Aspen Dental has been a leader in the industry for decades and supports more than 1,100 dental practices across the country. With their years of experience, the DSO knows what problems dentists — especially recent grads — are facing and how to overcome them.

One of the DSO’s most impactful and effective retention tools is the Aspen Dental Learning Journey program, which has achieved an 97% staff retention rate over a 12-month period.

Andrew De La Rosa, DMD, vice president of clinical support at Aspen, and Laura Sage, director, learning and development, doctor development, recently connected with Becker’s to talk about the state of the dental workforce, what Aspen is doing to set themselves apart and the future of staffing in the industry.

Note: Repsonses were lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: How have you been able to maintain a high employee retention rate through the Aspen Doctor Learning Journey?
Dr. Andrew De La Rosa: We’ve been around for a long time and we really know who the doctors are, especially new grads. We know what their pain points are. We know what causes stress or anxiety in the practice. We’re very, very intentional about teaching them what they need in that moment to make sure that the challenges they’re most likely going to be exposed to, they have either the research, resources or development to help overcome those things.

We believe in something called the zone of success, which means to be a complete provider, you need to be equal parts clinical, you need to have leadership development and have operational success. When all three of those zones are in balance, is when we see our providers really elevate and accelerate in their practices. When they come to our training, we’re making sure the time has components of all three elements continuously throughout their journey.

We’re very intentional about what they learn, and we’re very thoughtful about their pain points and what they struggle with in that moment, and the learning journey is fully designed with trying to overcome those pain points and barriers.

Laura Sage: I think the Doctor Journey is so key. We hear from these doctors coming out of school, whether they’re fresh out of school or they’re joining the organization, they want mentorship, and so they get that in a number of different ways. I think when they’re in just their four walls with just their team, it can feel overwhelming. So to look outside they have the great clinical support team, their field leadership, but then also we start them off in a cohort so they start to build these bonds with their peers as well.

We’re meeting them where they’re at all throughout their journey and when they need the information. So our robust learning journey takes about six plus months, and then there’s even things after that, which I think definitely sets us apart.

Q: Why has the dental industry been facing labor shortages and problems over the past few years?
ADLR: The dental industry hasn’t fully recovered since COVID and we saw a lot of clinicians either pivot toward more of a non-clinical role or exit out of the industry altogether and pursue something different. I think something else is that there’s a lot more competition now. For example, when we look at Indeed, for every dentist who is looking for a job application, there’s three open positions, which is pretty staggering.

Q: Do you anticipate the workforce problems in dentistry to improve or stay static?
ADLR: Hopefully the trend is in the right direction. But I still feel with the amount of available jobs that are out there versus the amount of dentists coming out of school, I think that we’re going to continue to see that grow. So I still feel like there’s going to be hiring challenges, which, again, is why we’re working so hard to differentiate our model and really show why our training and development and learning and development programs are best in class.

LS: I think we’re always trying to evolve how we take mentorship even to the next level. We want to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry and also the feedback that we’re getting from our doctors. We’re always heightening the importance of learning, and we don’t see ourselves going anywhere, if anything, the importance of what we’re doing will only be amplified.

At Aspen Dental, we’re committed to helping our providers grow, lead, and thrive. Ready to learn more about how we support your success from day one? Explore career opportunities and discover what sets Aspen Dental apart.

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