2027 AADOM Conference Speakers

Opening Keynote

Adrianne Haslet
Ballroom Dancer | Amputee & Survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings | Motivational Speaker

Adrianne Haslet’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. A seasoned professional ballroom dancer at the peak of her career, Adrianne's life was forever changed when she survived the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, losing her left leg in the attack. With an unwavering spirit and fierce determination, she met this challenge head-on and rose from the ashes of tragedy, embodying the Boston Strong mentality.

From dancing full-time to navigating a completely new life, Adrianne quickly adapted and found new ways to redefine herself. Her emotional honesty and resilience have made her an international beacon of strength, earning her appearances in major media outlets, including the cover of People, Sports Illustrated, Time, and a Super Bowl commercial with her friend, Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz.

Adrianne's commitment to using her platform to advocate for others has led to countless opportunities to share her message globally. She has spoken alongside notable figures such as then-Vice President Joe Biden, President Bill Clinton, and the President of Nepal. Her debut TED Talk captivated over 18.5 million views, and she has delivered commencement addresses at prestigious institutions like Baylor College of Medicine, Curry College, and Worcester State University. She has received two honorary doctorates for her efforts to inspire and enact change.

Her story has resonated deeply with so many, and she has been honored with numerous accolades, being named one of Cosmopolitan's Most Powerful Women and one of Bing's Most Inspirational Women. Her courage and leadership have also earned her recognition from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which honored her at the Kennedy Center for her work speaking out against terrorism, anti-Semitism, and hate. Adrianne’s campaign efforts to overturn the ‘one leg a lifetime’ law in New York and fight Medicare’s proposed prosthetic coverage cuts further underscore her advocacy for underserved communities. Her documentary, The Survivor Diaries, created with Anderson Cooper, shares the raw realities of her first year as an amputee, offering a window into her transformative journey. Along with recently accepting a permanent part time teaching position at Tufts Medical School teaching Perspectives in Medicine. The dean said ‘not one physician graduating from our medical school should graduate without studying your story of resilience.”

Adrianne has gone on to compete professionally in multiple Boston Marathons, most recently securing 4th place in the inaugural division for blade runners - an achievement she fought hard for, advocating for six years to create that division. Just two months later, she took home the win at the B.A.A. 10k. Her athletic journey speaks to her unyielding spirit to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Adrianne’s most recent project, starring in the IMAX film The Heart of New England, is yet another milestone in her remarkable career. Through it all, Adrianne’s mantra remains steadfast: "I refuse to be called a victim. A victim is defined by something that happened in their life. I am a survivor, defined by how I live my life." This statement echoes her ability to overcome adversity and serves as a beacon of light to those facing dark challenges in their own lives.

Stop Carrying The Practice Alone

Brandy Trout, DSL
From Good To Grace Training & Development

The most capable dental practice managers often become the people everyone depends on. They answer the questions, solve the problems, connect the departments, follow up on unfinished tasks, and step in whenever something falls through the cracks. What initially feels like effective leadership can eventually create an unintended consequence: a practice that struggles to function without the manager constantly holding everything together.

This interactive session challenges the idea that strong leadership means carrying more. Attendees will explore how habitual rescuing, unclear roles, underdeveloped leaders, and inconsistent systems can create leadership bottlenecks and team dependency.

Using the Carrying Audit™, participants will evaluate responsibilities through four practical lenses: ME, LEADER, TEAM, and SYSTEM. They will identify what truly requires their leadership, what can be owned by another leader, what the team can appropriately own, and what should be supported by a repeatable system rather than human memory.

Drawing from nearly 15 years of multi-location dental leadership experience and doctoral research examining strategic leadership, employee engagement, and retention, this course connects practical leadership behaviors with the organizational structures that help teams thrive.

Attendees will leave with strategies for transferring responsibility without sacrificing accountability and a 30-day action plan for reducing a leadership bottleneck and increasing ownership within their practice.

Learning Objectives

• Identify leadership behaviors and organizational gaps that create manager dependency and bottlenecks.
• Categorize responsibilities using the Carrying Audit™: ME, LEADER, TEAM, or SYSTEM.
• Apply role clarity and accountability strategies when transferring responsibility.
• Develop a 30-day plan to reduce one leadership bottleneck and increase team ownership.

Speaker

Brandy Trout, DSL
From Good To Grace Training & Development

Dr. Brandy Trout is an educator, speaker, author, and dental practice executive with 17+ years of experience leading teams within a multi-location dental organization. She holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership and is a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, Maxwell-certified speaker, and MAADOM. Her doctoral research explored how strategic leadership practices influence employee engagement and retention in healthcare organizations. Brandy is founder of From Good To Grace Training & Development and author of The Conference Companion and Grace Over Perfection. Through practical frameworks, research-informed strategies, and real-world experience, she helps leaders build stronger teams, create accountability, and lead with greater intention. FromGoodToGrace.com

It Makes Perfect Sense! — Creating an Unforgettable Patient Experience Through the Five Senses

Brenda J. McNulty
DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting

Our patients are forming an opinion of your practice before anyone ever picks up an instrument. What do they see when they walk through the door? What do they hear while sitting in your reception area? What does your office smell like? What do they taste, touch, and most importantly—how does the entire experience make them feel?

In this fun, interactive session, we'll explore the patient experience through five familiar senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Attendees will learn how seemingly small details can influence a patient's perception of the practice, their comfort level, their trust in the team, and whether they ultimately become a loyal patient who refers others.

We'll walk through the patient journey from the moment they arrive in the parking lot through check-in, the reception area, the clinical experience, financial conversations, and check-out. You'll begin seeing your practice through your patients' eyes and discover details your team may have stopped noticing simply because you see them every day.

Is your reception area welcoming or cluttered? What conversations can patients overhear? Does your office have a distinctive smell? Is the temperature comfortable? Could a soft blanket, beverage, warm towel, lip balm, music, or another thoughtful touch turn an ordinary appointment into a memorable experience?

Attendees will participate in a Five-Sense Patient Experience Audit and learn how to conduct the same exercise with their own teams. You'll identify opportunities to make meaningful improvements without assuming that creating an exceptional experience requires an expensive remodel or luxury amenities.

You'll leave with a fresh perspective, practical ideas, and a framework you can immediately use to evaluate and improve your own patient journey. Because patients may not remember every detail of their appointment, but they will remember how your practice made them feel.

It just makes perfect sense!

Learning Objectives

• Evaluate the patient journey through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Recognize how small environmental details influence patient comfort, trust, and perception of care.
• Conduct a Five-Sense Patient Experience Audit within their own practice.
• Implement simple, practical changes that create memorable experiences, strengthen patient loyalty, and encourage referrals.

Speaker

Brenda J. McNulty
DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting

Brenda McNulty is a nationally sought-after dental consultant, speaker, and owner of DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting. With more than 33 years of experience in clinical and business operations, she helps practices build stronger systems, develop confident leaders, and create cultures of accountability. Brenda is known for blending practical strategies, humor, and real-world experience into engaging sessions that inspire immediate action. She has presented at major dental conferences nationwide, is a 2026 Denobi award winner for her outstanding contributions in the field of dentistry and is the author of Smile On.

When a Good Day Goes Bad — A Disaster Planning Workshop

Debi Carr
DK Carr and Associates LLC

A disaster rarely follows a planned script. Emergencies can interupt patient care, disable technology, and cause harm to team members and the practice. HIPAA requires all practices have a disaster plan.

This mini workshop places attendees inside a rapidly changing emergency and asks them to make decisions that protects, patients, team and the practice. The exercise will help attendees create a practical and clearly understood plan to meet 45 CFR 164.308(a)(7).

Learning Objectives

• Review HIPAA Disaster and Contingency Planning requirement.
• Gain understanding on how to create and implement a disaster plan.
• Learn how to identify gaps in the practice's current plan and steps for improvements.

Speaker

Debi Carr
DK Carr and Associates LLC

Debi Carr is recognized as a leader in Cyber Security and Compliance, a Speaker and a Consultant. Having over 30 years in healthcare and technology, she assists healthcare entities in obtaining and maintaining cyber security and HIPAA Security Rule compliance in their practices and assists doctors navigate through a ransomware and other cyber-attacks. Debi holds several internationally recognized certifications including a HealthCare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner by ISC2 as well as being certified by HIMSS as a Certified Associate Healthcare Information and Management Systems and is a member of AADOM, ADMC, HIMSS, ISC2, ISSAC, InfraGard, NSCHBC, and Women of Cyber Security.

How to Be An A** Kicker In Your Own Economy

Dr. Emily Letran
President - Exceptional Leverage Inc.

Running a successful dental practice is about more than producing dentistry. It requires the ability to lead yourself, lead your team, protect your energy, focus on what matters, and create systems that allow the practice to grow without consuming your life.

