dentist

dental hygienist

dental assistant

orthodontist

periodontist

The Smilist Dental

Working at The Smilist was a mixed experience that left me with valuable insights into the complexities of corporate-driven healthcare. While the company had some positives, such as the incredible team I worked with, the challenges outweighed the benefits, ultimately leading to my decision to leave.

One of the most difficult aspects of working at The Smilist was the intense focus on meeting monthly goals. These goals were not based on historical data or realistic expectations but seemed to be arbitrarily set by upper management. The pressure to achieve these numbers created a cycle of stress that trickled down to every level of the office. Providers, including doctors and hygienists, were often encouraged to over-diagnose conditions and recommend more expensive procedures than patients genuinely needed. This approach not only put undue pressure on the providers but also raised ethical concerns about patient care.

Adding to the stress was the company’s insistence on same-day treatments, regardless of the situation. For example, even when the schedule was fully booked, doctors were expected to accommodate non-urgent issues like slight pain or redoing dentures on the same day. This policy often left no room for rational scheduling, leading to chaotic days where the staff was stretched far too thin. Ironically, management would then criticize the office for a lack of patients on other days, ignoring the fact that cramming all treatments into a single day left little opportunity to spread appointments over time.

As a dental assistant, I am no stranger to fast-paced environments, but the pace at The Smilist was beyond what anyone could reasonably handle. The spontaneous addition of procedures gave us no time to prepare, making it impossible to maintain a sense of order. While I was fortunate to work with an experienced doctor who had over 10 years of dentistry under their belt, even our strong chemistry couldn’t shield us from the overwhelming workload. On particularly hectic days, we found ourselves barely managing to take a 20-minute lunch break.

The chaos was exacerbated by the company’s flawed incentive structure. The "monthly goal" system seemed disconnected from reality, as it was based solely on speculative data from regional managers. Each month, the goal would increase, regardless of past performance or actual patient demand. This unrealistic system created a vicious cycle: providers felt pressured to over-diagnose and over-treat, patients were rushed into same-day procedures, and the entire office endured heightened stress and disorganization. To make matters worse, the promised bonuses tied to these goals were rarely delivered, as the office often failed to meet the unattainable targets.

Despite these significant challenges, there was one bright spot: the incredible team I worked with. The staff at my office fostered a genuine sense of camaraderie and support. We had each other’s backs during the most stressful days, shared lunches, and maintained a family-like atmosphere. This strong team dynamic was the only reason I stayed as long as I did. Everyone was skilled, dedicated, and passionate about their work, which made it all the more frustrating to see their efforts undermined by the company’s unrealistic expectations.

Ultimately, I decided to leave The Smilist because I couldn’t reconcile my professional values with the company’s practices. While I appreciated the relationships I built with my colleagues, the constant stress, lack of proper scheduling, and questionable patient care standards made it impossible for me to stay.

If you’re considering working at The Smilist, I encourage you to go in with your eyes open. Be prepared for a high-pressure environment where corporate goals often take precedence over patient care and staff well-being. That said, if you find yourself in an office with a strong team dynamic, it can make a world of difference. I wish anyone who chooses to work here the best of luck—you’ll need it.

Smilist is constantly money hungry with no strong foundation in clinical dentistry. Expanding too quickly without ensuring quality care and only care about individual profit from employees. If you're good at scamming and gypping patients of their money then this would be the best practice for you to work in. Taking every penny out of each patient regardless of necessity is encouraged. 
Daily financial goals are for management to receive their bonuses. They do not care about patients but will promote as if they do-It's all a facade. They will have the best hard-working employees or have a great teamwork but will replace everyone even if you helped build up the practice, worked hard to contribute to their profits, have great rapport with patients or passionately care for the job.

Clinical staff are treated like robots. If your current task produces no immediate profit such as stocking up, auditing the schedule, cleaning/organizing the office, checking inventory, or doing recalls, etc. that equates to not working.

Excessive self-management in a chaotic and unsupportive environment.

Dentists barely have control and are directed by higher management. 

Does not address concerns from clinical staff

False Inducement of Employment/ Deceives and lies about terms of their employment on the job ad

Highly mismanaged above and at office; practice managers are overlooked and usually have no prior experience in management yet have too much power over an office to benefit themselves rather than the actual company

Overbooked for both hygienists and dentists

Inefficient scheduling, you'll have 1-2 fully booked columns of cleanings and somehow still have a 2 hr whitening, Perio Restore or SRPs double booked with no assistant

Fails to comply with OSHA; does not provide proper PPE at all times or other supplies needed due to strict tight budgeting 

Contradictory instructions

No proper training

Have you do services without the dentist in office just to score any daily production

