Finding good people in dentistry is hard right now. Keeping them is harder. And according to Alan Twigg of Bent Erickson & Associates, the dental practices that struggle most with both problems usually share a common thread: They don't have a system.
In Part 3 of DrBicuspid's podcast series on the dental practice employee life cycle, Twigg joins Editor-in-Chief Kevin Henry to walk through the recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process from the ground up, with specific, actionable advice for practices navigating a tight labor market that isn't easing anytime soon.
Twigg opens with a concept he calls the unique employment proposition, or UEP. UEP is the dental equivalent of a unique selling proposition, but it's aimed at prospective employees rather than patients.
In a market where your ideal candidate is already employed elsewhere, the question isn't just whether they'll apply. It's whether your practice is compelling enough to make them want to leave their current job. The answer, Twigg argues, has almost nothing to do with wages but everything to do with culture, values, and what it actually feels like to work in your office.
For practices hiring candidates outside of dentistry, his caution is equally direct: Be honest with yourself about whether your team has the capacity to train someone from scratch. Underestimating that investment is one of the most common and costly hiring mistakes he sees.
The episode also addresses two emerging issues reshaping how practices screen candidates. The first is AI-generated cover letters and resumes, which are polished, keyword-optimized, and written by ChatGPT rather than the applicant. The second issue is AI-powered screening tools that filter candidates automatically, which carry real legal risks, including an active age discrimination lawsuit against Workday, one of the most widely used platforms.
On interviewing, Twigg makes the case for asking behavior-based questions -- at minimum, these questions should comprise 60% of an interview -- and explains why asking the same questions of every candidate isn't just best practice, it's a legal safeguard.
On conducting background and reference checks, he recommends two specific companies by name and offers a practical technique for getting former employers to give honest answers even when they'd rather stay quiet.
The episode closes with a reminder that onboarding -- real onboarding -- takes at least six months. Twigg also shares how clinicians can access resources from Bent Erickson & Associates, including an onboarding guide.
Listen to the full conversation below.
