Faces of AADOM – Zach Shelley, MAADOM

Rolling Into Dentistry: Zach’s Journey from Skateboarder to Dental Office Manager 

Join us in the latest Faces of AADOM episode, where Heather interviews Zach about his unconventional path into dental office management. As a dedicated member of Faces of AADOM, Zach shares his experiences and insights. 

In this episode, Zach discusses how his journey into dentistry began in an unexpected place: professional skateboarding. “When I turned 18, I started as a professional skateboarder,” Zach recalls. However, realizing it wasn’t a sustainable career, he transitioned into dentistry through a friend’s dental lab. This move set the stage for his future in dental practice management. 

Zach highlights the importance of having a supportive boss and doctor. “Having a supportive boss and doctor is huge,” he says. Their encouragement and support for his education have greatly benefited him and the practice. 

Reflecting on a mistake he learned from, Zach states, “Those are things you’ll never forget when you do something wrong.” He shares that every misstep is a learning opportunity, especially when you are forging your own path in a new role. 

One key to Zach’s success has been effective delegation. He explains, “The more you don’t delegate, you’re actually holding your team back.” By empowering his team to handle tasks like payroll and patient communications, Zach has allowed them to develop their skills and take ownership of their work. 

About Faces of AADOM

Meet AADOM members who make up the heartbeat of our community – the diverse and talented individuals who embody the spirit of excellence in dental office management. Every member has a story. “Faces of AADOM” shares members’ unique journeys, the path that led them into dentistry, and the moments that define their passion for dental leadership.    

Subscribe to Faces of AADOM to discover more stories of resilience, growth, and empowerment within the AADOM community. 

Be sure to watch our video now or read the transcript below to learn more about Zach’s path toward becoming an amazing dental office manager!

 

Read the Transcript:

Heather: Hello and welcome everybody to the Faces of AADOM. I am Heather Colicchio—Founder and President of AADOM.

And in this series, we explore our members because it really is our members that makes AADOM amazing. So, this is not for you if you’re looking for, you know, how to run a profit and loss statement. This is for you if you want to, like, hear from another member, hear their journey, and get some inspiration.

So, it is my great pleasure to welcome today, Zach Shelley. Zach is office manager of Satellite Family Dentistry in Melbourne, Florida.

Welcome Zach.

Zach: Thanks Heather. Thanks for having me.

Heather: So, let’s dive right in.

I would love to hear–what is really fascinating is to hear how you landed in dentistry, right? Running a dental practice, running a business in dentistry is never a linear route we’re finding. It’s usually very, very circuitous.

And I could be wrong. Did you have a professional life prior to your professional life in dentistry? How’d you get where you are?

Getting into Dentistry

Zach: I did, yes. I probably have one of the most odd ways I’ve gotten into dentistry.

So, when I turned 18, I started as a professional skateboarder. I had competed at a young age and grown into competing and getting sponsorships and went professional and started traveling around the country.

But I got to a point where, you know, I had to decide what I really want to do for the rest of my life. It wasn’t sustainable.

And I had a friend of mine that was also a professional skateboarder. And he owned a dental lab, and I was looking for a job at the time to supplement my income and I joined him for about 11 years,  which got my foot in the door with dentistry.

I started, you know, going chairside with doctors and working on big cases and running his business and his lab, which fostered into the relationship of the practice that I’m at now, which was one of the doctors I worked with. He texted me one evening, about four years ago and said, “Hey, do you ever take lunch?”

And I was like, “Well, that’s kind of a loaded question.” And I said, “Yes,” and I figured it was just wanting to go over a case.

And I sat down with him at lunch and he said, “I’m going to cut right to the chase. I would love to have you come onto my practice and manage it.” And he goes, “I know who you are and what you’re capable of. Do you want to join?”

And it kind of blew me off my feet. And that’s been the last four years of my life, running this practice here and it’s been absolutely amazing.

Heather: Zach, that is quite a story. I’m going to go out on a long, shaky limb here and say that you are our only member who is also a professional skateboarder. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.

Zach: I’m sure many others that are.

Heather: I would have met them, but that is fascinating! So, I mean, that’s just so interesting. I would just love to talk about that for a minute.

What is that like? I mean, just squirrel for a second—the life of a professional skateboarder. What are the highlights and lowlights?

Life as a Professional Skateboarder

Zach: Obviously the highlights, right? You get to go and travel around, go to a lot of cool places all over the country, meet a lot of neat people. You get to skate in competitions and you get to do demos for, you know, skate shops and skate parks and meet lots of kids.

So, I was very involved with kids and churches and doing, you know, demos for their youth groups and fun stuff like that.

The downside is obviously lots of travel. You’re never really alone. There’s always people around you. You’re getting pictures taken and videos taken and somebody is always wanting something more and more.

And, you know, when you’re wanting to start a family and you’re wanting to have, you know that kind of life, it’s not conducive for that, being away all the time.

So, I made that decision of, you know, I can still skateboard which I still do today, but just on a different level where I can have my family involved and be in a normal career, which is dentistry.

Heather: So, you are like a bonafide celebrity, like autographs….You’re going to have to bring photos, the AADOM conference, so you can autograph them for everyone.

