Time to Celebrate the Office Management Team
Honor the unsung heroes of the dental practice this September with resources, inspiration, and strategies to support the personal and professional growth of your front office staff.
September is Office Management Appreciation Month (OMAM): 30 days to recognize and celebrate a team that contributes so much to their practices’ growth and patient experiences. This year’s theme for OMAM is Accelerate Your Growth Journey — Personally and Professionally. Everyone’s growth journey is different and often insights and direction come from coaches, mentors, and a community of friends and colleagues; people who are your true partners. The key is to connect with those who can accelerate your growth because they understand your challenges and opportunities and have shared similar experiences.
To help your team grow, CareCredit, in partnership with the American Association of Dental Office Management (AADOM), has given the OMAM website — omam.carecreditvirtual.com — an exciting update to include personal growth tips from the team at AADOM and professional growth strategies from your colleagues and other industry leaders. Angela Martinez, vice president of strategic associations and dental health policy at CareCredit, and Penny Reed, executive vice president at AADOM, discussed how important celebrating team and individual success is and how the “Growth Journey” theme is so relevant today.
Martinez: When CareCredit and AADOM decided to invest and support OMAM, several people asked me why we chose the office management team. Dentists and dental assistants are celebrated in March and dental hygienists have a whole week of recognition in April. With everything the dental management team contributes, it seemed fitting to appreciate them in September. This year’s theme focuses on growth —personally and professionally, which I know both CareCredit and AADOM are passionate about.
Reed: Absolutely. On the professional side with all of the changes that are happening in dentistry, it’s super important for office managers to be on the cusp of these changes related to their professional development and to be able to keep the practice up to date. On the personal development side, I think of the phrase, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” Most office managers are not only the glue at work, they’re also the glue at home. So they need to be healthy to manage what is often a lot of responsibilities. And in order for that to happen, they need to feed their minds, bodies, and souls, and feel they are personally growing and getting better every day.
Martinez: I agree. That’s why OMAM is the perfect time to focus on growth. Back to school turns into end-of-year benefits, which leads to the holidays and is certainly a busy time personally and professionally for everyone, including the office management team. To help, we’ve updated the OMAM site — omam.carecreditvirtual.com — to include tips and strategies from AADOM members, consultants, and other industry leaders that focus on personal and professional growth. Plus, we have resources and fun ideas to help them recognize their office management teams. Professionally, CareCredit has a wide variety of resources to help them grow and accelerate practice growth. We’ve even created a new site — carecredit.com/providers/insights/industry/dental — to make accessing resources easier. And I know AADOM has a bunch of resources available too!
Reed: We sure do! From our online e-campus to live podcasts and webinars by our key opinion leaders, and also through many of our sponsors, AADOM has much to offer. And, of course, our annual conference, which is also in September, provides invaluable resources. There are many, many opportunities to learn, not only from industry experts but also from each other! It’s so beneficial building a community with people who understand what you go through on a day-to-day basis. I think knowing that someone cares about you and has your best interest at heart is a great inspiration toward continuing on that personal growth path.
Martinez: I know you’ll join me in inviting all dentists, teams, and especially those in management roles to celebrate this September. Be sure to visit omam.carecreditvirtual.com.
From Decisions in Dentistry. July/August 2025;11(4):24.