How to Be an A Kicker in Your Office** is a practical, high-performance leadership and practicemanagement course designed to help dental professionals become more intentional about how they operate their practices—and their lives.

Drawing from more than three decades of experience in dentistry, business strategy, leadership, and highperformance coaching, Dr. Emily Letran introduces a framework built around the high-performance principles of Clarity, Energy, Productivity, Necessity, Influence, and Courage.

Rather than simply asking, “How can I work harder?” participants are challenged to ask better questions: What do I really want? What matters most? What should I stop doing? How can my team perform more effectively? And how can I build a successful practice while still creating the personal life I want? The course moves from personal clarity and leadership into team alignment, energy management, productivity, technology, influence, and intentional growth.

Learning Objectives

• Clarify: Write your three most important personal and professional goals.
• Align: Communicate the top three practice goals and expectations to your team.
• Energize: Implement one daily habit that increases your physical or mental energy.
• Eliminate: Remove one recurring distraction from your workday.
• Recover: Find at least five minutes of wasted time per hour.
• Delegate: Transfer one task that does not require you.
• Automate: Identify one process technology can simplify.
• Influence: Choose one leadership behavior you will intentionally model.
• Mentor: Connect with someone who can help you reach your next level—or someone whom you can help reach theirs.

Speaker

Dr. Emily Letran
President - Exceptional Leverage Inc.

Dr Emily Letran is a serial entrepreneur, CEO of multiple dental practices, and private coach to many professionals. As an international speaker, she has been on TEDx and shared stages with countless business leaders including Sharon Lechter (Co-Author Rich Dad Poor Dad), Dan Clark (Hall of Fame Speaker), Dr. Howard Farran (Dental Town), and Linda Miles (The Ultimate Mentor of Dentistry). She has been featured on Dental Town , The Profitable Dentist, Global Woman, See Beyond magazines, and mentioned on Yahoo!Finance, Forbes, Medium, USA Today, and FOX. She is a contributing writer for Dental IQ, DrBicuspid.com, and Dentistry Today. Dr Letran is the author of several books, the Founder of the non-profit Smile Champions, and the Founder of Exceptional Leverage Inc., a coaching and consulting firm. She hosts her signature events, ACTION To WIN seminar, in several countries, and shares her expertise in personal growth and business management through her ACTION To WIN Academy programs.

Dr. Letran received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from UC Riverside (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in three years. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Dentistry (Dean’s Apollonian Scholarship) Class of 1993 and received her Master of Science in Oral Biology from UCLA during the same four years.

As a mother of three, Dr. Letran creatively balances work, family life, after-school life and her personal life as a growing entrepreneur. She continuously takes courses to improve her skills to better serve her clients. She is dedicated in helping business professionals maximize their potential in personal and business life, streamline business and increase profits, winning back time from work so they can enjoy that time with their family, children and pursue their passion. She truly believes we should always be the best version of ourselves.

Dr. Emily Letran is a Certified High Performance Coach, Certified Kolbe Consultant, and a member of Forbes Coaches Council.

Decode the Silent Barriers Keeping Patients from Saying YES

Sophia Dunkley
The Practice Navigator

Most treatment isn’t declined out loud. It stalls quietly behind “let me think about it,” “I need to check with my spouse,” or “I’ll call you back.” These polite exits rarely reveal the real reason a patient hesitates. Underneath are silent barriers patients almost never name: decision fatigue, emotional overwhelm, fear of judgment, and a team that isn’t telling one consistent story.

In this interactive session, Sophia Dunkley draws on nearly 30 years inside dental practices to help doctors and teams hear what patients aren’t saying. Attendees will learn to read the cues behind each barrier and separate the stated objection from the real one. They’ll see how visual co-discovery tools like intraoral scans, clinical photography, and iPad-based presentations turn treatment from something patients are told into something they see and own. They’ll leave with judgment-free verbal skills and a simpler way to present options and financial choices. They’ll also learn how to align every hand-off, from the first phone call to the financial conversation, so saying yes feels safe, clear, and easy to act on.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the four silent barriers to case acceptance (decision fatigue, emotional overwhelm, fear of judgment, and team misalignment) and the verbal and nonverbal cues that signal each.
• Distinguish a patient’s stated objection from the underlying barrier driving it, and respond to the real concern.
• Use visual co-discovery (intraoral scans, photography, and iPad presentations) to reduce overwhelm and help patients take ownership of their diagnosis.
• Simplify treatment and financial options to prevent decision fatigue, presenting clear choices instead of overwhelming detail.
• Apply judgment-free verbal skills that lower patient shame and create a safe space to voice concerns.
• Align team messaging and hand-offs so every patient hears one confident, consistent story from greeting to checkout.

Speaker

Sophia Dunkley
The Practice Navigator

Sophia Dunkley is an engaging speaker, coach, and consultant with 27+ years in dentistry. She brings a rare 360 degree perspective, spanning treatment coordination, operations, and team leadership, to elevate case acceptance, communication, and culture. As a certified Energy Leadership (ELI 360) professional with iPEC, Sophia blends mindset, leadership, and systems into practical frameworks that drive transformation, results and sustained performance. She specializes in high-value case acceptance, implant arch, and new patient journeys. Partnering with private practices and DSOs nationwide, she's a featured speaker at AADOM and the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. Her guiding philosophy: making a stranger a friend.

Say Less, Hear YES: Financial Conversations That Move Patients From Hesitation to Health

Joanne Miles, DAADOM, RDA
Senior Investment Grade Practice Business Advisor - Productive Dentist Academy

The doctor has diagnosed the care. The patient understands why it matters. And then comes the conversation that can change everything: “What will this cost me?”

For many dental teams, this is where confidence drops, assumptions creep in, and a conversation about health suddenly becomes a conversation about money. Teams may unintentionally overwhelm patients with numbers, insurance limitations, paperwork, or too many payment options, or make assumptions about what a patient can afford before the patient ever has the opportunity to decide for themselves.

There is a better way.

In this engaging and interactive session, participants will learn how to approach financial conversations through the mindset of a patient healthcare advocate, not a salesperson or financial gatekeeper. By shifting from insurance-led thinking to patient-led conversations, teams can protect the value established in the treatment room while helping patients navigate the financial decisions that come next.

Through real-world scenarios, interactive exercises, practical language, and communication strategies participants can use immediately, attendees will learn how to connect before discussing money, uncover what matters most to the patient, present treatment investment with confidence, use intentional pauses and questions, and introduce payment solutions without creating overwhelm.

Participants will also examine how their own beliefs and assumptions about money can influence the conversations they have with patients and sometimes create barriers that were never there to begin with.

Because financial conversations aren't about closing a sale.

They're about opening trust and helping patients find a path from hesitation to health.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize how personal beliefs, unconscious assumptions, and insurance-led thinking can influence financial conversations and unintentionally create barriers to treatment.
• Apply a patient-advocacy mindset that allows patients, not the dental team, to determine what they value, what they can afford, and how they want to move forward with recommended care.
• Use purposeful questions, active listening, and intentional pauses to uncover patient priorities, timing, and financial concerns before introducing payment solutions.
• Present treatment investment clearly and confidently while keeping the conversation focused on health, value, and patient choice rather than allowing cost or paperwork to lead the discussion.
• Match patients with appropriate payment solutions based on what they have shared rather than overwhelming them with multiple options or making assumptions about affordability.

Speaker

Joanne Miles, DAADOM, RDA
Senior Investment Grade Practice Business Advisor - Productive Dentist Academy

Joanne Miles is a dynamic force in dental practice growth, often described as the “Swiss Army knife of dentistry” for her versatile expertise and innovative solutions. With decades of experience helping practices nationwide, Joanne has mastered the art of guiding dental teams toward success, whether they’re launching a start-up or scaling a multi-practice organization.

Joanne is passionate about transforming dental practices by focusing on the pillars of success: team engagement, patient experience, leadership development, and operational excellence. Her proven methods empower dentists and their teams to grow with confidence, staying aligned with their core values and purpose.

A champion for elevating others, Joanne believes that the most successful practices thrive not only on numbers but on meaningful connections and a commitment to excellence.

The Leadership Communication Trifecta: Mastering Three Essential Leadership Conversations to Create a Company of Superstars

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP
LionSpeak

Synopsis: The workforce has changed, and we must adapt our leadership communication if we want our teams to operate at a high level, communicate maturely, think for themselves, and compete in the marketplace. If your team struggles with turnover, low performance, negativity, petty conflicts, or a lack of focus… a total team transformation is easier than you think IF your leaders and team have mastered these three critical conversations: The Invitation Conversation, The Coaching Conversation, & The Courageous Conversation.