Assisted hygiene with no proper assistants or support

Limited autonomy among clinical staff 

Not properly compensated for a double or triple booked schedule

Poor staff allocation








Worked at The Smilist for years. When I began, it was a fun company to work for. As it grew, rules became stricter, things that made it fun no longer existed, slowly others were added to management roles who were very harsh and demanding. No one in upper management are in the dental field, and the decisions they make are reflective of that - making it very difficult on dental staff when they try to impose ridiculous policies/ideas. Management will not spend money to hire desperately needed staff and imposes unattainable goals, while the upper management makes six figure salaries to sit around and do next to nothing. This company has extremely high turnover rate, losing many valuable employees due to their mismanagement as well as not recognizing talented workers and compensating them as such. They continue to not promote from within, but to bring in from medical companies to be in charge of people who have been in dental for years - and pay them a LOT more than you are making. They will smile in your face while posting your job online to replace you/fire you. They feel like the "culture" they have established makes up for the extremely low compensation for most of their employees. Ultimately, if you work here it will feel like you are a cog in a corporation who can and will get rid of you in a moment's notice without care. Or they will try to reduce your responsibilities (low key demote you) and make your life miserable so you quit so they don't have to pay unemployment. The department I was in lost 7 people in 4 months. This is not a good place to work.

I feel very fortunate to be working with the Smilist. Communication is great, they are always looking to improve any weak areas. They really do listen to feedback and then Upper Management will look for ways to improve it so your job go smoothly. They also come up with fun creative ways for bonuses, a real team player from top to bottom.

Any negative reviews really do come from ex-employee's that were not only NOT team players but just were rude not doing their job. I only say that because I have seen some really unprofessional attitude towards management and even toward upper management by some people and they were always given multiple chances to improve.

The Smilist helped me learn so much more then I ever thought I can, they believed in me more then I DID!!!
Great Great Great company

I am so happy to be a part of the Smilist. The culture is one of inclusion, and team work on all levels, they help you achieve your career goals by providing you with all of the information, resources and training that you could need to move forward and be successful in your role.  I have learned so much and have moved up within the company. Every department is staffed with wonderful people that genuinely love what they do and are always available to assist you and strategize with you to find a solution that works and works very well. I cannot say enough good things about this company. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great health benefit options. Downside the  company is interested in growing not maintaining quality or excellence. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Employees and patients are just a number. Loyalty and lasting relationships are not a high priority in this organization.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic which creates constant turnover and stress on the management team. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Patient complaints about balances and threats of collections. Unfortunately, the need for collecting without vetting balances causes lose of patients and precious man hours.

I love working at The Smilist Dental. I have an incredible team who collaborate and support each other which has made my job very enjoyable. There is never a lack of work as our company keeps growing rapidly. When I first started, we had 8 offices and now we have 24 offices! That's a 300% increase in 2 years.
It's very exciting to see the company grow. Upper management  really appreciate the work you put in as it reflects directly to how many new patients we get monthly and how many ways our brand is reaching out to the public.
Let's keep growing and expanding!

What is the best part of working at the company?
The team I worked with was made up of great people. The company does give PTO and bonuses, which is nice

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The company itself. HR is a mess, managers come and go, and the company is always hungry for more money. Computers fail all the time and there is often very little support.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Mostly very nice people. A nice mix of ethnicities and different personalities. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It’s a bit of a madhouse and lunch breaks are often a pipe dream.

I’ll keep it short. I 10/10 do not recommend employment at the Smilist on any level. Constant chaos. Zero communication from corporate to in office. TOXIC management. You can be the most reliable employee and it will mean nothing in the end. Money driven and not patient care driven. Do not have any expectations of an increase in salary after hire. Meanwhile hire ups will enjoy trips abroad and fancy dinners on the company’s dime. Your office can be falling apart needing new supplies etc and there’s a tight budget.. but the hire up ordering staff can visit Italy…? Zero appreciation for in office clinical or clerical team. Spare yourself the trouble. 

I unfortunately was not trained, instead I was criticized and belittle for mistakes. I did learn on my own. I stuck through a very unhealthy work environment, I wanted to grow and learn as much as possible. It was never recognized or appreciated. The smilist doesn’t have a training program for any of their staff including managers. Favoritism towards staff members from regional manager. I was pregnant and filling in at another familiar practice where they left me upfront by myself at 8 months pregnant. I will say I did love some of my co-workers. The way the corporation was ran was horrible. They do not give raises when you have a high work load.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Dentist 141 salaries reported	$224,362 per year
Dental hygienist 39 salaries reported	$97,500 per year
Dental assistant 48 salaries reported	$25.07 per hour
Orthodontist 6 salaries reported	$1,100 per day
Periodontist 17 salaries reported	$1,100 per day

Working at The Smilist Dental: Company Overview and Reviews

The Smilist Dental

The Smilist Dental Ratings

Popular jobs at The Smilist Dental

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected