The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) announced last month that beginning in 2023 it will open its AAO-Wharton Mastering the Business of Orthodontics (MBO) program to office managers employed by AAO member practices. The online program, launched in 2021, was created to give AAO member orthodontists formal business training to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and small business owners. Recognizing that office managers are often key to a practice’s success, the AAO is now offering the same training to office managers. 

As AAO President Normal J. Nagel, DDS, recently stated, office managers are often to “whom many practice owners entrust significant management and leadership duties.”

The AAO-Wharton program is taught asynchronously by faculty from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania who have teamed up with expert orthodontists and orthodontic practice consultants.

To learn more about the program in general and the inclusion of office managers, Orthodontic Products Chief Editor Alison Werner spoke to Anil J. Idiculla, DMD, a graduate of one of the first cohorts and now one of the AAO instructors with the program, and Renee Doyle, DDS, MS, an orthodontist in private practice in Illinois, who completed the program this fall.

Idiculla not only talks about his experience as a student but also breaks down the 8-week MBO cohort program and what attendees, both orthodontists and office managers, can expect. Meanwhile, Doyle shares where she was as a small business owner before starting the program and how the program has changed her approach. She also explains why she thinks the program is ideal for office managers.

Both AAO member doctors and their office managers can now enroll for the next program cohort, which will begin January 11, 2023. The program includes access to AAO Business Coaches who will support attendees throughout the course and will lead peer-to-peer discussions.

Those who complete the program will earn a Wharton certificate and 18 units of CE. OP