patient coordinator

orthodontic assistant

pediatric dental assistant

dental assistant

surgical assistant

Specialty Dental Brands

I worked at Specialty Dental Brands for a short period (about two months) in an IT support capacity at the Nashville office. The environment can be fast-paced and time-sensitive, especially when systems impact daily operations.

In my experience, onboarding and training were limited, and there was not a clearly communicated “emergency” playbook for handling high-pressure incidents. I often relied on prior experience to make decisions under pressure rather than having a defined, documented procedure to follow for escalation, ownership, and approved workarounds.

From what I observed, IT service management processes (incident/problem/change management) did not feel consistently standardized or documented in the way I would expect in a mature ITSM/ITIL-aligned environment. This can lead to confusion during outages, inconsistent expectations, and avoidable friction across teams.

During my onboarding, I did not receive or sign an employee handbook/policy acknowledgment (at least not that I was made aware of or provided a copy of). I recommend new hires request the handbook and key policies in writing, keep copies, and confirm critical procedures early—especially escalation paths, purchasing/procurement rules, and what is considered an approved workaround during urgent issues.

My employment ended after an internal issue that was later framed primarily as an “honesty/trust” concern. I’m sharing my experience to help future employees protect themselves by getting policies in writing, documenting guidance, and asking for clear incident-handling expectations from day one.

A typical day as a Senior Director of Credentialing and Provider Relations involves balancing strategic oversight with hands‑on problem‑solving. My day usually includes reviewing credentialing workflows, addressing provider inquiries, meeting with cross‑functional teams, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. There’s a steady mix of operational responsibility and long‑term planning, which keeps the work both engaging and purposeful.
Over time, I’ve learned how critical it is to build streamlined processes, maintain strong relationships with providers, and lead teams through constant change. The role has strengthened my analytical thinking, negotiation skills, and ability to bring structure to complex, high‑stakes work.
Management has been supportive of new ideas and open to improving existing systems. There is a clear focus on accountability and results, paired with a willingness to collaborate and remove barriers when needed. The workplace culture encourages teamwork, transparency, and continuous improvement, which helps create an environment where people feel valued and heard.
The hardest part of the job is navigating tight timelines while ensuring accuracy and compliance—credentialing and provider relations leave very little room for error. Balancing regulatory requirements with operational demands can be challenging, especially during periods of rapid growth or change.
The most enjoyable part is seeing the direct impact of our work: improved provider satisfaction, smoother onboarding experiences, and stronger partnerships that ultimately benefit patient care. Leading a team that is dedicated, knowledgeable, and mission‑driven makes the work especially rewarding.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Great co-workers and supervisors. Exec team is approachable as well. They try to do corporate activities (lunches, dress-up days, ice cream or happy hour socials, celebrating milestones) every few months. The pay is pretty good as well. 
It is still in its infancy/toddler stage as a company and rapidly growing. This could be a good or bad thing, as some processes and points of contact that you would normally know in the role are not set up or are unclear. So there is an opportunity to establish more efficient processes or improve the ones that exist.   

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The super fast growth was stressful last year. Luckily it has slowed so everyone can give the practices and their own roles the attention needed. And like any company with such growth and investors means change is likely coming. And that change usually means a buyout and/or layoffs. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Great environment and culture for the most part. Most departments have hybrid work schedules. The office is rarely full. The execs are usually there every day and are approachable. Though their offices have glass walls and doors, so there is no privacy! It is an open warehouse without cubicles, so it can be noisy at times. And there aren't many conference rooms available so if your team is large and needs to be in a conference room with video, it is often difficult to hear. Each desk/work station is fairly small with two monitors and everyone gets laptops (for the hybrid schedule).

With any position, there are tasks that need to get done each day. At H2 Orthodontics, there is a never-ending list of pointless things to be done each day. They do not want you work over 32 hours a week, but do not give you time to do it all. I was hired with experience, and paid the absolute minimum. They give raises that are basically a slap in the face. And for expecting so much from their employees, they are not flexible with time off at all. It’s nice having a 3 day weekend, but if you want any more time off, forget it. You may as well just call out. That they don’t seem to have a problem with. I found the main doctor to be quite condescending. He did not initiate a conversation with me ever, or even say hi in the morning. You might be acknowledged if you happen to make eye contact. A lot of the employees are very nice to work with, but management is not. The good days here are good, but unfortunately most of the days are bad. If you really need a job this workplace is tolerable, but if you are looking for room to grow and appreciation for hard work, this is not the place to be.

If you are someone who’s office has been recently acquired by SDB, now is a good time to start looking elsewhere for a new job. They say they aren’t going to change anything within the company and things will run completely the same, that is the furthest thing from what actually happened. After about 6 months, they slowly implemented change and after a year things look completely different. From a family friendly practice, to a place that is motivated by money…I hardly recognized the company I worked for before I left after 4 years. I am someone who is passionate about people and passionate about what I do. I feel like it’s important to make a difference, but the toxic work environment was not conducive to my mental health. Hated to leave the company behind and I do miss the patients I made genuine connections with.

Working at Specialty Dental Brands has been such a positive experience for me. From day one, I felt supported not only by my direct team but by leadership as well. There’s a strong focus on collaboration, growth, and making sure employees have the tools they need to succeed.

What really stands out is the culture—people genuinely care about each other and about providing great care to patients. Communication is clear, expectations are realistic, and hard work is recognized and appreciated. I’ve also had great opportunities to learn and grow professionally, which makes it feel like more than just a job.

If you're looking for a company that values its employees, encourages development, and creates a positive work environment, Specialty Dental Brands is a great place to be.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good people in the below the line positions.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not knowing when you will be laid off due to the financial position that the CEO and board of directors put the company in.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
culture is keep your head down and hope you don't get laid off. Environment is a 30" desk surrounded by other 30" desks unless you are a VP or higher.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
morning meeting, work at your desk until lunch, work at your desk until 5. Take whatever meetings required in between.

Company only cares about the quantity of patients they can bring in, not the quality of each visit. They push for more and more patients to be put on the schedule, promising bonuses for each day a certain “dollar amount” is reached, yet they have no staff to accommodate such a busy schedule, which in turn makes for a stressful and toxic work environment. No employee reviews/raises, as was talked about once they took over the office. Within one year of them taking over the company, all front desk workers quit. They promised no changes would be put in place once taking over the company, but that was absolutely false. 

I loved my office before SDB took over. After they took over they overworked everyone. Causing a full team of DAs who were all fully trained to leave the job. We were running on a skeleton crew and they were still demanding us to see even more patients than we did before everyone left. They promise better healthcare but gave us worse medical than what we had before they took over. Didn't ever give us our missing PTO after an issue with their timesheet and pay program they use. Don't work for an office under this company. They will drain you.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Patient coordinator 160 salaries reported	$20.60 per hour
Orthodontic assistant 129 salaries reported	$22.14 per hour
Pediatric dental assistant 113 salaries reported	$20.79 per hour
Dental assistant 59 salaries reported	$20.16 per hour
Surgical assistant 71 salaries reported	$21.07 per hour

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