What about the physical side? Did that take a toll or is that not an issue?

Zach: Yeah, so my dad used to always laugh at me because, you know, I’d stand up and I’d grunt and groan and, you know, he’s like, “What’s wrong?”

I was like, “My back hurts.”

And he goes, “Well, you’re only 27.”

And I say, “Yeah, but I feel like I’ve got the back of a 50 year old.”

,So the knees, the back, the ankles, the wrist—that definitely took a toll, which, you know, that’s part of sustainability, right, is being able to have a lifelong of being able to have a good, solid career and feel good and be healthy.

But I found ways to keep myself healthy and try and maintain my body. So, part of that is tapering back so I can still be upright.

Heather: That is amazing! That is so cool.

So, you went from professional skateboarder to dental lab. So, I mean, I’m guessing you didn’t have prior formal business training before you went to work at the lab. Is that correct?

Zach: That is correct.

Heather: How did you learn? How’d you learn all of it? How did you learn the clinical? How did you learn the business?

Learning How to Manage a Dental Practice

Zach: Yeah, so, there’s a few things that were involved. In between my skateboarding career and kind of college career, I attended a school that focused on firefighter and EMT, which is where I thought I wanted to go.

The job market was too saturated, but with that education, I got a lot of anatomy classes that were involved. So, I learned a lot about the body, and one part of that is also, you know, the mouth and the face and the oral cavity. So, I did learn a lot in anatomy with school, which I felt jump started a little bit.

But I think the biggest part is, you know, with being in a professional athlete is you have to have drive. Nobody’s gonna push you. You have to have that on your own and find doors that are open.

So, luckily I had a, a boss that wanted to teach me, which was big, and then I had the drive of reading books. I read old technology books on dentistry from the sixties on, you know, traditional flaking and packing and processing and learning teeth shape and placement and charts. And then just one step after another. I joined an organization with the Dental Lab Association here in Florida.

But I think the biggest thing was when I came on board here running this on a whole different scale. We have a very large practice here in Satellite Beach. AADOM was a huge part in helping me understand the business of dentistry and what all goes into it.

You know, management has a lot to offer. And part of that is being a people person and knowing how to communicate, but then there’s a lot of other things on deeper levels that need further education, which I feel like AADOM has helped me a ton.

Heather: Oh, well, thank you. It’s always so good to hear that we’re a resource. But, likie you said, with the lab and just cracking open a book. And sometimes it’s that simple. It’s just that basic.

I feel like these days everyone’s looking for a quick fix or magic bullet. Sometimes it really is that basic. Crack open a book and just put your learning hat on. It takes time and it’s hard, but that’s how you learn.

Zach: Yeah, I didn’t do it overnight. Like I said, I was there for 11 years. I tried to learn every day.

Heather: When did you get your EFDA? Was that during the lab time?

Zach: No, I got that after the fact. So, I got that—I’m going to turn around so I can see because I can’t remember. It was in November of 2022. I got it at University of Florida.

So, I had a lot of the chair side experience with assisting and, you know, with the dental lab and also here at the office. And I had talked to my boss and I said, “Hey, you know, it’s not something that I’m going to use every day. And that’s really not the point, but I lead a team of about 36 staff members and I have a bunch of assistants.”

And I said, “There’s things I’m training them on, but I would like to have training on it from, in my opinion, one of the best dental schools in the nation, which is University of Florida.”

And, I said, “That’ll give me the ability to teach our staff on the best caliber possible.”

So that was a lot of the driving factor behind getting my EFDA, being able to understand chairside dental assisting on a better level.

We also have a pediatric practice here in our office. So, having that ability to have more skills to train our team, to be a better team.

Heather: Well, you sound like you are a true leader, Zach. I mean, to take that on, that you can be better, so everyone else can be better. Yeah. They got a rock star!

So, when you were working in the lab, did it ever cross your mind to manage dental practice or had that doctor not approached you? Do you think that, you know, that wouldn’t have happened?

An Unplanned Journey Toward Dentistry

Zach: You know, it didn’t at the moment. You have the ideas of, you know, could I start my own dental lab and go and venture off and do my own thing? And I had been a part, you know, part of that lab for such a long time that it was like, you know, I didn’t really want to do that cause it’s, you know, competing with somebody that helped me kind of get into the industry.

So that was kind of, “o, I’m not gonna do that.” And, you know, you do get to a point where you’re like, “What’s next?”

You know, I’ve been at it for so long and just trying to think of other things, but nothing had really come up because my skill set is, you know, so very specific. That’s one very small part of the body.

So, I didn’t really have a vision for managing dental practices at all. I had thought about it at times, but it’s not anything that I had some drive behind.

But when my boss had reached out to me at that time, you know, my wife looked at me and she goes, “He’s offering you a job.”

And I was like, “No, he’ll want to talk about a case or something. It’s kind of normal that they want to, you know, go out to lunch and discuss something that’s complex.”

So when that came up, I had not really thought about it. And I told him the same thing. I was like, “Well, that’s never been anything on my mind, but I would love the opportunity. It sounds like something that would be great.”

And, it’s been a wonderful transition ever since.

