Chief Dental Officer
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- Dental group executive directing clinical standards, dentist development, quality reviews, and clinical decisions supporting expansion
Position directory
Dental & DSO: positions we recruit
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Recruit dental and DSO staff by defining who owns each patient handoff, office decision, and licensed duty.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Positions we recruit
Dental & DSO
12 positions
12 matching positions
Dental Director (FQHC)
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- Community health center dental leader providing patient care, reviewing charts, supervising staff, and supporting encounter reporting
Dental Office Manager
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- Dental practice business manager handling schedule changes, insurance follow-up, team coverage, patient complaints, and owner escalations
Endodontist
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- Endodontic clinician performing root canal treatment, assessing retreatment cases, conducting microscope-based procedures, and communicating with referring dentists
General Dentist
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- General dental clinician examining patients, reviewing radiographs, planning treatment, performing restorative procedures, and managing dental emergencies
Lead Dentist / Clinical Director (DSO)
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- Dental group practice clinical leader treating patients, coaching associates, reviewing schedules, and addressing documentation and infection-control concerns
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
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- Oral and maxillofacial surgical clinician consulting on extractions, placing implants, planning grafting, and managing recovery documentation
Orthodontist
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- Orthodontic clinician reviewing records, presenting treatment options, starting cases, monitoring progress, and directing assistants before debonding
Pediatric Dentist
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- Pediatric dental clinician providing preventive visits and restorative treatment while discussing care decisions with parents
Periodontist
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- Periodontal dental specialist assessing and treating gum disease and supporting tissues surrounding patients’ teeth
Regional Dental Director
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- Regional dental leader overseeing multiple practices through office visits, record reviews, dentist coaching, and ownership reporting
Regional Director of Operations (DSO)
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- Regional dental operations leader reviewing location finances, directing office managers, and coordinating new practice openings
Start with the work
What should you settle before you hire?
Dental titles can describe very different workdays. An assistant may support procedures and turn rooms. Another may focus on imaging, sterilization flow, and chart preparation. A front-office employee may manage arrivals and recalls, while a billing specialist handles claims and balances.
The template lists titles and counts.
Clinical and office roles meet during the patient visit, but their duties are not interchangeable. A dentist makes clinical decisions within their license and privileges. A hygienist performs preventive visits, documents care, and coordinates findings with the dentist. An assistant prepares rooms, supports procedures, completes assigned imaging or chart tasks, and resets for the next patient. We ask which parts of that sequence a candidate has handled personally.
Practice and DSO roles also need clear boundaries. A treatment coordinator may explain planned care, financing, and return visits. A billing specialist may submit claims, gather attachments, work denials, and discuss balances. A practice manager may address schedule gaps, absences, patient concerns, and unresolved follow-up. A multi-site leader compares office results and decides where coaching or process changes are needed. Software names matter less than decisions the person has made using that system.
Ask for evidence
What should you check before an offer?
For licensed clinical candidates, we ask which state license they hold, its current status, and duties performed under it. You verify licenses, applicable registrations, and permitted scope before a start date. For assistants, we ask for a recent procedure sequence from setup through turnover.
- Useful answers cover patient preparation, provider preferences, chairside support, imaging, instrument handling, and steps taken to avoid delaying the next patient.
- For hygienists, we ask how they manage a preventive visit when the schedule changes. Useful evidence includes documentation, patient communication, coordination with the dentist, and work completed before the patient leaves.
- For treatment coordination and revenue-cycle work, we ask about a disputed estimate or denied claim. A useful answer separates eligibility, benefit interpretation, documentation, payer follow-up, patient communication, and escalation.
- For practice managers, we ask what they review at opening and close. Useful answers include schedule holes, provider coverage, staff assignments, patient concerns, collection follow-up, and notes used for next actions.
- For multi-site leadership, we ask how a shared standard was applied when one office had a local constraint. Candidates should name the facts reviewed, people consulted, action taken, and how they reviewed the result.
Different backgrounds, different fit
Where does relevant experience come from?
Our source pool includes licensed dental clinicians, experienced practice staff, revenue-cycle professionals, office managers, and multi-site operators. We also speak with people returning after a move, schedule change, ownership transition, or change in care setting. Some seek clearer duties, a different patient mix, or broader operating responsibility.
We screen credentials, work history, stated fit, and examples tied to your opening. You complete credentialing, references, clinical assessment, and final review of permitted duties. We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
Avoid these
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
A common mistake is combining treatment presentation, claim follow-up, and front-desk coverage in one vague opening. State the daily work, backup duties, and who takes escalated denials. Another is using identical interviews for every clinical hire. Ask about your procedure mix, imaging, documentation, sterilization flow, and dentist handoffs.
Choosing a manager solely because they have worked in a dental office. Test how they handle a late provider, absent assistant, upset patient, and unresolved balance in one day.
Put it to work
What are the next steps?
Tell us who the person reports to, the schedule pattern, and work completed before close. We discuss candidates against the work in your practice or DSO. Your team interviews for local practices, clinical judgment where relevant, and working relationships. We establish the work behind each opening before we search.
Define the workday
Include clinical duties where applicable, patient handoffs, systems used, and work now carried by another team member.
Review relevant evidence
You receive work history, licensing information where applicable, schedule fit, and answers tied to the duties you described.
Complete final review
You verify credentials, make privilege decisions where applicable, complete references, and decide whether the person may perform assigned duties.
How does an assistant search differ from a hygienist search?
We start with what happens during the patient visit. Assistant discussions cover procedure support, room flow, imaging, instruments, and dentist handoffs. Hygienist discussions cover preventive visits, documentation, patient communication, and coordination with the dentist. License review follows the duties and location involved.
What should we define before searching for treatment coordination or insurance staff?
Identify who presents planned care, discusses financing, confirms benefits, submits claims, and works denials. Some practices divide these tasks, while others combine them.
Can we recruit a practice manager who also covers the front desk?
Yes, when the division of work is clear. Tell us how much time goes to patient-facing coverage versus staff oversight, schedule decisions, collection follow-up, reporting, and owner communication.
How do you assess multi-site DSO leaders without treating every office alike?
We ask how they apply shared operating standards while accounting for provider schedules, staffing, patient volume, and local processes. A useful answer shows how they gathered facts, selected an action, communicated it, and reviewed what changed.
What credential information should we review for clinical dental hires?
For roles needing a license, confirm the current state license and role-specific registrations or certificates relevant to your location and assigned duties. Review whether the person may perform those tasks. Your organization completes final credentialing, privilege decisions where applicable, and clinical assessment.
How can Healthcare Headhunters help with this hire?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Send us the work each dental or DSO hire must own. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Keep the hiring brief connected
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