📍  If your phones are being answered by someone who sounds annoyed, rushed, confused, unsure, you do not have a phone problem, you have a leadership and a systems problem because in 2026, patients decide whether they trust your dental office within the first 30 seconds of a phone call.

And too many dental offices are losing patients money and reputation before the appointment is ever scheduled. Welcome back to No Silver Spoons. I am Sarah Beth Herman, and in the last episode we talked about burnout and why dental teams are exhausted right now. Today we're going to zoom in on where that burnout shows up first and loudest, and that's the front desk, that's the phones and the uncomfortable truth that many teams do not know how to handle calls anymore.

This is not an episode about blaming people. This is about us learning to face reality because this year the front desk is no longer an entry level role. It's a revenue driving trust building position that sets the tone for everything that follows from here on out.  In your mind you're thinking, well, if I just got a really good office manager who knew billing and eligibility, it really wouldn't matter who answered the phones.

But I'm gonna tell you right now that that's the very first mistake you could make. So let's get into it. talk about something. Leaders whisper, but they rarely address directly rude phone answering. Short tones, no warmth, no confidence, no ownership. Maybe they're just checking a list. Maybe they're just rushing the patient off the phone.

Maybe the patient feels rushed. Maybe the patient feels like a burden or they feel like they interrupted someone else's day. Leaders often are saying things like, well, that's just their personality. They're great in person. But here's the truth. Tone is trainable. Confidence is trainable. Phone skills are trainable.

What is not sustainable is ignoring the issue and hoping patients won't notice, or that maybe your employee will start being nicer. If you pay them more money, your patients are going to notice. And it doesn't really matter how much money you give that front office person, you've now just given them permission to continue acting the very same way they acted when you were irritated the first time.

And your patients that notice exactly how that front office is acting. They're telling other people. Because I can promise you anytime I've called somewhere and I've heard someone rude on the phone or any of the things I've defined so far in this episode. I'm telling my friends, I'm telling my husband, I'm telling coworkers of mine.

Another reality dental leaders are facing this year is that teams answering phones who don't fully understand procedures, insurance language, scheduling priorities, or even how to guide a call. So the default to scripts that sound robotic or responses that feel unsure. The other day I heard people saying.

The other day I was talking with an office and they had this huge paper that they had everybody fill out. Whenever they answered a phone, that call intake took 22 to 27 minutes. And throughout the call I still heard things like, um, I think, I'm not really sure. Oh, that's just how insurance works. These statements, they don't build trust.

Patients don't expect you to be perfect, but they do expect confidence. And when teams lack training and clarity, it comes across as disinterest or incompetence, even when that might not be the truth and the cost of that confusion shows up later in billing and cancellations or patient dissatisfaction.

This next part I'm gonna talk about, it matters deeply. And it may be something that you've never even heard before or thought of before, but billing in your practice, the money that you have to bring in in order to be profitable or to pay payroll, it doesn't actually start when the claim is submitted.

And I know that you think it does, but billing starts with the very first phone call, how benefits are explained, how if you're in or out of network is explained. How expectations are set, how financial conversations are framed. If a patient is told something incorrectly on the phone, billing becomes damage control.

If a patient feels misled, collections become emotional. If expectations are unclear,  trust is broken. And billing teams, they end up being blamed for problems that really, they started at the front desk. They started at the first phone call. And this is why separating phones, insurance knowledge and billing conversations without alignment actually creates chaos.

Everything is connected in a dental office. Years ago, phones were so much more simpler in a dental practice, patients called their dentist. They didn't go to Google first. Insurance was easier to explain. Pricing was less scrutinized. People trusted recommendations. Tone mattered, but conversion pressure was lower.

You could get by with personality and experience, and that's just not the case anymore. In 2026, the front desk must be able to handle emotional calls calmly explain insurance clearly without overpromising. Guide patients confidently convert calls into scheduled appointments, protect the schedule and production.