Heather: So, did you replace an office manager or was this a new position?

Zach: It was a new position. So, the owner had bought out his father-in-law and his best friend and him together bought the practice and then expanded it across the street.

So, we converted an old post office into our dental practice. So, I was the first office manager of the practice.

Heather: That is mind-blowing to me. If you’re filling a position that already exists, it’s easier.

So, this position was created for you, which says a lot about you, Zach. I mean, they essentially created this position for you, but where do you start? I mean, you don’t have someone training you who says, “his is how we’ve done it.”

What was that like, the first few months? Like, how did you know where to start? Where did you start?

How to Start a New Dental Office Manager Position

Zach: You kind of don’t know where to start, right, because there’s so much going on. And like I said, we have such a large staff that it was kind of overwhelming.

And, you know, my boss had told me, “You know, I kind of expected you to just sit in your office for two weeks and twiddle your fingers till you figured out what to do.” Just because there’s so much, it’s kind of, you get a mental block.

But one of the first things I did is just got up, walked around and just talked to the staff, learned about them, learned their schedules, who they work with, what they do, issues that they had and just slowly started building those relationships with my team.

Without understanding who I’m working with—You know, I know my boss, but you know, we have five total doctors here. So, you know, learning each one of them and what services they provide and what they like to specialize in. And then each one of my hygienists and what they like to do and, and not just here at the office, but what about their families and all that fun stuff.

So that was the biggest first step is just kind of getting to know my team, getting to know the ins and outs of them and, you know, their quirks and how they work. And, then I just slowly started branching out from there, you know, looking at areas of improvement, areas of small issues—things I could tackle right away and then just slowly build up onto the bigger things.

Heather: I’m guessing the team loved the fact that you took the time to talk to them and get to know them and know their quirks and just human quality time. I mean, what I love about you is you’re just bringing everything back to basics. You open the book and you study it. You just go talk to people. Like these are not things you need, you know, an MBA for.

So, it’s the foundation of everything. So, yeah. And I’m guessing that they set you up just taking the time, probably set you up with a strong foundation with your team. It sounds like a massive practice. How many, 36 you said?

Zach: Yeah, yeah, I believe so. We’re around that number right now.

Heather: That’s pretty big.

So, from a management perspective, what was the first thing you tackled? Was it like learning the software? What was the thing that it’s little, I’m going to do this, and that’ll be a win I can build on? Do you remember?

So Much to Learn

Zach: So, really, it was learning our practice management software. I mean, you nailed it right on the head. I mean, in a dental lab, you don’t run any type of practice management software. It’s very basic. You write quick books for invoices and then you have all your case pans out in front of you and you organize your cases by, you know, date and time. That’s as complex as it gets in the lab.

But when you come into the dental practice, I mean, you’ve got providers, you got appointments, you got codes. So, I was learning the practice management software and then also learning, you know, all the ADA codes and understanding what they are, why we use them, and we use them. And that was a big learning curve.

And then the other thing is training my brain as everything’s backwards on X-rays, from what I was taught in labs. So, I had to just completely shift my brain.

So those are a few things that just learning that side and just understanding how clinical dentistry works. You know, everybody knows they go to the dentist and get a feeling, but like, Why are we doing a filling? How is a filling done? What are we removing? Why are we removing it?

And then what constitutes them now getting a crown or, you know, a root canal or, you know, pulp therapy. It just depends on what it is. But learning all of those was the big core for me so I could understand really what dentistry meant.

Heather: That’s great. So, going back to your management software and this is for everybody listening. How did you learn that? How did you map that? Was it digging in? Did you bring a trainer in?

Learning to Use Practice Management Software

Because, really, that’s the brain of the practice. So, you really do need to know that. So, what was your approach?

Zach: Online videos was a big thing for me, watching other people use their software. And then also just going through each position of the office.

So, front desk I sat with them and I said, “How do you process payments? How are you checking a patient in? How are you checking them out? How are you running their insurance? How are you building their plan?”

And then going to the assistants: “How are you treatment planning? How are you charting? When are you charting? When are you writing your clinical notes and how you’re writing them or where you’re putting them?”

And then talking to the doctors. How they’re running the software. They use it. They still use it just as much as the other staff, but not as much. Just looking at how they implement it into their day-to-day.

And then also then walking into hygiene and saying, “Alright, how are you doing this? And when you’re posting your X-rays, where are you finding formats? And when you’re using those, adding procedures, taking procedures.” All that fun stuff.

So, it’s like a little bit of on my own—learning videos, watching and trial and error and playing on test accounts and just, you know, get full of crazy treatment plans just so I can figure out how things work.

And then just going through each position and allowing them to train me a little bit.

I think that’s a big thing that we can learn as office managers is our team has a lot to teach us. We may be really good at what we do, but there’s always someone that’s better than us. There’s always some of that we can learn from. And if we can’t glean from that, we’re not going to be successful as managers.

Heather: Excellent advice, Zach. Excellent.

And I’m going to guess that’s the first time anyone in that practice actually went to every single position and said, “Show me how you’re using this. Show me how you’re using this.”

And then you can kind of get, you know, the 30, 000 foot overview. And were you able to see places for improvement, for streamlining, maybe any redundancies or gaps even?

