Start the New Year with CE Goals for Your Dental Team

Year after year, surveys show dental professionals highly value continuing education (CE) opportunities, often equating them with competitive pay. In fact, the lack of professional growth opportunities is a common reason many seek new roles. Practices that invest in CE don’t just gain skilled employees; they create a culture of learning and innovation that attracts and retains top talent.

CE represents an opportunity for dental professionals to expand their expertise. For dental practices, it’s a pathway to fostering loyalty and satisfaction among team members. One of your best New Year resolutions is prioritizing professional development among your team members. By investing in each employee’s growth, you empower your team.

How to Support CE in Your Practice

Supporting continuing education (CE) goes beyond funding courses or workshops—it’s about weaving learning into the fabric of your practice. Offering financial support for CERP credits, professional certifications, or conferences is a great start, but the real impact comes from creating a culture where education is valued daily. Encourage team members to apply new skills directly to patient care and share their insights during team meetings. This approach makes learning a group effort, fosters collaboration, and demonstrates how growth benefits the entire practice. Celebrate milestones with small gestures such as a team lunch and group applause.  

Here are two examples of advancing careers with CE that result in expanding the dental practice’s capabilities:

• A dental assistant has earned their EFDA certification with the support of her employer. When the team celebrates this accomplishment, the assistant feels deeply valued, strengthening her connection to the practice. Within days, she feels her contribution to the practice has increased greatly, and she is energized by the impact she is having.

• When another dental assistant expresses interest in leadership and demonstrates high patient communication skills, her employer encourages and financially supports enrollment in the AADOM Dental Assistant to Practice Administrator (DA to PA) Curriculum. This investment transforms the employee’s role into becoming a dedicated treatment coordinator who assists chairside when needed.

Empower Your Team with Curve Dental’s Training Resources

Continuing education isn’t just about clinical skills—it’s also about mastering the tools that keep your practice running efficiently. Curve Dental^® provides comprehensive training resources to help your team make the most of its practice management software.

The software’s intuitive interface simplifies learning, allowing team members to navigate the platform quickly. With training modules covering everything from basic features to advanced functionalities, employees can learn at their own pace through on-demand access. Dedicated 24/7 support ensures questions are answered promptly, and regularly updated materials keep your team current with new features and best practices.

These flexible learning resources deliver tangible benefits. Employees quickly adapt to the software, streamlining administrative tasks and improving patient care workflows. Even those hesitant about change find their confidence growing as processes become more efficient. With reduced stress and enhanced collaboration, productivity soars, and team members feel more fulfilled in their roles, making each day more meaningful.

A Culture of Learning for a Stronger Practice

Investing in CE is an investment in your team, your patients, and your practice’s future. By intentionally encouraging your dental team to set personal CE and other “growth” goals for the new year, you demonstrate a commitment to growth that resonates across every level of your practice. Whether it’s supporting clinical certifications, fostering leadership development, or leveraging robust training tools like those available within Curve Superhero™, every step you take to prioritize learning strengthens your team and enhances the care you deliver.