Where Dental Practices Are Falling Short in 2026

In this episode of the Breath of Fresh Air Dental Podcast, Amanda and Sarah are diving into the places dental practices are falling short in 2026, and what stronger, more forward-thinking practices are doing instead.

Before jumping into the main topic, Amanda shares details about Practice Management Power Day, a mini conference happening in Denver this September for experienced practice managers and owners. With speakers like Teresa Duncan, Michelle Affinato, and several other industry leaders, the event will focus heavily on revenue cycle management, profit and loss, and practice leadership. Amanda also mentions the Dental Revenue Network meetup happening that Saturday, as well as the Dental Spouses in Business meetup the day before. Early bird pricing ends July 4th.

From there, Amanda and Sarah break down some of the biggest gaps they are seeing in dental practices today.

They start with one of the biggest misconceptions: being fully staffed does not mean being fully trained. They talk about the importance of regular training, cross-training, documentation, and SOPs, especially when so much front office knowledge lives inside one person’s head. Amanda shares how unexpected transitions in her own practice revealed just how important documented systems and logins really are.

They also discuss what happens when no one truly owns the numbers. From AR and outstanding claims to overdue hygiene and unscheduled treatment, practices need someone consistently reviewing reports, tracking trends, and communicating those numbers to the doctor or leadership team. Even a simple monthly spreadsheet can create accountability and help prevent bigger issues from being missed.

Of course, no 2026 dental conversation would be complete without AI. Amanda and Sarah talk about where AI absolutely belongs in dentistry, including insurance verification, claim status checks, data analysis, appeals, marketing support, and radiograph interpretation tools like Pearl. But they also share strong opinions on where AI falls short, especially when it starts replacing human communication and patient relationships.

Amanda shares her firsthand experience from working in a multi-generational dental practice that has been in town for over 50 years. She talks about how patient relationships, trust, and a truly thoughtful front office experience are still major differentiators. Sarah adds that the goal is not to avoid AI altogether, but to use it in the right places so the team has more time for the human touchpoints that actually matter.

The episode wraps with a reminder for practices to look at the entire patient experience from start to finish. From the first phone call to new patient forms, records, greetings, scheduling, treatment conversations, and follow-up, practices should ask: if you were a patient here, what would impress you?

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why “fully staffed” does not always mean fully trained
• The importance of SOPs, documentation, and cross-training
• Why doctors need visibility into what happens at the front desk
• Reports every dental practice should be reviewing regularly
• Why someone needs to own the numbers
• How AI can support revenue cycle management
• Where AI belongs in dentistry, and where it does not
• Why patient experience is becoming too transactional
• How human connection can become a major practice differentiator
• Why practices should evaluate the patient journey from start to finish

Mentioned in this episode:

• Practice Management Power Day in Denver
• Dental Revenue Network meetup
• Dental Spouses in Business meetup
• RevenueWell
• Pearl AI
• AR reports
• Outstanding claims reports
• Overdue hygiene reports
• Unscheduled treatment reports

Key takeaway:

The best dental practices in 2026 will not be the ones replacing people with technology. They will be the ones using technology wisely, training their teams well, watching their numbers closely, and creating patient experiences that still feel personal, thoughtful, and human.