Zach: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s the biggest thing too, is we tend to overcomplicate things just as human beings. So, the more simple you can do things. I’m like, “Well, hey, I found out a better way.”

You’re always finding ins and outs of softwares, right? There’s always the next little, “Oh, I found the next little trick and tip into the software.”

So anytime I find things, I’m saying, “Hey guys, I found a better way to do it.”

We’re always trying to improve on that. I mean, I had my staff come in the other day and she’s like, “Hey, this is how I do it.”

And I was like, “I actually never knew the software did that.”

And I mean, I’ve been here, you know, using it for four years and, and I have my own staff that have learned things that have taught me, you know, little things and I tell them all the time, thank you so much. That made my day so much easier now.

So I think simplifying is definitely key.

Heather: Simplifying and always learning because like you said, the software is they’re always adding features, always updating. And, at the AADOM conference, for instance, on our pre-con day, we have trainers come in from the different softwares and they do like three hour deep dives.

And I just, I think anytime, you know—I know it’s hard to make the time, but it’s an investment of time.

We had one member tell us that three-hour course ended up saving him 20 hours a week of some reports manually putting together.

So, kudos to you—the learning and then the staying on top, because the companies really are always striving to improve the product. I can tell you that. All of them are striving to improve their product and make your life easier as managers and a team leader.

So, a win was getting to know the team. A win was really getting to know your project management software. And I love that you didn’t do that in a silo—that you went around and saw 360, how everybody’s using it.

So, if you could share with our listeners, maybe one fail, one thing that didn’t go well in the beginning because we say, “It’s a winner, it’s a lesson,” right?

And I know we’ve all made mistakes and especially if you’re creating your own position. Anything you can think of that went wrong or you would have done differently that might benefit someone new who’s listening.

Learning from the Mistakes

Zach: Yeah, absolutely! And those are things you’ll never forget, right? When you do something wrong.

So, I’m a people pleaser. I’m a doer. And I think that’s one thing that I didn’t do well when I first came on is not delegate correctly. Which, in turn, found shortcomings in communication and caused frustration.

But it was a great learning lesson and, you know, we can’t do everything perfect, but it’s what we do with those shortcomings and moving forward with them is how we learn and how we grow.

So, definitely a big suggestion is, in areas that you can delegate and in areas that you can communicate and over communicate with your team, especially if you’re new—do it. It will only benefit you.

There’s a saying that we always like to go with: “Clear as always kind.” So as clear as you can be indicating.

Heather: I love that. Clear is kind. And you know, I know a lot of our members and myself type A and you don’t want to delegate because it’s easier if I just do it or you know, sometimes you feel badly, more work, air quotes, “work on someone.’

But what I have found is that you have a solid team, like you have, everyone’s happy to share in the work and share in the responsibilities. It’s not viewed as a, “Oh, God, one more thing to do.”

It’s great. I get to be involved in making this practice better.

Zach: Absolutely.

Heather: Great advice. What’s one of the first things you delegated? Can you remember?

Zach: Oh, let’s see. I’m trying to think. These last four years have been such a blur. We have done so much delegating.

Let’s see. Some of my payroll grid, you know, things that, you know, just collecting everybody’s time cards, putting them on the grid for me so I can get it over to my bookkeeper.

You know, just handling little tasks that I don’t need to do. I have a team that’s very, very capable of, you know, doing—like calling patients on a bill if they’re upset about something, saying, “Hey, this is what I would say to the patient, but allowing them to handle it.” Because what it does is it builds their skills.

The more you don’t delegate, you’re actually holding your team back on the things.

And granted, yes, there are things that some of them don’t need to know—the background financials of the practice maybe, or, you know, some just deeper core things that only the owner and myself may know, but there is a lot of things that your team do need to know. And if you don’t allow them to do it, they’re not going to learn how to do it. And then in turn, they’re not going to be experienced in that area.

So, you know, it’s not that these things are below me, but I have staff and team members that are completely capable of handling them. So, just empowering them to get through those things that I don’t need to be doing.

Heather: I think that’s amazing, amazing advice! And something simple like doing the payroll grid—not difficult. It’s time consuming, and your time can be spent better and in more productive ways.

And what I found is that again, if you have a good team and you’re a good leader, which you are, you’re not looking at it as, “Oh, God, Zach dumped the payroll on me.”

They’re looking at it as, “I now have ownership in this getting done and when it goes well, we all take pride.” So, that’s fantastic.

Let’s see. Oh, I have a question. So, being that this was a brand new role, right? And you weren’t filling a position that was there. How was this communicated or was it communicated, your new role, your new responsibilities from the doctor to the team? Was there a conversation? What was that like?

Informing the Team of the New Role

Zach: Yeah, I wasn’t there for the first one, obviously, you know, because he brought all the staff in a morning huddle and just told everybody, you know. He didn’t really give them a heads up.

The problem with everything was, he was managing the practice. His partner is a dentist at his own practice, so they own this one together, but his partner doesn’t work at our practice.

So, my one boss is the only one that’s on site. So, you know, inherently just being there, just problems and things that you run into. He was starting to drown and not be able to have as much time to be a dentist.