Communicate with billing accurately. This is not entry level work. This isn't go through the drive through at your local coffee shop. Find a girl that seems like she would be a great representation of your front desk, and then have her start tomorrow. This is skilled work that requires training and systems and support.

And dental leaders that I'm talking to, the ones that schedule a call with me to learn more about our virtual support and phones eligibility and billing, they're frustrated. They're you. You're mad that phones don't convert. Patients complain. Billing issues are through the roof. Your team is defensive and you're often thinking, why can't people just do their jobs?

But the better question, the one I'm gonna challenge you with is, did we train this role for what it actually requires today?  And most of the time the answer is no. The role evolved without redesigning studies in communication psychology show that tone and vocal warmth directly affect trust and perceived competence.

According to research cited by the American Psychological Association, people form impressions of credibility and care within seconds of hearing someone speak. That means that a rushed tone, it feels dismissive, uncertainty feels unprofessional, irritation feels unsafe, even when the words are technically correct.

It still feels like that. Phones are not just information delivery, they're emotional transactions and offices that are gonna be winning this year. They are not tolerating poor phone experiences. They are training phone skills intentionally, role playing real scenarios, documenting scripts and workflows.

They're separating tasks where possible they're supporting front desk teams instead of overloading them. They understand that front desk is the front line of revenue and reputation, and this is exactly why my company dentistry support exists. I won't go into a commercial about that, but we have bifurcated these roles excellently.

We're not here to replace your team, but to strengthen them. And even if you don't choose to work with my company, I want you to recognize that when phones are answered professionally. Your billing will improve when insurance is verified accurately. Tension decreases. When systems work together. Leaders can lead.

Again, support is not giving up control. It is protecting standards.

Here is the question I want every dental leader to sit with today. If I were a new patient calling my office right now today, would I feel confident in booking? If the answer makes you hesitate in any way for any topic or anything related to phones, there is work to be done, and that work starts with honesty.

There's a quote that truly fits in this moment, and it says, your brand is what people say about you. When you are not in the room, in dentistry, your phones speak for you. If you want to improve phone performance and protect your billing, I want you to start right here. I want you to go audit your calls.

Honestly, I want you to address tone without defensiveness. I want you to train confidence, not just scripts. It's not just say this and it'll all work out. I want you to align phones with billing expectations. Add support before burnout hits. Strong front desk teams are built with intention. In this episode, I've talked about a lot of different things that have to do with phones.

And every episode we always have a That's good moment. A moment where we recap the most important pieces that I want you to take with you as we close out this episode. The first thing I want you to remember is that billing does not start in the back office. Billing begins on the very first phone call.

Two, how we handle phones today is not how dentistry handled phones. 20, 30, even 40 years ago, things have changed and we must evolve with them. Three. I want you to remember what the American Psychological Association mentioned that people form impressions of credibility and care within seconds of hearing someone speak.

How does that resonate with your practice? And finally. Your brand is what people say about you. When you are not in the room in dentistry, your phones are speaking for you. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone in your office who needs to hear it, or a colleague that you met at a convention or a friend that you met in school.

In the next episode, we're going even bigger. Episode 1 0 9 will focus on the larger shift happening in dentistry in 2026. Leadership systems, technology, and what it takes to survive and scale without losing culture. Be sure to check back for bonus episodes and our free training located@dentistrysupport.com slash freetraining.

Every week on Thursday, we publish brand new free training content for you and your dental practice. It is always free. We never charge for it. You'll want to check out our latest episodes. You can also use the search feature to search topics or content that you might want to train your team on.

And if no s silver spoons has been helpful, please rate, review, and share this podcast. That support helps us reach more leaders like you, who care deeply about doing this work. Well, you can find us on social media and all of the references and resources we've mentioned in this episode are located in our show notes.

We'd love to have you as a guest on the show. Please click the link in the show notes to submit a request to be a guest. We are always here to support and help you grow your dental business.  And as always, all of us here at Dentistry Support are here to help guide, grow, and scale your dental practice. .

Thank you so much for 📍 tuning in this week. I'll catch you on the next episode. .