In the current employment market, you and your team can’t afford to lose employees just because you hold them to high standards, ask for accountability to team agreements, or push them to achieve goals and benchmarks… and the good news is… You don’t have to! You CAN do both. You CAN hold your standards AND maintain or even strengthen the relationships...and Katherine will show you how.

Katherine Eitel Belt, America’s Unscripted Communication Expert, believes personal leadership and high-performing teams are created with clear and inspirational communication from their leaders. In this engaging presentation, she adamantly rejects stale methods of leadership thinking and canned scripts and shares a fresh, instinctive approach to building a team that thrives. She will teach and demonstrate how the new science around coaching, feedback, and leadership can give you a huge business advantage in a highly competitive employment and business environment. You and your team will never be the same again.

No more excuses...and no more limits.

Learning Objectives

• Strengthen their leadership communication using three distinct conversations by learning when and how to have each one.
• Engage in more successful Courageous Conversations with team members using a simple 4-step framework.
• Lead and coach others to unlock their potential and create more alignment and accountability.

Speaker

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP
LionSpeak

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP, Dentistry’s Unscripted Leadership Communication Coach, is a globally recognized expert in leadership communication. For over 35 years, she has helped hundreds of organizations—including Procter & Gamble, Care Credit, and Henry Schein—build aligned, accountable, high‑performing teams. As one of 17% of speakers worldwide to earn the CSP designation, Katherine is a trusted voice featured on major podcasts, in the documentary Women Shaping Dentistry Tomorrow, and on the cover of Dental Entrepreneur Women Magazine. Her upcoming book, Lead Yourself, Lead Your Team, equips leaders to transform team performance through her Leadership Conversation Trifecta and A.R.C.H. Framework.

Crisis or Opportunity? Navigating the Dental Hygiene Shortage

Katrina Sanders
The Dental WINEgenist

The dental hygiene shortage has challenged practices across the country… but is it truly a crisis, or is it an opportunity to rethink how we lead, support, and grow our teams? While workforce shortages may be beyond any one practice's control, the culture, leadership, and systems within your office are not.

In this thought-provoking webinar, internationally recognized dental hygienist and practice consultant Katrina Sanders explores the realities behind today's dental hygiene workforce, separating industry myths from the factors that truly influence recruitment and retention. Participants will examine how workplace culture, communication, leadership, and operational decisions shape the hygienist experience, and ultimately determine whether exceptional clinicians choose to join and remain with a practice.

Designed specifically for dental office managers and practice leaders, this course shifts the conversation from frustration to opportunity, offering practical insights into the areas where leadership can have the greatest impact. Whether you're currently navigating staffing challenges or simply looking to build a stronger, more resilient hygiene department for the future, you'll leave with a fresh perspective on your role in creating an environment where hygienists feel valued, supported, and inspired to thrive.

Because while no practice can solve the national workforce shortage alone, every practice has the opportunity to become the place where great hygienists want to work.

Learning Objectives

• Examine the realities behind today's dental hygiene shortage and separate industry myths from practice-level opportunities.
• Assess how leadership decisions, workplace culture, and operational processes influence whether hygienists choose to join, and stay, with a practice.
• Apply leadership strategies that foster an engaged hygiene team, strengthen retention, and position the practice as an employer of choice.

Speaker

Katrina Sanders
The Dental WINEgenist

A clinical dental hygienist, author and international speaker, Katrina is passionate about elevating the dental profession by creating an undeniable movement that educates, encourages, and empowers the profession to rise in its power. Known as the “Dental WINEgenist™,” she pairs her desire for excellence in the dental profession with her knowledge and passion for wine. She is the Clinical Liaison for Hygiene Excellence at AZPerio, founder of Sanders Board Preparatory and has been published in various publications including RDH Magazine and Today’s RDH. Recently, Katrina proudly received the University of Minnesota Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2024 Sunstar Award of Distinction. @TheDentalWINEgenist

The Practice MRI

Kelley Johnson
Core Dental Solutions LLC

The biggest challenges in a dental practice are rarely the ones everyone is talking about.

When I walk into a practice, I don't start by asking what isn't working. I start by observing. I watch the morning huddle. I listen to how the phones are answered. I follow a patient through the front office. I review scheduling patterns, treatment acceptance, insurance workflows, collections, and provider performance. Before making a single recommendation, I'm looking for patterns.

Over the years, I've learned that every symptom tells a story—but not every story points to the real problem.

Low collections aren't always a collections problem. An overloaded schedule isn't always a scheduling problem. Team conflict often isn't a people problem. More often than not, these are symptoms of deeper operational breakdowns that have gone undiagnosed for months—or even years.

The Practice MRI™ is the diagnostic process I use to uncover what is really happening beneath the surface of a dental practice. Rather than reacting to daily fires, attendees will learn how to evaluate the practice as an interconnected system, identify root causes, and prioritize the changes that create the greatest impact.

Through real consulting case studies, audience participation, and interactive diagnostic exercises, participants will experience how small observations can reveal significant opportunities for improvement.

They'll discover how to separate symptoms from root causes, interpret practice data with greater confidence, and develop a structured process for making decisions based on evidence instead of assumptions.

Attendees won't leave with another checklist. They'll leave with a new way of seeing their practice—one that helps them identify problems earlier, ask better questions, and lead meaningful operational improvements with confidence.

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish symptoms from root causes. Recognize how operational issues such as scheduling bottlenecks, declining collections, team conflict, insurance delays, and patient retention often originate from deeper system failures rather than isolated events.
• Perform a Practice MRI™ assessment. Apply a structured diagnostic process to evaluate workflows, communication patterns, financial indicators, patient experience, and team accountability to identify the highest-impact opportunities for improvement.
• Interpret practice analytics as diagnostic tools. Move beyond simply reviewing reports by learning how production, collections, accounts receivable, treatment acceptance, hygiene performance, and scheduling metrics reveal the operational health of a practice.
• Prioritize the right improvements first. Develop an action plan that addresses the underlying causes of operational challenges, allowing leaders to focus their time and resources where they will create the greatest measurable results.

Speaker

Kelley Johnson
Core Dental Solutions LLC

Kelley Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Core Dental Solutions LLC, where she helps dental practices strengthen operations, improve profitability, and build high-performing teams. With more than 25 years of experience in dental practice management, technology, and consulting, Kelley has guided more than 500 practices through operational challenges, growth, and change. She is the creator of the 12 Muscle Groups™ of Practice Management and The Practice MRI™, two proprietary frameworks that help leaders diagnose root causes and build lasting systems. Kelley is known for delivering practical, engaging education that attendees can implement immediately in their own practices.

They’re Not Lazy - They’re Unled. Leading The Next Generation To Show Up Fully

Tito Albino, EFDA, DAADOM

Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever, spanning multiple generations with different communication styles, values, motivations, and expectations. Yet many leaders find themselves frustrated, labelling younger team members as disengaged, entitled, or lacking work ethics. What if the issue isn’t a lack of commitment—but a lack of leadership?

In this engaging and thought-provoking course, Tito Albino, MAADOM, shares practical leadership strategies designed to help dental leaders better understand, connect with, and inspire the next generation of team members. Drawing from personal experiences, leadership successes and failures, and real-world dental practice examples, attendees will learn how to move beyond assumptions and create environments where team members feel valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute at their highest level.

Participants will explore the impact of generational differences, communication gaps, accountability, coaching, culture-building, and emotional intelligence. This course challenges leaders to shift from managing behaviors to developing people, creating stronger teams, healthier workplace cultures, and more sustainable practice growth.

Attendees will leave with actionable tools to foster trust, increase engagement, improve retention, and lead with greater intention—helping every team member show up fully and perform at their best.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the key characteristics and motivations of today’s multi-generational workforce.
• Identify leadership behaviors that unintentionally create disengagement and turnover.
• Develop communication and coaching techniques that build trust and accountability.
• Create a culture where team members feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow.
• Implement practical leadership strategies that improve engagement, performance, and retention.

Speaker

Tito Albino, EFDA, DAADOM

Tito Albino’s journey from humble beginnings in North Philadelphia to a respected leader in dental practice management is rooted in resilience, passion, and perseverance. Beginning his career as a medical assistant, Tito soon discovered his passion for dentistry and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Over the past 16 years, he has served in clinical and administrative roles across community health centers, corporate dentistry, university faculty practices, and private practice. His experience as a dental assistant, clinical coordinator, and office manager helped him discover his true passion: leading teams, creating strong practice cultures, and supporting exceptional patient care.

In 2024, Tito was named AADOM Office Manager of the Year. In 2026, he achieved Diplomate status (DAADOM), reflecting his continued commitment to education, leadership, and the dental practice management profession. Known for building thriving teams, streamlining systems, and encouraging professional growth, Tito brings practical experience and a personal approach to helping others lead with confidence and purpose.

