AADOM Member Stories: Laura Nelson
Laura Nelson, VP of AI, Training, & Development at Mango Voice!
🎧 Prefer to listen? Tune into Laura’s story HERE.
Finding Her Confidence, Her Niche, and Her Community
For Laura Nelson, finding AADOM was about more than professional development. It was about finally finding a community that understood the unique challenges, responsibilities, and importance of dental office management.
Laura’s journey into dentistry began when her then-husband, a dentist, decided to open his own practice. With a master’s degree in organizational development and a background in business, Laura knew how to lead, manage, and build teams—but dentistry was completely new territory.
She began searching for resources, attending conferences, learning from industry leaders, and figuring out the dental side of practice management along the way. Eventually, a local office manager study club introduced her to AADOM.
When Laura attended her first AADOM conference, something immediately clicked.
For the first time, she was surrounded by people who understood the realities of managing a dental practice. She found a place where office managers could share challenges, learn from one another, and recognize the value of the work they were doing every day.
“I remember that moment of walking in the room and feeling not alone for the first time,” Laura shared.
That first conference also introduced Laura to the AADOM Distinctions program. After seeing members recognized on stage, she set a goal to earn her Fellowship and returned the following year to walk across the stage herself. It was one of the first steps in a career that would eventually take her beyond the walls of her own practice.
Finding Her Niche
As Laura continued growing through AADOM, she began thinking about how she could use her own experience to help others.
Her background in organizational development gave her a passion for training, particularly for new dental team members who were often expected to learn their roles on the fly. That passion eventually led her to create Front Office Rocks, providing training and education specifically for dental front office teams.
Laura’s advice for other dental office managers interested in growing their careers is simple: first, become great at what you do. Then, discover the area you genuinely care about.
“What’s your niche? What is it that you are really good at? What are you passionate about? What do you love?”
For Laura, finding that niche opened doors to speaking, educating, and becoming an industry resource—all while remaining connected to the office manager experience that started it all.
Embracing What’s Next
Today, Laura is turning much of her attention toward one of dentistry’s biggest changes: artificial intelligence.
Rather than viewing AI as something that will replace dental office managers, Laura sees it as an opportunity to remove repetitive, time-consuming tasks and give teams more time to focus on what technology cannot replace: human connection.
As AI becomes more integrated into dental practices, Laura believes office managers will play an important role in helping their teams adapt, develop stronger soft skills, and use technology to create better patient experiences.
“The future of dentistry is humans working well with AI, and they both need to be trained.”
Through every stage of her career, one thing has remained constant: the confidence Laura found through AADOM.
She describes AADOM as the place that gave office managers a seat at the table and reminded them that their knowledge, leadership, and voices matter.
“We’re lifting each other up. We’re inspiring each other. We’re reminding each other how important we are and how we make an impact.”
For Laura, that community continues to provide the confidence to step onto stages, speak to industry leaders, embrace new opportunities, and advocate for dental office managers everywhere.
Because no matter how much her career has evolved, she still knows exactly where her people are.
“They’re my tribe.”
Laura Nelson:
Laura Nelson, FAADOM, is the VP of AI, Training, and Development at Mango Voice, a sought-after speaker and dental industry expert. She’s the founder of Front Office Rocks, co-founder of Sober Life Rocks, and author of four books, including her latest, Brush Up on AI, a hands-on guide to using artificial intelligence in real dental practice settings. Laura’s work helps teams grow, communicate better, and confidently lead with technology and heart.
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