426: The Truth Behind the Shortage of Dental Assistants - Shannon Pace Brinker, CDA

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 doctor could do right now, because we are the ones that have more time to take the photos.” (15:46—15:59)

“Manufacturers understand that it takes the doctor and the hygienist to really work together to utilize a lot of the equipment. But at the end of the day, I am just as valuable. And I'm the one that gets the yes. And in my practice, I'm the one that sees the patient first with the doctor. And so, it depends on the type of practice. But giving us those things, the whitening specialists, which we did a podcast a couple years ago on that, giving us some type of title, let me know that I'm responsible for that, and I'm going to take that and be like, ‘Man, he really does trust me. He really does care about me.’ And it can go far.” (16:25—16:57)

“A lot of times, maybe we have low self-worth because, let's face it, when we look at the pyramid of where assistants usually are — and this is not woe-is-me at all, it’s just a fact. I'm not saying anything that nobody really doesn't know, it’s true — we’re at the bottom. But we’re valuable. When something breaks, who do they call? They call us. Right? When we need to have something repaired, who do they call? They call us. And so, these are the things that — the equipment, and doing the infection control. And again, thinking about the scanning, thinking about the CAD/CAM, and where are we going with printing. We’re printing models. We’re doing a lot of this work. And this is where it only takes so little for loyalty. And that's all we need. But giving us a title and really giving us that elevation when it’s our time in the practice to have that, I think, just goes so far.” (17:24—18:17)

“It’s not about the money. And I've talked to assistants. I've interviewed them. It’s not about the money — it’s how we’re treated and valued. That value means everything. I'll take $4.00 less an hour to feel valued.” (18:18—18:30)

“What really makes me sad is when I hear assistants have to have side gigs in order to make ends meet, where they're like, ‘I've got a side hustle.’ I hear this all the time, a side hustle. And I remember, I hate to say it, it’s so stupid, but I was like, ‘What's a side hustle?’ And they're like, ‘Oh, I work for Uber Eats,’ or, ‘I drive a car for Uber,’ or, ‘I go to Target and work at night,’ and these types of things. And I'm like, ‘Why are these people having to work at night because they can't make it?’ And so, it’s like, doctor, $1.00 extra an hour is a million to us. A million. And I think that this is where we have to think about titles. And again, it’s not about the money — it’s not. But give them what they're worth. And if you feel like they're not where they need to be, then give them the education.” (20:27—21:10)

“If you're scared, ‘Well, if I pay for the education, they're going to leave me and go somewhere else,’ then do this. Just say, ‘Listen, I'm going to invest in you because I know that you can do these things. And you know that I can't do it all myself. But I want you to do it because I really feel that you can really do this. And I'm going to do this, but here are the things.’ And there are a lot of practices where the doctors will say, ‘I'll pay for this for you, and I want you to do these things if you want to do it. But you've got to be invested.’ But I also know that some practices actually have assistants sign something to where they can't just up and leave. And if they do, they have to pay them back for certain things, especially if it’s a very high-level course that they're going to, like FTDA.” (21:11—21:48)

“Everybody has a gift. The doctor has to find that gift and find out what this person does best.” (22:38—22:43)

“This is what we have to do in dentistry: we have to find what they love, and what they do best. And putting the right people in those places is not hard to do.” (23:09—23:17)

“Thinking about your ad is the most important thing you can do. Don't put the same ad together as everybody else. What makes you different? And I think it goes back to, what are you going to allow me to do? What have you got in your practice that is of value to me?” (29:04—29:17)

“If you're placing an ad, think about what you would want to hear from a dental assistant, and the quality. And mentioning all the technology that you have, in this day and age — don't just tell me, ‘I'm looking for somebody that's 40 hours a week,’ and we’re going to do this, this, this, and this, and we’ve got this. Even the benefits, honestly, nobody really cares. Tell me what you've invested into your practice. Tell me the technology that you have, and to think about the type of dentistry that you do, and most importantly, what is going to be my role for you. I think when you write that kind of ad, you'll have more people applying for your job than you probably could ever imagine — or the right people.” (30:29—31:05)

“If you thank your assistant, that goes so far. Take them to lunch. Spend time with them. And give them a chance to voice their opinion on something, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ Sometimes, that ‘What do you think?’ means everything. And that's one of the things I will say is, hug them. If you're not touchy-huggy-feely, thank them. A little thank you, even some chocolate bar, something to say, ‘Hey, thank you so much. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. I haven't said that in a very long time,’ it goes a long, long way.” (42:00—42:32)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:29 Shannon’s background.

3:17 Loyalty during the pandemic.

4:24 It’s not about the money.

6:59 Invest in your assistants.

9:04 The value of a great assistant.

12:29 Give assistants titles.

16:58 Give assistants your trust.

18:38 Believe in your team.

23:57 Advice for photography training.

28:36 How to find assistants.

31:56 Advice for dental assistants.

35:42 Train your assistants with Chairside Assisting.

39:43 More about Chairside Assisting.

41:17 Last thoughts.

Reach Out to Shannon:

Shannon’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chairsideassisting

Shannon’s social media: @chairsideassisting

Resources:

Chairside Assisting website: https://chairsideassisting.com/  

Shannon Pace Brinker, CDA Bio:

Shannon Pace Brinker, CDA, is a national and international speaker and published author of over 300 articles for various publications. She has been a practicing dental assistant for over 25 years and works for Dr. Robert Korman in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

She has taught over 2,000 classes on dental assisting techniques and over 60,000 dental assistants over the last six years alone. Shannon has taught at the Nash Institute, Dawson Academy, and Spear Education, instructing through both lectures and hands-on programs.

She has written over 300 articles regarding Clinical Application and has a current column in Dental Product Reports for the team evaluation of dental products and materials. She has her own publication for dental assistants with partnership of Schein Dental called "Side by Side". She has started one of the first online platforms designated for dental assistants called the Academy of Chairside Assisting.

Shannon is an active member of the AACD. She was the first auxiliary to sit on the AACD Board of Directors and was awarded the Rising Star Award. Shannon has also been recognized as one of Dentistry Today’s Top 100 Clinicians for the last 10 years, Dental Products Report 25 most influential women in dentistry, the Lucy Hobbs Award, Sunstar Butler achievement award, and Dr. Bicuspid’s Dental Assistant Educator of the year.