Beyond dentistry, Tito is the founder and owner of Urban Raíces by Plant Papi, established in 2024. Through this venture, he celebrates his Puerto Rican heritage while sharing his love of plants and community. Caring for plants has also deepened his understanding of dental leadership: growth takes patience, consistent care, and an environment suited to individual needs. He brings those lessons into the practice, recognizing that each team member needs different support to thrive. Whether managing a practice, speaking to fellow leaders, or growing his business, Tito remains grounded in the importance of connection, creating opportunities, and lifting others as he grows.

Kindness Is Not Weakness: The Power of KIND Leadership

Bonnie Thompson

Kindness and accountability are not opposites. Yet many leaders have been conditioned to believe that effective feedback must be tough, direct, or even uncomfortable to create results. In reality, how feedback is delivered can influence trust, confidence, performance, retention, and workplace culture.

In this interactive course, attendees will explore how to lead with kindness without sacrificing expectations or accountability. Using the KIND Leadership framework, participants will learn to Know Your People, Influence with Intention, Navigate Difficult Conversations, and Demonstrate Kindness with Accountability.

Through relatable dental practice scenarios, discussion, and practical application, attendees will examine how communication styles, leadership behaviors, and emotional responses affect the way feedback is received. Participants will learn strategies for addressing performance concerns, conflict, boundaries, and difficult conversations with greater clarity, empathy, and respect.

Kind leadership does not mean avoiding uncomfortable conversations or lowering the bar. It means creating an environment where people can receive honest feedback, understand expectations, maintain their dignity, and have the opportunity to grow.

Because kindness isn't weakness. It takes strength to tell someone the truth, courage to hold them accountable, and leadership to do both without diminishing the person standing in front of you.

Learning Objectives

• K - Know Your People: Recognize individual communication styles, motivations, strengths, and leadership needs.
• I - Influence with Intention: Examine how a leader's words, behaviors, reactions, and consistency influence trust, engagement, and workplace culture.
• N - Navigate Difficult Conversations: Develop strategies for addressing conflict, performance concerns, boundaries, and accountability with clarity and respect.
• D - Demonstrate Kindness with Accountability: Learn how compassion and high expectations can coexist to create stronger people, stronger teams, and healthier workplace cultures.

Speaker

Bonnie Thompson

Bonnie Thompson is a dental operations executive, leadership mentor, and speaker with more than 35 years of experience in dentistry. Her career has spanned nearly every role within a dental practice, from dental assisting and office management to Chief Operating Officer. Recognized as one of the Top Operations Leaders in Group Dentistry in 2025, Bonnie is passionate about developing confident leaders, strengthening workplace culture, and proving that kindness is not weakness when paired with clarity, accountability, and courage.

Preauthorizations: Are They Just Predenials in Disguise?

Brenda J. McNulty
DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting

“But you told me my insurance approved it!” If you’ve worked in a dental office long enough, chances are you’ve heard those words. Predeterminations and preauthorizations can be valuable tools, but they can also create a false sense of security for both patients and dental teams. An estimate of benefits today does not always equal payment when the claim is processed tomorrow.

In this practical, interactive course, we’ll take the confusion out of dental preauthorizations and predeterminations and examine what they really tell us—and, just as importantly, what they don’t.

Attendees will explore common reasons an anticipated insurance benefit may change, including eligibility, annual maximums, deductibles, frequency limitations, alternate benefits, plan exclusions, coordination of benefits, and other provisions that can affect final payment.

But understanding the insurance side is only half the battle. How your team communicates this information can be the difference between an informed patient and an angry one. We’ll discuss how to set realistic expectations without overwhelming patients with insurance jargon or unintentionally guaranteeing benefits. Through real-world scenarios, attendees will practice language for presenting estimates, discussing patient responsibility, responding when insurance pays differently than expected, and handling the inevitable “But you said it was covered!” conversation.

Office managers and practice administrators will also learn how to create consistent processes for documenting benefit information, communicating estimates, collecting patient portions, and training the entire team to deliver the same message.

Attendees will leave with practical strategies, communication tools, and systems they can immediately implement to reduce insurance misunderstandings, protect practice revenue, and create a better experience for both patients and team members.

Because “preauthorized” and “paid” are not always the same thing.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between preauthorizations, predeterminations, benefit estimates, and guarantees of payment.
• Identify common reasons final insurance payments differ from anticipated benefits.
• Apply patient-friendly language that sets realistic expectations and reduces insurance misunderstandings.
• Implement consistent office systems for documenting

Speaker

Brenda J. McNulty
DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting

Brenda McNulty is a nationally sought-after dental consultant, speaker, and owner of DSO FACTS and Root and Vine Specialty Dental Consulting. With more than 33 years of experience in clinical and business operations, she helps practices build stronger systems, develop confident leaders, and create cultures of accountability. Brenda is known for blending practical strategies, humor, and real-world experience into engaging sessions that inspire immediate action. She has presented at major dental conferences nationwide, is a 2026 Denobi award winner for her outstanding contributions in the field of dentistry and is the author of Smile On.

Creating a Culture that Counts

Carrie Webber
President & Owner - The Jameson Group

How do we successfully attract and keep a high performing team? By creating a work culture that allows them to thrive! In your fast paced dental practice, culture isn't just about soft skills—it directly dictates patient retention, clinical efficiency, and profit margins. A "culture that counts" anchors daily operations around shared accountability, a clear vision and clear core values.

Learning Objectives

• The six key pillars to creating a healthy practice culture.
• The top issues in team’s today and how to overcome them.
• Hiring and onboarding that sets employees up for success.
• How to successfully set expectations and establish your vision for your practice and team performance.
• Critical Communication Skills for leading and developing your team.

Speaker

Carrie Webber
President & Owner - The Jameson Group

Carrie Webber is president and owner of The Jameson Group, a dental management coaching & marketing firm that works with dental practices nationwide to help dentists and teams become more productive, more profitable and ultimately more fulfilled in their practicing lives. Carrie is a contributing author to several publications and blogs on the topics of dental management, leadership, marketing, customer service and business development as well as a popular speaker at dental meetings nationwide. She is a member of the Speaking Consulting Network and has been named a Leader in CE by Dentistry Today for the past seven years. For more information on Webber and her company, The Jameson Group, visit jmsn.com.

HIPAA & Cybersecurity for Dental Office Managers: Protecting Your Practice Every Day

Debi Carr
DK Carr and Associates LLC

Office managers play a critical role in protecting patient information and keeping the practice compliant.

This practical course provides a step-by-step approach to managing HIPAA Security Rule requirements while reducing the risk of cyberattacks, ransomware, and costly data breaches.

Participants will learn how to identify risks, work effectively with IT vendors, document required security activities, and build a culture of security throughout the practice. Using real-world dental scenarios and current OCR enforcement trends, attendees will leave with practical tools they can implement immediately.

Learning Objectives

• Understanding of the HIPAA Security Rule
• Review of the current cyber threat landscape
• Introduction of the Cyber Security Framework and how it meets HIPAA compliance.

Speaker

Debi Carr
DK Carr and Associates LLC

Debi Carr is recognized as a leader in Cyber Security and Compliance, a Speaker and a Consultant. Having over 30 years in healthcare and technology, she assists healthcare entities in obtaining and maintaining cyber security and HIPAA Security Rule compliance in their practices and assists doctors navigate through a ransomware and other cyber-attacks. Debi holds several internationally recognized certifications including a HealthCare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner by ISC2 as well as being certified by HIMSS as a Certified Associate Healthcare Information and Management Systems and is a member of AADOM, ADMC, HIMSS, ISC2, ISSAC, InfraGard, NSCHBC, and Women of Cyber Security.

Leading From Every Seat: How Dental Teams Strengthen, Support, and Unite for Practice Success

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA
Next Level to Success

A five-star dental practice is built on more than skill; it is built on a team that knows how to lead from where they are. Whether at the front, in the operatory, or supporting behind the scenes, every team member plays a vital role in shaping the patient experience, the culture, and the overall success of the practice.

This course empowers the entire dental team to step into leadership, strengthen collaboration, and create a unified environment where everyone feels valued and essential. Participants will explore what it means to lead without a title, elevate their professional presence, and take ownership of the impact they make each day. The course also addresses the mindset shift required to move beyond “just my job” thinking and into a deeper understanding of how each role influences patient trust, team morale, and the practice’s bottom line.

