leader. I want you to take my photos.’ Just because you said that, I am going to take it so serious. I'm going to 100% own it. But most importantly, I'm going to be excited about it and I'm going to make sure you use it. It’s not going to sit and collect dust. And I think this is where we fall short in dentistry, is assigning people these roles.” (14:58—15:28)

“The assistants need titles. We need to feel like we are important to the practice. And honestly, that's the way to do it. And getting us to train with the camera, it is the most important thing that the...