So, you know, he told the staff, “Hey, I’m going to be bringing in an office manager. He starts in two weeks.”

And, you know, he gave a small bio of, you know, who I was and where I was coming from. And then, I came about 2 to 3 weeks before and just kind of walked around the office, introduced myself. I had a couple things to pick up and take care of.

And then on the morning of, you know, I introduced myself on my first day and just told everybody I’d be coming around and meeting every of you and that I’m, you know, excited to join you all and be a part of this adventure.

So, it was a good onboarding. You know, with anything, it’s a lot of change, right? So, there’s some resistance and you know, there was, you know, things that we had hurdles, I should say that we had to overcome throughout the years of me coming on, just because they’ve never had this before.

So, it was a big change. So understanding that also that, you know, some of these people that may have, you know, we have some staff members have been here over 20 years. So, you know, for me to come in, it’s a big change, right? So, and they felt very connected with the owner, which they still are.

But, in a sense, they felt like that was a barrier. Right now I’m in between that and now I’m the point of contact. So, it was just, it was just a change in learning each other that took time.

Heather: Okay. Well, it sounds like you had support of your doctor, you know, to make the transition. So that is fantastic.

If you’ve been at this practice for four years, I have to ask, how long were you there before COVID hit? Probably not very long.

Zach: No, I started in September of 2020, which was even more wild. So it was—everybody was back to work, but it was still very much, you know, guarded and areas were still shut down.

So, I started at a very, very odd time. So that was kind of a whole other, you know, whole other monster to deal with and learning all those protocols also that we needed.

Heather: Talk about crazy times to start in dentistry. But I guess kind of like trial by fire and then it can only get easier, right? Things only got easier after that.

So, Zach, share with everybody one win that you’ve had in your practice in the past, let’s say year. Maybe something that you were either involved in or that you initiated from the practice management side.

Appreciating the Wins

Zach: One of the biggest things I think I counted as a win is it was kind of mutual between me and the owner and another staff member is we were able to significantly decrease our overhead in the practice as far as ordering all of our medical and dental supplies, which was a huge win because that’s one of the biggest things.

If I can give anybody a suggestion, look at that line item on your P and L. Cause it’s one of the biggest missed opportunities of increasing your margin, because there’s a lot that’s being done and everybody’s like, I need this. I need this. I need this.

But if you don’t have one person, one sole person managing that area, you’re not going to be successful in reducing that overhead. And you’re going to end up with a ton of overstock.

I mean, when I came into the practice, we had 8, 000 worth of expired composite just sitting in the practice just because it’s so disorganized, right? And it makes you want to throw up and that’s only one area.

Luckily, we were able to partner with a great company that, you know, traded us one for one and, you know, made deals on ordering the same quantities, but it’s finding and building those relationships.

So that was a huge win, is being able to not make it a complete loss for the office.

Heather: Well, that is a massive win because it’s not a one-time win. That’s an ongoing win, right? That’s massive.

So, did you spearhead that initiative? Did you delegate that to someone?

Zach: So, I do have one sole person that orders. She is in charge of all that, but she is accountable to me. So, I meet with her every single week and I have, I have goals and markers where she can be and where she can’t be.

And I think putting those parameters on it has allowed us to be successful and we have very, very open communication of saying, “Hey, we’re getting towards the end of the month. I need you to go ahead and halt what you can, so we can keep it under control.”

We’ve been able to even reduce it even lower from what our initial goal was, which, you know, some were like, “I don’t think we can do that,” but we really can.

And we’re not missing out on anything. You just realize that you didn’t need all that.

Heather: Good for you. That is a massive win! Good for you.

And so prior to this, there was not one person overseeing all of the product?

Zach: Not really, no. And you know, somebody would be like, “Well, I need three new explorers.” They just write it on the list and they get ordered, right?

There’s no, “Did you check sterile? Is there extra ones in there?”

Or, “I need six boxes of composite,” or, you know, things would be stocked in rooms that had, you know, you had 400 cups of prophy paste. Like, you know, nobody is seeing 400 patients in a day, let alone a week. So, it’s, you know, overstocking in rooms.

So it was, it was managing it on all aspects, not just ordering, but, you know, with the team also.

Heather: Oh man, massive win. That’s massive. And do you order with a rep? Do you order online? How do you do your ordering?

Zach: Kind of all. We are really good about, you know, talking directly with the reps. If she feels that we can get a better deal.

We do also have our online, you know, portals that she’ll order through. And it really just depends if it’s big equipment purchase that definitely we’re heading up the reps and saying, “Hey, this is what we’re wanting to do. How can you help us get to where we’re running to get?”

Heather: So, quick question. So, we get questions all the time from reps, dental sales reps. How can we access the office manager? Like, you’re the gatekeeper. You make the final, clearly, the final decision.

And so, reps are always asking us how they can improve their relationship with the manager. Any tips for a rep?

Tips for Dental Reps

Zach: Yeah, that it is hard, right? You know, even as a dental technician, I experienced this going into offices. I stopped by with a case and say, “Hey, can I talk to the doctor real quick?”

They’re like, “No, he’s busy.”