Through interactive discussion and workshop-style activities, attendees will learn practical strategies to support one another, elevate the patient experience, and cultivate a team-centered culture where unity, respect, and shared purpose drive daily success.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the leadership potential within every role and apply strategies to strengthen unity across the entire dental team.
• Demonstrate behaviors that support a team-centered culture, including accountability, respect, and shared ownership of the patient experience.
• Clarify the value and impact of each position front and back and understand how excellence plays a role in practice growth and patient loyalty.
• Apply mindset shifts that elevate professional presence, moving beyond “just my job” thinking to a deeper sense of purpose and contribution.
• Strengthen team cohesion through practical techniques that support collaboration, reduce friction, and create a more positive daily environment.
• Enhance patient interactions through authentic connection, reinforcing trust and long-term relationships with practice

Speaker

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA
Next Level to Success

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA, is a Customer Service Culture Consultant with a thriving business built around coaching, speaking, and hosting business wellness retreats, both inside and outside the dental industry. She started in the dental field in 1995, working in some of the top dental offices in Southern California, with roles including chairside assistant, inventory, and supply manager, team trainer, scheduling coordinator, financial coordinator, marketing liaison, community outreach, and front office lead.

Her work centers on creating a healthy culture, empowering team members, building leadership skills, implementing effective systems, and investing in the team so everyone grows together. She also helps professionals and organizations transform themselves from uncertain speakers into confident, compelling communicators who lead with clarity, purpose, and presence. And at the heart of it all is self-care because you can only give your best when you are your best.

She is passionate about customer service, team culture, and creating environments where people feel supported, organized, and empowered. Because when training begins in a structured yet warm space, results follow naturally.

Denise has designed continuing education courses for the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). She is a member of Speaking Consulting Network, having served as their ambassador for one year and won the 2020 Spotlight on Speaking competition, also held by Speaking Consulting Network. She consulted for the American Dental Association Dental Team Hub Advisory Group for Practice Management. Denise is also an Align Practice Management speaker for North America.

Through consulting, coaching, speaking, and retreats, she helps organizations and individuals improve relationships and communication with their team members, define core values, empower leadership, and foster the right culture with their clients, all while raising their bottom line.

What Happens Between the Policy and the Patient? Why Compliance Lives in the Workflow, Not the Binder

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC
Guess Compliance

Every dental practice has policies. The challenge is making sure those policies are consistently reflected in the way work is performed every day.

From scheduling appointments and verifying insurance to documenting treatment, communicating with patients, processing payments, and responding to records requests, every step in the patient journey depends on consistent operational processes. When those processes vary from one team member to another, compliance risk increases, patient experiences become inconsistent, and practice performance suffers.

This session introduces dental office managers and practice administrators to the Operational Compliance Framework, a practical framework that helps practices bridge the gap between written policies and the way work is performed every day. Rather than treating compliance as a separate administrative responsibility, attendees will learn how to recognize operational gaps before they become compliance issues, strengthen accountability across the team, improve workflow consistency, and create systems that support both patient care and regulatory expectations.

Participants will leave with practical strategies and a structured roadmap they can immediately use to evaluate their own workflows, identify opportunities for improvement, and build a practice where compliance becomes part of daily operations rather than another responsibility added to an already busy day.

Learning Objectives

• Identify workflow inconsistencies that increase compliance risk in a dental practice.
• Evaluate daily operations using the Operational Compliance Framework to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Apply practical strategies to strengthen accountability, workflow consistency, and team communication.
• Develop an action plan to improve one high-risk operational process that can be implemented.

Speaker

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC
Guess Compliance

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC is the founder of Guess Compliance Consulting LLC, where she works with small and mid-size healthcare organizations across the United States and Canada to build practical, defensible compliance systems that function inside real operational environments.

With more than a decade of experience in healthcare and regulatory compliance, Dr. Guess specializes in translating complex federal and provincial regulations into clear operational structures that support growth, reduce risk, and protect patient information. She holds dual certifications in Healthcare Compliance and Healthcare Privacy Compliance, and recently earned the AIP-HC designation as an AI Professional in Healthcare Compliance, reflecting her expertise at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare governance.

Her work spans HIPAA privacy and security compliance, Canadian frameworks including PHIPA and PIPEDA, business associate and vendor oversight, risk assessments, audit readiness, AI governance advisory, and operational compliance for growing healthcare teams. She works closely with organizations to evaluate how patient information moves through their systems, identify compliance gaps, and strengthen safeguards across workflows, workforce practices, and technology platforms.

Dr. Guess is the host of Guess What? Compliance Can Be Simple! A podcast built for practice managers and healthcare leaders who need practical compliance guidance without legal jargon. She has been featured as a guest on the Medcurity Podcast and has upcoming appearances on several other healthcare podcasts and is a recognized voice in healthcare compliance for independent and group practices.

She is known for a clear, practical, and non-fear-based approach that allows healthcare organizations to meet regulatory expectations while remaining focused on patient care.

Leading Together: The Doctor–Office Manager Partnership That Drives Practice Growth

Joanne Miles, DAADOM, RDA
Senior Investment Grade Practice Business Advisor - Productive Dentist Academy

The most successful dental practices aren't built by great doctors or exceptional office managers alone, they're built through a strong leadership partnership between the two.

When doctors and office managers operate with shared expectations, mutual trust, clearly defined roles, and consistent communication, the entire practice benefits. Team accountability improves. Decisions are made with greater confidence. Change is implemented more effectively. Most importantly, the practice is positioned for sustainable growth.

Unfortunately, many leadership teams unintentionally work in parallel rather than in partnership.

Misaligned priorities, unclear responsibilities, and inconsistent communication often create frustration, slow decision-making, and place unnecessary stress on the entire team.

In this engaging and practical session, participants will discover the essential elements of a highperforming Doctor–Office Manager partnership and learn how to create a leadership model built on trust, accountability, shared ownership, and strategic alignment. Through real-world examples and actionable tools, attendees will leave with a framework they can immediately apply to strengthen their leadership relationship, elevate team performance, and drive long-term practice success.

Learning Objectives

• Define the distinct yet complementary leadership roles of the doctor and office manager within a high-performing practice.
• Identify common sources of misalignment that create frustration, reduce accountability, and hinder practice growth.
• Apply communication strategies that strengthen trust, improve decision-making, and create greater leadership alignment.
• Develop clear expectations, ownership, and accountability between the doctor and office manager to support consistent leadership.
• Evaluate opportunities to transition from reactive daily management to proactive strategic leadership.
• Create an action plan to strengthen the Doctor–Office Manager partnership and improve team engagement, operational performance, and practice growth.

Speaker

Joanne Miles, DAADOM, RDA
Senior Investment Grade Practice Business Advisor - Productive Dentist Academy

Joanne Miles is a dynamic force in dental practice growth, often described as the “Swiss Army knife of dentistry” for her versatile expertise and innovative solutions. With decades of experience helping practices nationwide, Joanne has mastered the art of guiding dental teams toward success, whether they’re launching a start-up or scaling a multi-practice organization.

Joanne is passionate about transforming dental practices by focusing on the pillars of success: team engagement, patient experience, leadership development, and operational excellence. Her proven methods empower dentists and their teams to grow with confidence, staying aligned with their core values and purpose.

A champion for elevating others, Joanne believes that the most successful practices thrive not only on numbers but on meaningful connections and a commitment to excellence.

Beyond Unled: Turning Potential Into Performance

Tito Albino, EFDA, DAADOM

Recognizing that our team members aren’t necessarily lazy, but may be lacking effective leadership, is only the beginning. The real challenge is understanding what to do next.

In this engaging and interactive continuation of They’re Not Lazy, They’re Unled, attendees will move beyond identifying leadership challenges and learn how to address them through practical coaching techniques, meaningful communication, and consistent accountability.

At the heart of this course is the U.N.L.E.D. Leadership Framework, a five-step approach designed to help dental leaders turn everyday workplace frustrations into opportunities for employee development, stronger relationships, and improved team performance.

Introducing the U.N.L.E.D. Leadership Framework

Throughout the presentation, attendees will explore and apply five essential leadership principles:

U — Understand Before You Assume
Learn to identify the root causes of disengagement and underperformance rather than immediately labeling employees as lazy, difficult, or unmotivated.

N — Name the Expectation
Discover how to eliminate confusion by establishing clear, measurable expectations that create alignment and ownership.

L — Link Behavior to Impact
Learn how to help team members understand the connection between their individual actions, patient experiences, team dynamics, and overall practice success.

E — Equip Them to Succeed
Explore practical coaching, mentorship, communication, and development strategies that give employees the tools and confidence to meet expectations.

D — Drive Accountability
Learn to establish consistent accountability without micromanagement, creating a culture where team members take responsibility for their performance and professional growth.

Rather than simply presenting these concepts, we will break down each component through relatable dental practice scenarios, interactive exercises, and practical applications.

Learning Objectives

• Identify underlying performance barriers by using the U.N.L.E.D. Leadership Framework to distinguish between employee skill gaps, unclear expectations, disengagement, and leadership breakdowns.
• Implement effective coaching and communication strategies that establish clear expectations, connect individual behaviors to practice outcomes, and equip employees with the support necessary to succeed.
• Apply practical accountability techniques that encourage employee ownership, improve team performance, and foster a sustainable culture of engagement and professional development.

