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RevUp Dental
RevUp Dental
Is your dental practice stuck growing? It's not your dental skills holding you back, it's what's happening under the hood. RevUp shows you where you're losing patients and fixes it with proven systems, training and marketing that makes you money.
Blog By:
Nick Fotache
Nick Fotache

How to Find and Hire Amazing Dental Receptionists

6/16/2025 6:04:43 AM   |   Comments: 0   |   Views: 19
Why the Right Receptionist Matters
You might be the best dentist in your area: delivering exceptional care, mastering complex procedures, but long before a patient ever sits in your chair, their experience is shaped by your front desk.

Your receptionist is the first voice a patient hears, the first face they see, and often the last point of contact before they walk out the door. A rushed phone call, a cold tone, or even a moment of confusion can be enough to send them to another practice down the street. 

On the other hand, a receptionist who’s warm, confident, and genuinely helpful can completely change how a patient feels. They build trust. They set the tone. They make patients feel like they’re in the right place—before they’ve even met you.

This isn’t just about being polite, it’s about conversion. Practices with strong front desk staff consistently book 70–80% of their new patient leads. Those without? They often struggle to reach 30%.

Hiring the right receptionist it’s a growth strategy. The front desk directly impacts patient loyalty, treatment acceptance, and your revenue. 


The Struggle to Find Good Staff
For many dentists, hiring front desk staff is one of the most frustrating parts of running a practice. You post a job, review a stack of resumes that all start to blur together, and interview a few candidates who seem okay—but not great. Maybe you find someone who looks promising, but within a few months, they’re gone. Back to square one.

Senior team members might insist, “We need someone with dental experience,” but that experience doesn’t always guarantee a good fit. In some cases, it brings bad habits, rigid thinking, or attitudes that just don’t mesh with your culture.

After a while, it’s easy to start believing the problem is a lack of good people. But more often, the real issue isn’t the talent pool, it’s how and where you’re looking. Narrow job requirements, rushed hiring processes, and a focus on the wrong traits often filter out candidates who could’ve been exceptional with the right onboarding.


The Myth of “Dental Experience”
One of the biggest myths in dental hiring is the idea that your receptionist has to come from within the dental industry. 
On the surface, it makes sense, someone who already knows the software, understands insurance codes, and has worked in a clinic should be easier to train, right?

Not always.

In fact, some of the top-performing receptionists we’ve seen came from completely different industries: hospitality, retail, childcare, even fitness coaching. What made them successful wasn’t dental knowledge—it was their ability to connect with people. They were friendly, and knew how to make others feel heard and cared for.

The truth is, you can teach someone how to use Dentrix. You can train them to submit claims. But you can’t teach attitude. You can’t train someone to be naturally warm, emotionally intelligent, or genuinely invested in helping others. 

That’s why narrowing your search to “dental experience only” often means overlooking the best people for the job.

In the video below, you’ll see the experience of a practice owner who hired a receptionist from a different industry.




How to Craft a Job Post That Attracts the Right People
If you want to find great candidates, you need to write a job post that actually speaks to them. Most dental job ads are too vague, too clinical, or too focused on software requirements. They end up attracting the same narrow pool of applicants—and pushing away the high-potential people who could thrive with a bit of training.

Start by writing like a human, not a corporate template. Open with a short, clear summary of who you are, what kind of practice you run, and what kind of person you’re looking for—not just what they’ll do, but how they’ll show up. Friendly, calm under pressure, a great communicator—those are qualities that matter more than knowing a particular practice management system.

Be transparent about your expectations and what success in the role looks like. Will they be expected to follow up on treatment plans? Handle new patient calls? Manage last-minute cancellations? Spell that out.

Include a clear pay range, your office hours, and any benefits or perks you offer. It helps filter out mismatched applicants and saves everyone time. And if you’re open to hiring someone without dental experience (which you should be), say so—explicitly. Let them know you’ll train the right person, as long as they bring the right attitude.

Finally, don’t be afraid to inject a little personality into the post. If your office culture is warm, team-oriented, or high-energy, make that clear. The goal isn’t just to find someone who can do the job, it’s to attract someone who’s excited to be part of what you’re building.
If you want more help putting this into action, we’ve laid out our full 5-step hiring process in a free ebook. It includes real-world examples, templates, and the exact strategies top dental practices in North America use to attract, evaluate, and hire outstanding front desk staff—without wasting time or settling for the wrong fit.

Download the free guide here


A Simple Way to Filter Fast and Spot the Right Personality
When you’re flooded with applications, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and even easier to waste time interviewing the wrong people. One of the fastest, most effective ways to narrow your list is to ask applicants to submit a short video introduction. It doesn’t need to be polished or perfect, you’re not judging editing skills. What you are looking for is how they come across: Are they friendly? Confident? Clear in how they speak?

In just 60–90 seconds, you’ll get a much better sense of who they are than you ever could from a resume. You’ll see who follows instructions, who puts in the effort, and who already sounds like someone you'd want answering your phones. At the same time, it filters out candidates who aren’t comfortable with basic technology, can’t communicate professionally, or just aren’t serious about the role. It’s a simple ask, but it saves hours and helps you spot the kind of personality that patients will remember for all the right reasons.

Final Thoughts
Your dental receptionist plays a critical role in whether patients book, show up, and come back. A friendly voice on the phone, a calm presence during a busy day, and clear follow-ups on treatment can be the difference between growth and stagnation. 

Hiring someone with the right attitude, strong communication skills, and a willingness to learn matters more than whether they’ve worked in a dental office before. If you clearly define what the role involves, write a job post that reflects your culture, and screen for the traits that actually impact performance, you'll find better candidates and keep them longer.
 
Category: Marketing, Practice Management, HR and Accounting
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