What Dental Professionals Want: Top Desires for Success

Finding and retaining great dental professionals has become more challenging than ever. According to Direct Dental, dental team members consistently look for more than just a paycheck. Flexibility, trust, growth opportunities, and fair compensation are now top priorities.

If you want to attract and keep high-quality dental staff, here’s what dental professionals want most—and how your practice can deliver.

Flexibility Is the #1 Priority for Dental Professionals

Flexibility was the most common theme in Direct Dental’s survey responses. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest benefits for small dental practices to offer. When everyone has a fixed role, one call-out can throw the entire day into chaos.

Still, flexibility is possible with the right systems in place.

How Dental Practices Can Offer More Flexibility

Build a temp bench
Create a short list of reliable temporary dental professionals for each position in your office. This allows you to quickly fill gaps when someone calls out sick or needs to leave early.

Train a rover
Cross-train at least one front office team member to flip operatories and sanitize rooms. Having a rover ensures coverage if an assistant is unavailable.

Communicate openly with your team
Let your staff know you respect their lives outside of work. Encourage advance communication about schedule changes and collaborate on solutions together.

Reward performance with time off
Unexpected paid time off—such as sending the team home early after hitting a goal—can significantly boost morale and engagement.

Paid Time Off Helps You Attract Better Dental Employees

Offering paid time off is one of the simplest ways to stand out as an employer.

When dental professionals are choosing between two job offers, the practice that provides PTO (in addition to sick and holiday pay) almost always wins. PTO signals respect, appreciation, and long-term commitment to your team.

Growth and Training Matter to Dental Teams

Dental professionals want to grow—not stagnate.

Supporting continuing education and professional development benefits both the employee and the practice.

Ways to invest in your team include:

Covering or reimbursing continuing education courses
Hosting lunch-and-learn training sessions
Hiring consultants to improve office systems and workflows

Ask your team what skills they want to develop, then help make it happen.

Communication and Trust Build Strong Dental Teams

Poor communication is one of the fastest ways to lose good employees.

Best practices include:

Quarterly one-on-one meetings
Clear expectations and documented systems
An employee handbook
Addressing issues immediately, without micromanaging

When team members feel heard and trusted, they perform better and stay longer.

Dental Professionals Want Honest and Ethical Leadership

Most dental employees can tell the difference between a dentist focused on quality care and one focused only on production.

Dentistry is both a science and an art, and treatment approaches vary. If a team member questions a treatment plan, take the time to explain your reasoning. These conversations build trust—and trust is essential for a healthy dental practice culture.

Recognition and Compensation Drive Motivation

Dental professionals want to know their hard work matters.

Bonus systems tied to practice growth are one of the most effective ways to recognize performance. When compensation never changes, motivation eventually drops. When employees share in the success of the practice, engagement rises.