You know, the answer is always no, right? And I feel with reps too, you know, they’re like, “Hey, I need to talk to the office manager and you talk to the doctor,” cause all they think is, “Oh, they’re going to sell another thing.”

What I would suggest with reps is the ones that I’ve formed relationships with, they now have—I’ve had an open communication with them. “Stop by. ,”Whenever you’re in the area, stop by. I’d love to chat with you because I know they respect my time.

They’re quick. 10-15 minutes. Let me know the promotions that are going on. “Is there anything that you need? Is there anything I can help you with?”

So, I think getting the foot in the door is even just that phone call or getting the email from the office manager and say, “Hey, I just need five minutes. Want to touch base with you and make sure you have everything you need.”

I think being forward about that of what their intentions are. Sometimes just cold-stopping by and just showing up in the office doesn’t always bode well just for the fact that you could be super far behind in your day and not have a moment. And then they walk in and it’s like, “I don’t have time for you.”

And it’s not anything personal. It’s just that we’re so busy. But when I’ve had reps say, “Hey, I just need 5 minutes. I need 10 minutes. This is what I want to do,” I have always been more happy, especially when, you know, they respect that amount of time that I have and they go over what they need to go over.

And then I say, “Hey, I’ll reach out if I have questions.”

Our Benco rep is great. She stops by once a month. I know once a month, she’s going to stop by, say hi, give us her promotions, ask how things are going. And we have very productive conversations because there’s some things that are like, “Hey, I meant to ask you…I have some questions for you.”

You know, X, Y, and Z, and then she gets the information and sends it over to my staff member that orders for us.

Heather: What’s her name, Zach? Do you want to give her a shout out?

Zach: What’s that?

Heather: I said, what’s her name? You want to give her a shout out?

Zach: Yeah, Kate over at Benco. She is great!

Heather: Kate at Benco.

So those appointments, are they pre-scheduled with her? Like, it’s a standing month?

Zach: With her, it’s standard. Like, I knew it’s usually the first or second week of the month she always stops by. So, she doesn’t actually schedule with me anymore because she knows she’s either going to get me or she’s going to get Wendy who does all of our ordering.

If one of us aren’t here, she’ll see the other and she’s always patient or she goes, “If you guys are too busy, I just want to drop this off. Have them call me if they have any questions.”

But getting the foot in the door initially, making that initial contact and saying, “Hey, just give me 5 minutes. This is what I’m about. This is what I need,” I think makes a big improvement. But pre-scheduling, especially if they don’t know how busy the office is, I think is very wise.

I also suggestion for the office managers, if they’re taking time out of their day and it is something that you could, you know, benefit from, respond back to them. Tell them where you’re at with the practice, tell them where you’re at with your time and set something aside so that it can be beneficial for both of you.

So, it’s a mutual relationship. It’s not just on the rep. It’s also us on the office managers that we need to kind of get out of that mindset of, “Oh, another rep is here.” And, you know, if they want to see the doctor say, “Hey, they’re busy, but I’d love to sit with you for a few minutes.”

Take advantage of that time, take ownership of it and deal with it. And your office or your doctors are going to love that because you’re handling it for them.

Heather: Yes, absolutely. So they can go practice dentistry. Yes, for sure.

The Path to Discovering AADOM

Zach, we may need you to present like a little mini course on, you know, just how you just did the whole streamline ordering. Clearing out the old inventory and not ordering twice. Again, you know, such a simple thing, but I would imagine the cost savings compounded over time is probably tremendous.

So, I just want to switch gears for a minute and go to AADOM. So how did you stumble on AADOM? How did you find AADOM?

Zach: Yeah, so it was kind of funny because, you know, we’re laying out job responsibilities and duties with my bosses and, you know, I have this nice long list and at the bottom it says other duties as assigned, which everybody loves to see, right?

Because it’s just the unforeseen, you know, but they’re very clear of how everything was going to work and talked about, you know, we’re figuring it out together, right? Your job’s going to grow and it’s going to expand. It’s going to be different things.

But a neat thing, looking down on everything is, there was time off for CE and I was like, “Oh, well that sounds fun.”

You know, I did CE as a dental tech and you know, I’d love to do it. And he said, “With organizations such as” and AADOM was labeled in there. And I was like, “Oh, well what’s that?”

And so I started doing some research and read into it and I was like, “Oh, this seems actually really cool.”

So, after a couple of months of working for the practice, I said, “Hey Doc, AADOM seems like it’s pretty cool and there’s a lot of resources on there. How about we get me signed up and I start taking some classes through there to start learning?”

And he’s like, “Absolutely!”

One of the biggest things I can say is having a supportive boss and doctor is huge. He and his partner have been absolutely amazing and supporting my education, because in turn, you know, it supports the business and makes everything better.

But he introduced me  just by typing that in my notes of responsibility to have available.

Heather: So, you are very, very fortunate.

And if there are any dentists listening—please, dentists, please—invest in your team, invest in their CE, whether it’s online or going somewhere there. I can’t stress this enough. I mean, some dentists just don’t want to, I’ll say pay. But it’s really that they don’t want to invest.

You’re not sitting and learning these things because it’s, you know, fun like skateboarding. I’m sure you’d rather be skateboarding, but you’re learning so you can help the practice grow.

I can’t stress that enough. And I don’t just mean managers. I mean, all your office team—hygienists, assistants—invest in them. If they’re willing to take CE and go and learn to benefit the practice. And to me, that’s like a no brainer. Like why wouldn’t you?

But, they don’t all do that, Zach. So, you’re very fortunate to be in a practice where they do invest in the team.

Zach: I’m thankful for that.

Heather: Yeah. And I’m sure they, you know, reap the benefits in many ways. And again, you know, it’s loyalty. You become more loyal to the practice. It’s just this virtuous cycle.

So, I can’t comprehend why a dentist would not. But, if you’re a dentist and you don’t try it, try investing in CE for your team. You will be pleasantly, pleasantly surprised.

So, Zach, it looks like you came to AADOM for the first time—our annual conference in 2021—which I think, was that Florida? Was that in your home state?

Zach: Yeah.

Heather: Yeah. What was that like? Your first conference attendance?

Attending an AADOM Conference

Zach: I’m going to be very, brutally honest with you, Heather. And don’t be nervous with this statement at all. But, I walked in and I was like, “I made a huge mistake.

You know, as a guy and office management in the dental industry, we’re very few. And not that that’s a major problem, but, you know, I walk in and I’m just overwhelmed. I don’t know anybody and I’m a pretty extroverted person. But when you get into a hall of over 1000 people, you’re just like, “Where do you begin?”

And, I was just like, “I don’t know about this. I don’t know if this is kind of my forte.”

But I just kind of told myself, I was like, “Well, it’s paid for and I’m here. So, I might as well try and make the best of it.”

So I took a stab and just introduced myself to a couple of people and just started talking. And by the end of that weekend, I can honestly say that was one of the biggest pivotal moments of my dental career, just because of the connection I made, the things that I learned and how intentional everything was about building office managers up to be the best that they possibly can be.

Um, so, you know, as a kind of initial fear of just kind of a personal thing of like, “I don’t know if I’m in the right spot.” But then when I really dove into it, I was like, “Man, this is actually—this is great.”

I look forward to the conference every year. So this year in Vegas, It’ll be my fourth one.

Heather: Yeah, we have one every year.

And a lot of people share that sentiment when they get there. They’re just like, “Oh my God, what did I do?” You’re not alone. It is overwhelming. It’s a lot of energy and it can be very overwhelming. But I promise no one bites. We are all there to help each other.

So, I’m glad it was a good experience for you and you’re coming back.

And I am so grateful that at your level of involvement with AADOM, you know, because the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

So, if you could just talk to everyone about the things you do a member. So you’ve got your fellowship, you’re going for mastership. You started a chapter in Florida. A lot of this is on your own time.

So, why are you doing those things? And, what’s it like? What’s the experience for you?

The Reason for Getting So Involved with AADOM

Zach: So, at first, I started reading of the designations, right, with the fellowship and mastership and diplomat. And I was like, “Oh, that’s really cool.”

And I was like, “Well, is it really worth the time?” There’s a lot of time involved. There’s a lot of CE hours. And you know, when you get into mastership and diplomat, it’s a lot of writing. A lot of writing.

The CE courses I can do, I’m involved, you know, with taking stuff outside of AADOM too, which helps. But the drive is really like, you have to ask yourself, the first question is, “Am I worth doing this?” Like, what is the benefit, not just for the practice, but for me as my personal development?”

You have to look at those two halves, right? You have to look at the practice. You have to look at yourself and say, “Why am I doing this?”

If you want to become a better leader, and you want the practice to grow because of it, then the answer should be yes and move forward, and do everything you can. Because the better that you get, your job actually gets way easier.

We all talk about how hard it is to be office managers and I’m going to tell all of you out there that’s listening. Hopefully it’s a ton of you. We make it really hard on ourselves. We really do. Not that the job isn’t hard as it is, but there’s a lot of things that we do that we could really just knock off and make our days a lot easier.

And I feel like AADOM has helped a ton with just learning different skills and saying, “Oh, this is way more efficient. I don’t even know why I was doing it this way before.”

And with the Distinction program, it’s something to be proud of, right. You work really, really hard for it. And it’s just a wonderful thing to have to say, “Yep, that’s me. I did that. I worked for it and I earned it.”

And with the chapter and everything, you know, we have dissolved and slowly are migrating with the Orlando chapter, but just due to time in the area that I’m in, we saw an opportunity of another chapter blossoming and blooming. And it’s like, why not bring them together rather then compete with each other and get communities together.

But the chapters is really just to build each other up, right? You’re not going to another dental practice every day and talk to other office managers.

You know, I talked to a few others in specialties that are in endo and oral surgery and ortho that we deal with in our practice. But other general office managers, like, I don’t talk to very many in our area.

So having a chapter is like, “Hey, what do you guys struggle with?” It doesn’t matter if you’re down the street from each other. Like, let’s talk and have that camaraderie with each other, cause we’re all in dentistry. We’re all here to serve.

Heather: Yeah, that’s your tribe. And I’m saying chapter, but actually now they’re DPLNs—Dental Professional Learning Networks.