Speaker

Tito Albino, EFDA, DAADOM

Tito Albino’s journey from humble beginnings in North Philadelphia to a respected leader in dental practice management is rooted in resilience, passion, and perseverance. Beginning his career as a medical assistant, Tito soon discovered his passion for dentistry and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Over the past 16 years, he has served in clinical and administrative roles across community health centers, corporate dentistry, university faculty practices, and private practice. His experience as a dental assistant, clinical coordinator, and office manager helped him discover his true passion: leading teams, creating strong practice cultures, and supporting exceptional patient care.

In 2024, Tito was named AADOM Office Manager of the Year. In 2026, he achieved Diplomate status (DAADOM), reflecting his continued commitment to education, leadership, and the dental practice management profession. Known for building thriving teams, streamlining systems, and encouraging professional growth, Tito brings practical experience and a personal approach to helping others lead with confidence and purpose.

Beyond dentistry, Tito is the founder and owner of Urban Raíces by Plant Papi, established in 2024. Through this venture, he celebrates his Puerto Rican heritage while sharing his love of plants and community. Caring for plants has also deepened his understanding of dental leadership: growth takes patience, consistent care, and an environment suited to individual needs. He brings those lessons into the practice, recognizing that each team member needs different support to thrive. Whether managing a practice, speaking to fellow leaders, or growing his business, Tito remains grounded in the importance of connection, creating opportunities, and lifting others as he grows.

The 12 Muscle Groups of a High-Performing Dental Practice

Kelley Johnson
Core Dental Solutions LLC

After more than two decades inside dental practices, I've learned that struggling offices rarely have just one problem. What appears to be an insurance issue is often a communication issue. What looks like poor collections usually begins with treatment planning. Staff turnover often has less to do with people in some cases and more to do with unclear systems and inconsistent leadership. This course at a minimum makes it easy to know what you are dealing with in your practice and what to do about it.

The mistake I see practices make over and over is treating symptoms instead of diagnosing the root cause.

That realization led me to develop the 12 Muscle Groups of Practice Management —a framework built from years of working alongside doctors, office managers, and teams through ownership transitions, staffing shortages, financial challenges, rapid growth, technology conversions, and operational turnarounds.

I don't walk into an office looking for what's broken. I evaluate how every operational muscle is functioning and, more importantly, how each one supports—or weakens—the next. Just like the human body, when one muscle group compensates for another, the entire system eventually feels the strain. I've watched exceptional employees burn out because they were carrying the weight of weak systems. I've seen offices blame insurance companies when the real issue was inconsistent financial protocols or sticking to the protocols altogether. I've worked with practices convinced they needed more patients when the data showed they were simply losing opportunities they already had.

The strongest practices I've worked with don't succeed because they have fewer problems. They succeed because every operational muscle has a clear purpose, an owner, measurable expectations, and systems that continue working even when key team members are absent.

In this interactive session, I'll show attendees exactly how I evaluate a practice using the same framework I use during consulting engagements. Participants will identify which muscle groups are limiting their practice's growth, understand how weaknesses in one area create problems somewhere else, and learn how to prioritize improvements that create momentum instead of overwhelm.

Learning Objectives

• Evaluate their practice using the 12 Muscle Groups framework to identify the operational weaknesses that are limiting performance.
• Recognize how challenges in scheduling, insurance, collections, leadership, communication, patient experience, and accountability are interconnected rather than isolated issues.
• Prioritize improvements based on operational impact instead of urgency, creating meaningful change without overwhelming their team.
• Develop a focused 90-day action plan using proven strategies and real-world consulting insights.
• Attendees won't leave with a list of generic ideas—they'll leave thinking differently about how a practice functions. They'll have a practical assessment tool, a new lens for solving problems, and a roadmap they can begin implementing as soon as they return to their office.

Speaker

Kelley Johnson
Core Dental Solutions LLC

Kelley Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Core Dental Solutions LLC, where she helps dental practices strengthen operations, improve profitability, and build high-performing teams. With more than 25 years of experience in dental practice management, technology, and consulting, Kelley has guided more than 500 practices through operational challenges, growth, and change. She is the creator of the 12 Muscle Groups™ of Practice Management and The Practice MRI™, two proprietary frameworks that help leaders diagnose root causes and build lasting systems. Kelley is known for delivering practical, engaging education that attendees can implement immediately in their own practices.

The Great Delegation Challenge: Letting Go So Others Can Grow

Bonnie Thompson

Great delegation isn't about doing less. It's about developing people who are capable of doing more. Many leaders struggle with delegation, not because they don't trust their teams, but because they're accustomed to being the person everyone relies on. While taking on more responsibilities may feel productive, it can eventually lead to burnout, create bottlenecks, and unintentionally limit the growth of others.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common barriers to delegation, including the desire for control, fear of mistakes, and the belief that doing it yourself is more efficient.
• Evaluate responsibilities and opportunities for delegation by recognizing which tasks can support team development and which require direct leadership involvement.
• Apply effective delegation strategies that establish clear expectations, provide appropriate training and support, and encourage ownership without micromanaging.
• Differentiate between coaching and taking control, recognizing when team members need additional guidance and when they need the opportunity to work independently.
• Develop an actionable delegation plan that strengthens team accountability, builds confidence, and creates opportunities for professional growth.

Speaker

Bonnie Thompson

Bonnie Thompson is a dental operations executive, leadership mentor, and speaker with more than 35 years of experience in dentistry. Her career has spanned nearly every role within a dental practice, from dental assisting and office management to Chief Operating Officer. Recognized as one of the Top Operations Leaders in Group Dentistry in 2025, Bonnie is passionate about developing confident leaders, strengthening workplace culture, and proving that kindness is not weakness when paired with clarity, accountability, and courage.

Lost In The Noise

Brandy Trout, DSL
From Good To Grace Training & Development

Dental practices communicate all day long, yet managers still hear, “Nobody told me,” “I didn't know,” or “When was that decided?” The problem is not always too little communication. Often, teams are communicating constantly but without enough structure to create clarity, connection, or accountability.

Morning huddles become problem-solving sessions. Team meetings become announcement lists.

Managers repeat the same information in multiple conversations. Important decisions disappear into group messages, while issues that require meaningful conversation are reduced to emails or texts.

Somewhere in all that communication, teams get lost in the noise.

This interactive session helps dental practice managers move from constant communication to intentional communication by creating a structured Communication Rhythm™. Attendees will evaluate communication through four practical questions: PURPOSE, PLACE, PEOPLE, and CADENCE.

Participants will apply the framework to real-world dental practice scenarios and determine what belongs in a daily huddle, one-on-one, leadership meeting, team meeting, or written communication. They will also examine how meeting structure can improve clarity, ownership, and follow-through.

Drawing from multi-location dental leadership experience and doctoral research examining strategic leadership and employee engagement, this course connects communication consistency with team alignment, psychological safety, and accountability.

Attendees will leave with a customized communication rhythm they can begin implementing immediately within their practices.

Learning Objectives

• Identify communication habits that contribute to confusion, interruptions, and inconsistent accountability.
• Apply the Communication Rhythm™ using PURPOSE, PLACE, PEOPLE, and CADENCE.
• Differentiate communication appropriate for huddles, one-on-ones, leadership meetings, team meetings, and written communication.
• Design a practical communication rhythm that improves clarity, ownership, and follow-through.

Speaker

Brandy Trout, DSL
From Good To Grace Training & Development

Dr. Brandy Trout is an educator, speaker, author, and dental practice executive with 17+ years of experience leading teams within a multi-location dental organization. She holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership and is a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, Maxwell-certified speaker, and MAADOM. Her doctoral research explored how strategic leadership practices influence employee engagement and retention in healthcare organizations. Brandy is founder of From Good To Grace Training & Development and author of The Conference Companion and Grace Over Perfection. Through practical frameworks, research-informed strategies, and real-world experience, she helps leaders build stronger teams, create accountability, and lead with greater intention. FromGoodToGrace.com

Energy & Productivity Vampires in Your Practice and How to Overcome Them

Carrie Webber
President & Owner - The Jameson Group

Join Carrie as she shares five of the most common productivity and energy obstacles that face dental practices nationwide. Carrie will guide you through ways to begin effectively overcoming these ‘vampires’ today!

From case presentation systems to time management procedures, Carrie will cover some of the most frequent gaps in practices that cause pain and frustration. She will also provide clear direction for a brighter future.

