MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Where Have All the Dental Staff Gone?
The Stress of Hiring
By Theodore Rockwell, DMD PDA President-Elect
Recently, I needed to hire a new dental office receptionist / biller; I did not know how difficult it would be. I advertised on Indeed. com and by word of mouth. The applications came in, but very few had any related experience in dental. A few had medical or optometry receptionist / billing experience, so I interviewed them.
Most had glaring inadequacies, or made statements during the interview that were either improper, careless, or out-of-place. When I asked one candidate how much she was looking for in an hourly rate, she said $ 500 an hour and then laughed. It certainly was not the most appropriate comment for an interview. One candidate told me she wanted a job in dental because she“ wanted a sit-down job.” Somehow that did not seem like a great reason.
Finally, I received three different applications from dental assistants in a neighboring town, all who stated they would like to interview for the receptionist / biller job, and I scheduled interviews on different days. Amazingly, none showed. No call, no show, no excuse. A different applicant, who lived within a mile of my office, scheduled an interview at 11 a. m. for 2 p. m. on the same day and she also did not show.
I had two patients in my practice who were previously employed as dental receptionists / billers, and two patients who were very competent medical receptionist / billers, employed with physicians since retired. I thought, surely I can talk one of them into
18 MARCH / APRIL 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL