Become a Dental Consultant

The path to becoming a consultant

If you’ve been working in dentistry for a while, it might be time to share your expertise with others as a consultant. Dental consultants come from a variety of backgrounds, including clinical and management roles. Let’s take a look at the position and how we can help you make the transition.

Dental consultant skills

Your value is your expertise, your experience, and your ability to help others benefit from everything you know. Not only do dental consultants need to be knowledgeable about specific clinical or operational matters in the dental office, but they also need to have strong writing and speaking skills to prepare plans and present to clients. This means you need a strong track record in successfully managing dental office operations. You need to be extremely organized, easy to work with, and passionate about helping others. Other essential qualities include being a problem solver and strategic thinker. The recommendations you make will have a long-term impact on the people and practices you work with during your career as a dental consultant.

Dental consultant job description

Dental consultants might also be called practice management consultants. They help dental offices improve their business and operations by providing advice and guidance on a variety of topics including office management, human resources, insurance, billing, marketing and more. Consultants can work for a dental consulting practice, or they may decide to start their own consulting company. Independent consultants may specialize in specific areas, such as dental office management, dental infection control, dental ergonomics, marketing or human resources, for example. The kind of work you do can vary widely. You could be brought in to help get a new practice off the ground. Or a dental office might have a specific challenge they need you to solve. Or you may be hired to help a practice grow or successfully implement new technology or processes. Many dental consultants are also speakers at dental conferences and meetings.

Dental consultant salary

Dental consultant salaries can vary significantly, depending on your level of experience and where you work. Some dental consultants earn about $50,000 annually, while others can earn in the six figures each year, if you work with large companies or big clients and have sought-after expertise. Whether you work full- or part-time also will make a difference in your earnings.

Dental consultant training

To become a dental consultant, having dental office-management experience is essential. You’ll also want to have specific knowledge, skills and experience in your area of expertise. A degree in business or operations may be useful, and you should consider joining the American Association of Dental Office Management (AADOM) Speaker/Consultant Alliance (ASCA) to connect with others who have made this career move.

How we can help

We offer several courses and certificate programs that can help put you on the path to becoming a dental consultant. Learn more about our dental office manager course offerings or our Dental Infection Prevention and Control Certificate.

Office Management Courses

Infection Control Certificate