Learning Objectives

• DISCOVER their personal ‘vampires’ and the skills to combat them effectively
• ESTABLISH a system of time management to maximize both time and talent
• DEVELOP the systems and strategies needed in the practice to increase productivity and profitability

Speaker

Carrie Webber
President & Owner - The Jameson Group

Carrie Webber is president and owner of The Jameson Group, a dental management coaching & marketing firm that works with dental practices nationwide to help dentists and teams become more productive, more profitable and ultimately more fulfilled in their practicing lives. Carrie is a contributing author to several publications and blogs on the topics of dental management, leadership, marketing, customer service and business development as well as a popular speaker at dental meetings nationwide. She is a member of the Speaking Consulting Network and has been named a Leader in CE by Dentistry Today for the past seven years. For more information on Webber and her company, The Jameson Group, visit jmsn.com.

Confidence Is Contagious: How Powerful Speaking Elevates Your Brand and Your Bottom Line

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA
Next Level to Success

In dentistry, confidence is more than a feeling; it is an invisible force that shapes trust, influences treatment acceptance, and elevates the patient’s experience long before a single clinical step is taken. The moment you walk into the room, your brand is already speaking. The question is: What is it saying? This course teaches dental professionals how to communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose in every interaction from patient conversations to team leadership to community presence. Participants will learn how to shape their message, simplify their story, and speak in a way that feels aligned, authentic, powerful, confident, and never arrogant.

Through interactive exercises and real world scenarios, attendees will explore how confident communication strengthens patient trust, reduces anxiety, improves case acceptance, and enhances the overall culture of the practice. They will also learn how to use self awareness and authentic storytelling to communicate not only what they do, but why it matters to the patient, the team, and the practice’s bottom line.

This course empowers dental professionals to elevate their leadership presence, strengthen team dynamics, and step into their next level with clarity, conviction, and confidence.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize how personal presence and confidence influence patient trust, treatment acceptance, and the overall patient experience.
• Apply techniques to communicate with clarity and purpose, reducing confusion and increasing patient understanding.
• Use authentic storytelling to explain clinical recommendations in a relatable, meaningful way.
• Demonstrate leadership behaviors through confident communication, supporting stronger team culture and collaboration.
• Identify and adjust communication habits that may unintentionally create patient hesitation or team disconnect.
• Articulate the practice’s value and mission in a way that elevates the brand and supports practice growth.

Speaker

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA
Next Level to Success

Denise Williams-Jones, RDA, is a Customer Service Culture Consultant with a thriving business built around coaching, speaking, and hosting business wellness retreats, both inside and outside the dental industry. She started in the dental field in 1995, working in some of the top dental offices in Southern California, with roles including chairside assistant, inventory, and supply manager, team trainer, scheduling coordinator, financial coordinator, marketing liaison, community outreach, and front office lead.

Her work centers on creating a healthy culture, empowering team members, building leadership skills, implementing effective systems, and investing in the team so everyone grows together. She also helps professionals and organizations transform themselves from uncertain speakers into confident, compelling communicators who lead with clarity, purpose, and presence. And at the heart of it all is self-care because you can only give your best when you are your best.

She is passionate about customer service, team culture, and creating environments where people feel supported, organized, and empowered. Because when training begins in a structured yet warm space, results follow naturally.

Denise has designed continuing education courses for the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). She is a member of Speaking Consulting Network, having served as their ambassador for one year and won the 2020 Spotlight on Speaking competition, also held by Speaking Consulting Network. She consulted for the American Dental Association Dental Team Hub Advisory Group for Practice Management. Denise is also an Align Practice Management speaker for North America.

Through consulting, coaching, speaking, and retreats, she helps organizations and individuals improve relationships and communication with their team members, define core values, empower leadership, and foster the right culture with their clients, all while raising their bottom line.

Meet Your Perfect Self: Justifications for EVERYTHING You Do

Dr. Emily Letran
President - Exceptional Leverage Inc.

What if the key to building a more productive, engaged, and successful dental team is not asking people to work harder—but helping them understand how they naturally work best?

This is an interactive leadership, productivity, and team-development program designed for dentists, practice leaders, managers, and dental teams who want to improve performance while reducing unnecessary stress and workplace friction.

Led by Dr. Emily Letran, DDS, MS, CHPC, the course combines practical high-performance strategies with the principles of the Kolbe A™ Index to help participants better understand themselves, recognize the natural strengths of others, improve communication, align people with appropriate responsibilities, and create stronger team chemistry.

The program begins with six High Performance Strategies—Clarity, Energy, Productivity, Influence, Necessity, and Courage—and then moves into a deeper exploration of the instinctive ways people take action, solve problems, make decisions, organize information, respond to uncertainty, and get things done.

The central message is simple: You do not build a great team by making everyone work the same way. You build a great team by understanding individual strengths and learning how to make those differences work together.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the values and goals that matter most.
• Evaluate whether daily actions are aligned with those priorities.
• Recognize that natural strengths are different from intelligence, personality, skills, and motivation.
• Understand the four Kolbe Action Modes: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementor.
• Learn the natural strengths represented across the team.
• Adapt communication when working with someone whose natural method differs from your own.
• Use strengths awareness in onboarding, coaching, performance conversations, role design, and career planning.

Speaker

Dr. Emily Letran
President - Exceptional Leverage Inc.

Dr Emily Letran is a serial entrepreneur, CEO of multiple dental practices, and private coach to many professionals. As an international speaker, she has been on TEDx and shared stages with countless business leaders including Sharon Lechter (Co-Author Rich Dad Poor Dad), Dan Clark (Hall of Fame Speaker), Dr. Howard Farran (Dental Town), and Linda Miles (The Ultimate Mentor of Dentistry). She has been featured on Dental Town , The Profitable Dentist, Global Woman, See Beyond magazines, and mentioned on Yahoo!Finance, Forbes, Medium, USA Today, and FOX. She is a contributing writer for Dental IQ, DrBicuspid.com, and Dentistry Today. Dr Letran is the author of several books, the Founder of the non-profit Smile Champions, and the Founder of Exceptional Leverage Inc., a coaching and consulting firm. She hosts her signature events, ACTION To WIN seminar, in several countries, and shares her expertise in personal growth and business management through her ACTION To WIN Academy programs.

Dr. Letran received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from UC Riverside (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in three years. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Dentistry (Dean’s Apollonian Scholarship) Class of 1993 and received her Master of Science in Oral Biology from UCLA during the same four years.

As a mother of three, Dr. Letran creatively balances work, family life, after-school life and her personal life as a growing entrepreneur. She continuously takes courses to improve her skills to better serve her clients. She is dedicated in helping business professionals maximize their potential in personal and business life, streamline business and increase profits, winning back time from work so they can enjoy that time with their family, children and pursue their passion. She truly believes we should always be the best version of ourselves.

Dr. Emily Letran is a Certified High Performance Coach, Certified Kolbe Consultant, and a member of Forbes Coaches Council.

Your Team Is Already Using AI. The Question Is Whether You're Leading It.

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC
Guess Compliance Consulting LLC

Artificial intelligence is already finding its way into dental practices, often without leadership realizing it.

Employees are using AI to draft emails, create patient education materials, summarize information, improve administrative tasks, and increase efficiency. In many cases, these tools are introduced one employee at a time, long before a practice has established expectations for their appropriate use.

The question is no longer whether AI will be used in your practice. The question is whether your practice is prepared to lead it responsibly.

This session provides dental office managers and practice administrators with a practical approach to AI governance that balances innovation with patient privacy, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance.

Rather than focusing on the technology itself, attendees will learn how to recognize where AI is already being used, identify potential operational and compliance risks, establish clear expectations for staff, and create practical governance processes that support responsible AI adoption.

Participants will also learn how to evaluate AI tools before they are introduced into the practice, engage their teams in responsible AI use, and build a culture where innovation and accountability work together.

Attendees will leave with practical strategies they can immediately implement to confidently lead AI adoption, strengthen operational oversight, and help their practice embrace emerging technology while protecting patients, their teams, and the practice.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common ways artificial intelligence is already being used within dental practices.
• Evaluate operational, privacy, and compliance considerations before AI tools are introduced into daily workflows.
• Develop practical governance strategies that establish clear expectations, accountability, and oversight for AI use.
• Create an action plan to support responsible AI adoption while protecting patients, staff, and the practice.

Speaker

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC
Guess Compliance Consulting LLC

Dr. Natasha Guess, DLP, MSL, BS, CHC, CHPC, AIP-HC is the founder of Guess Compliance Consulting LLC, where she works with small and mid-size healthcare organizations across the United States and Canada to build practical, defensible compliance systems that function inside real operational environments.

With more than a decade of experience in healthcare and regulatory compliance, Dr. Guess specializes in translating complex federal and provincial regulations into clear operational structures that support growth, reduce risk, and protect patient information. She holds dual certifications in Healthcare Compliance and Healthcare Privacy Compliance, and recently earned the AIP-HC designation as an AI Professional in Healthcare Compliance, reflecting her expertise at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare governance.