And so you actually, Zach, you are the president of our first DPLN that was not a chapter first. So, congratulations! That’s a big distinction.

So, you are president of the Space Coast Florida Dental Professional Learning Network. Congratulations!

Zach: Thank you.

Heather: That is very cool. And I love that you are merging with Orlando because stronger together. Like, AADOM is never a competition. AADOM is always—we’re the same. We’re the tribe, more of the better. The more of us we can help and support one another. So, that is great that you guys are doing that.

And just going back to the distinction program for a minute. I just want to say, I am very proud for getting your fellowship. So, everyone at AADOM is very proud of you.

The mastership that you’re attaining now, it’s funny, but the thing we hear is, “Oh, so much writing.” And yes, it is so much writing. I’ll tell you why.

Because when you write about, you can know it and do it. When you have to teach someone, right? That’s a whole next level. Then it’s like, you don’t even have to think about it. Then it’s just a part of you.

So, what are some of the things have you written yet? Or what are some things you plan on writing?

Writing for AADOM Members

Zach: Savanah actually just talked to me before we got on here and said my last article was approved and she was writing the email as we speak. So, I am done with all my requirements, so I’m very excited to say that I’ve made it through this section of that. So, I just have to submit my application and get my email back saying you’re graduating in September. So, I’m really excited about that.

I will tell you the class that you have to take on writing, the required one, was huge. You learn a lot about yourself, but you also learn a lot about how to kind of break down the thoughts in your brain.

We all just want to kind of have word vomit and have it all come out on a piece of paper and look great. But you have to be intentional. Intentionality—that word can run through management and swim in different ways. But when you’re writing, you really, really have to know what you’re writing about, why you’re writing about it. And then also how to communicate it.

Heather, you said it completely perfect. I feel like I can talk all day long about dentistry, but when I go to put that on paper, it’s a different thing, right?

So it really taught me a skill that I didn’t have. And my last two articles, I actually had a lot of fun writing rather than being stressed out about it. So, I’m really excited for people to read them and I’m super proud.

Learn About AADOM’s eCampus Now

Heather: I haven’t seen them yet. I haven’t read them yet, I should say. What are the two topics?

Zach: So, there’s three of them. There’s one on KPI’s that I ran and then hopefully, can you still see me?

Heather: I see you.

Zach: Okay, perfect. There’s one on customer service. And then there was one on same day treatment conversion and talking how to make that successful in your practice for you and your patients.

Heather: So, you’re just like a master of all trades. Usually someone can write about one of those things. One, and, so whenever this is being, I guess, broadcast, if we could put links to Zach’s article.

So, Zach, you are now a published author. But typically, I mean, I’m impressed. Typically, someone can write about KPI or customer service or case acceptance. So writing about all three is super, super impressive. Really. And ,yeah, I’m so excited to induct you in September and as a Master. Yeah, super excited.

How can people get information about your DPLN if they want to join, if they happen to be on the Space Coast or Orlando?

Zach: Through the ADOM website, you can go in the drop down on the DPLN and there’s all of our contact information there, or the Orlando one. That would be the best way, I would say, to get a hold of us there and then we’ll get you connected.

Heather: Yeah. And I love the DPLNs cause it’s all about connection. It’s all about you are not alone, right? We do our big annual conference. That’s only once a year. It’s your local network that keeps you going throughout the year. So, thank you for starting that.

Okay. I think we’re coming up on time. So, I was going to ask you one fun fact. We definitely got a fun fact in that you are a professional skateboarder. So, can I ask for one more fun fact?

Another Fun Fact About Zach

Zach: Oh, goodness. One more fun fact. Hmm.

I mean, it’s completely different. I used to run cross country in high school. So, my coach told me I wasn’t allowed to skateboard during cross-country season so I didn’t get hurt.

But the fun fact is I was team captain of our high school team that was the first team to ever qualify for state finals for our high school and the entire history from, you know, the school starting, which was really exciting!

Heather: I think that’s more about you than about the team. So, clearly.

Thank you. Thank you for talking with us. It was fascinating learning about your journey into dentistry and into management and into AADOM.

Any final thoughts, Zach, for people listening, whether they’re new or experienced, just any, just one, you know, piece of advice you can give them to kind of help get through the day today.

A Final Word of Advice for Dental Office Managers

Zach: Yeah. Just remember you’re not by yourself. You have a huge network, especially if you’re here watching this. You’re either looking into AADOM or you’re a part of AADOM.

We are a team together. That’s the biggest thing is just don’t forget that you’re not alone. There are resources out there and I honed on it earlier. Just keep it simple. Don’t make things complex. Simplify it as much as you can and take one step at a time.

We try to leap to the finish line one step at a time and do that each day, and you’ll find yourself looking back at saying, “Wow, that was much better.” And you’ll see a lot of improvement that way.

Heather: Awesome! Thank you so much, Zach.

Actually, your practice is very lucky to have you. AADOM is I’m lucky to have you. And thank you for sharing all your wisdom today.

Zach: Absolutely! Thanks for having me.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Be sure to watch our video now to enjoy Heather and Zach discussing how AADOM can help you be successful as a dental office manager!