Her work spans HIPAA privacy and security compliance, Canadian frameworks including PHIPA and PIPEDA, business associate and vendor oversight, risk assessments, audit readiness, AI governance advisory, and operational compliance for growing healthcare teams. She works closely with organizations to evaluate how patient information moves through their systems, identify compliance gaps, and strengthen safeguards across workflows, workforce practices, and technology platforms.

Dr. Guess is the host of Guess What? Compliance Can Be Simple! A podcast built for practice managers and healthcare leaders who need practical compliance guidance without legal jargon. She has been featured as a guest on the Medcurity Podcast and has upcoming appearances on several other healthcare podcasts and is a recognized voice in healthcare compliance for independent and group practices.

She is known for a clear, practical, and non-fear-based approach that allows healthcare organizations to meet regulatory expectations while remaining focused on patient care.

The Leadership Ripple Effect: What Your Team Learns From What You Allow, Address and Model

Sophia Dunkley
The Practice Navigator

Every leader creates a ripple.

What you address teaches your team what matters. What you avoid teaches them what they can ignore.

What you tolerate can quietly become the standard. And what you consistently model eventually becomes part of the culture.

The Leadership Ripple Effect examines how everyday leadership behaviors influence communication, accountability, trust, team alignment, and ultimately the patient experience. This interactive course moves beyond leadership theory and into the situations dental managers face every day: difficult conversations that keep getting postponed, inconsistent accountability, unclear expectations, conflicting messages between doctors and managers, and the pressure to lead effectively when stress is high.

Participants will examine the connection between how they lead and how their teams respond, including how communication, decision-making, emotional awareness, adaptability, conflict management, and accountability can strengthen or weaken team performance.

Through real-world dental scenarios, self-assessment, discussion, and practical coaching exercises, attendees will identify leadership patterns that may be creating unintended consequences and practice strategies for addressing performance, setting clearer expectations, navigating difficult conversations, and responding more intentionally under pressure.

Participants will leave with a Leadership Ripple Assessment and an actionable framework they can use with their teams to determine what needs to be addressed, reinforced, redirected, or no longer allowed.

Because your team isn't only listening to what you say. They're learning from what you consistently do.

Learning Objectives

• Trace the leadership ripple from leader behavior to team response, practice culture, patient experience, and practice performance.
• Recognize leadership patterns, including avoidance, inconsistency, unclear expectations, and stress responses, that can create unintended consequences throughout the practice.
• Apply practical coaching and communication strategies to address difficult conversations, performance concerns, conflict, and accountability more effectively.
• Use the Leadership Ripple framework to determine what behaviors need to be addressed, reinforced, redirected, or no longer allowed to create clearer expectations and stronger team alignment

Speaker

Sophia Dunkley
The Practice Navigator

Sophia Dunkley is an engaging speaker, coach, and consultant with 27+ years in dentistry. She brings a rare 360 degree perspective, spanning treatment coordination, operations, and team leadership, to elevate case acceptance, communication, and culture. As a certified Energy Leadership (ELI 360) professional with iPEC, Sophia blends mindset, leadership, and systems into practical frameworks that drive transformation, results and sustained performance. She specializes in high-value case acceptance, implant arch, and new patient journeys. Partnering with private practices and DSOs nationwide, she's a featured speaker at AADOM and the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. Her guiding philosophy: making a stranger a friend.

The Coaching Advantage: How Great Leaders Develop People Who Think for Themselves, Uphold High Standards, and Produce Amazing Results

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP
LionSpeak

What if the key to a stronger, more accountable team isn’t managing or supervising people more closely—but coaching them more effectively?

Too often, leaders spend their days answering questions, solving problems, correcting mistakes, and reminding people what needs to be done. While that may get results in the moment, it can unintentionally create teams that rely too heavily on their leaders instead of learning to think critically, take ownership, and solve problems independently.

In this engaging and practical program, Katherine Eitel Belt shares powerful coaching strategies for developing capable, confident team members who take greater responsibility for their performance and results. Attendees will learn how to shift from simply supervising work to strategically coaching people—asking better questions, creating clarity and alignment, strengthening accountability, and helping employees discover their own solutions.

The result? Less rescuing and reminding for leaders—and more ownership, initiative, confidence, and results from the people they lead.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between supervising, managing, and coaching, and identify when a coaching approach will more effectively develop employee ownership and performance.
• Demonstrate strategic questioning and listening techniques that help team members think critically, solve problems, and develop their own effective solutions.
• Apply a practical coaching framework to create greater clarity, alignment, accountability, and measurable performance improvement within their teams.

Speaker

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP
LionSpeak

Katherine Eitel Belt, CSP, Dentistry’s Unscripted Leadership Communication Coach, is a globally recognized expert in leadership communication. For over 35 years, she has helped hundreds of organizations—including Procter & Gamble, Care Credit, and Henry Schein—build aligned, accountable, high‑performing teams. As one of 17% of speakers worldwide to earn the CSP designation, Katherine is a trusted voice featured on major podcasts, in the documentary Women Shaping Dentistry Tomorrow, and on the cover of Dental Entrepreneur Women Magazine. Her upcoming book, Lead Yourself, Lead Your Team, equips leaders to transform team performance through her Leadership Conversation Trifecta and A.R.C.H. Framework.

Don't Let the Bot Have All The Personality: The Patient Communication Program

Penny Reed
Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer

Most patients welcome AI in their dental experience, as long as it feels personal. Virtual receptionists, automated confirmations, and AI-driven recall are now everyday tools. What sets a practice apart is the moment technology hands off to a human being. This program gives office managers and their frontoffice teams the communication skills and brand-voice consistency that turn automated touchpoints into lasting patient relationships. In a high-tech practice, your team's warmth matters more than ever.

In this session, office managers learn to map every patient touchpoint and decide where AI serves beautifully and where a human voice matters most. They build warm-transfer language that keeps each conversation feeling seamless, and they audit their brand voice across phone, text, and email so every channel sounds like the practice patients already trust. Real examples and ready-to-use scripts make it simple to put these ideas to work the very next morning, while a clear framework keeps the whole team consistent as new tools arrive.

Your AI can book the appointment. Your team earns the loyalty. Both matter, and only one is irreplaceable.

Learning Objectives

• Map every patient touchpoint and assign AI versus human responsibility
• Write warm-transfer language that keeps every conversation seamless
• Audit your brand voice across all channels for consistency and warmth
• Apply a communication framework that sets you apart from practices using identical tools

Speaker

Penny Reed
Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer

Penny Reed is the Founder and President of Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer, providing fractional growth strategy, advisory services, and training to practice owners and leaders in the dental profession. With more than 30 years of experience, she brings a behavior-based approach shaped by her background as a certified behavioral consultant with the Institute for Motivational Living and a former Dale Carnegie trainer. A former dental office manager, Penny serves on faculty for the Nash Institute for Dental Learning, is a Dentistry Today Leader in Dental Consulting, and the author of Growing Your Dental Business. She is known for delivering practical, engaging programs on leadership, culture, and communication.

CLOSING KEYNOTE

A Culture Program with an Angry Puppet Featuring The Bitter Baby®

Penny Reed
Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer

Culture starts in the mind long before it shows up in the schedule. Meet The Bitter Baby®, a lovably grumpy puppet who gives voice to the stuck, "why-bother" mindset that quietly visits every one of us.

When your team can name that voice and laugh at it together, real change begins.

They learn to catch a negative mindset early, choose a growth mindset on purpose, and carry that fresh energy into every patient, every huddle, and every change. Behind the fun sits a practical, measurable framework for building the one thing systems alone cannot create: a team that shows up ready to grow.

In this session, your office managers discover why mindset is the quiet engine behind culture, and they gain simple tools to shift it on purpose. They practice naming The Bitter Baby® moment out loud, replacing a limiting belief with a growth-minded response, and coaching one another through change with warmth and humor. They leave with daily habits of appreciation and coachability that keep the whole team encouraged, resilient, and ready for whatever the day brings. Best of all, it is memorable, so your team puts it to work the very next morning.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize The Bitter Baby® mindset the moment it appears, in yourself and in one another
• Discover how a growth mindset turns everyday challenges into momentum
• Master the inner shift that moves a team from resistant to receptive
• Build daily habits of appreciation and coachability that keep a positive mindset alive

Speaker

Penny Reed
Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer

Penny Reed is the Founder and President of Penny Reed – Dental Growth Officer, providing fractional growth strategy, advisory services, and training to practice owners and leaders in the dental profession. With more than 30 years of experience, she brings a behavior-based approach shaped by her background as a certified behavioral consultant with the Institute for Motivational Living and a former Dale Carnegie trainer. A former dental office manager, Penny serves on faculty for the Nash Institute for Dental Learning, is a Dentistry Today Leader in Dental Consulting, and the author of Growing Your Dental Business. She is known for delivering practical, engaging programs on leadership, culture, and communication.