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By J.W. Oliver Jr.
Today, DSOs are operating in a high-pressure system characterized by staffing gaps and administrative complexity. At the center of it all are three realities: administrative posts are difficult to fill (59.3% of DSO dentists cite staffing challenges), hourly earnings for dental staff have been on the rise, slightly ahead of inflation, and competitors are leveraging AI to enhance productivity (91% health care organizations plan to adopt AI).
These pressures are not independent. They reinforce one another. Difficulty hiring administrative staff leads to overburdened teams. Rising costs make traditional hiring less sustainable. Meanwhile, competitors are improving efficiency through AI, widening the performance gap.
The result is a growing divide between DSOs that are adapting and those that are absorbing inefficiencies. The situation calls for a tech-enabled hybrid approach that combines in-office teams with AI-trained remote/virtual team members. Within this model, all three of the problems being faced by DSOs, namely staffing challenges, rising staffing costs and AI enhanced competition, can be addressed.
Administrative Roles Are Increasingly Difficult to Fill
Nearly 58% of dentists report that recruiting administrative staff is “extremely challenging,” and more than 20% of practices indicate they do not have adequate administrative coverage. This shortage creates immediate operational strain. Scheduling, insurance verification, patient communication, and revenue cycle processes all depend on consistent execution at the front office level. But traditional hiring approaches are struggling to keep pace.
This is best captured by a quote from one ADA report where a dentist explained why filling administrative roles is so difficult. The unnamed dentist said: “Nobody with experience applies. The candidate pool is large but VERY shallow.” Another remarked: “We now have to use a recruiter and pay 17% of first year’s wage. This drives up everyone’s cost. They are just stealing assistants from other practices.”
Limited applicant pools contribute to prolonged vacancies. Even when roles are filled, onboarding timelines delay productivity, and turnover introduces further instability. This is where SupportDDS changes the equation. Instead of relying on a constrained local talent pool, DSOs gain access to a structured pipeline of trained remote/virtual team members who are ready to step into administrative roles.
The key advantage is speed and predictability. Rather than navigating extended recruitment cycles, DSOs can fill administrative gaps quickly with team members who are already trained in dental workflows. This reduces downtime between vacancy and productivity.
More importantly, these are not generic placements. SupportDDS provides dedicated remote/virtual team members who integrate into the practice’s workflow, ensuring continuity and consistency. The result is a more stable administrative function, even in a challenging labor market.
High Staffing Costs Without Proportional Output
Over the past year, dental practices have experienced a 6% increase in equipment and supply costs, alongside wage growth. At the same time, dentist incomes have declined due to increasing expenses and constrained revenue growth. This creates a margin compression scenario where DSOs are spending more to maintain operations, without a corresponding increase in output.
Traditional staffing models amplify this issue. Expanding in-office teams increases fixed costs such as salaries, benefits, and overhead without necessarily improving efficiency. DSOs are investing more into staffing, but not extracting proportional value from that investment. SupportDDS addresses this challenge by introducing a more flexible cost structure. Remote/virtual team members provide the same functional support as in-office administrative staff, but without the associated overhead costs.
This allows DSOs to expand capacity without expanding fixed expenses. Administrative functions such as scheduling, insurance verification, and revenue cycle management can be scaled more efficiently, aligning costs more closely with output.
Importantly, affordability does not come at the expense of capability. SupportDDS team members are university-educated, trained in dental workflows, and dedicated to a single practice or organization. This ensures that quality and consistency are maintained while costs are optimized.
Competitors Are Leveraging AI to Increase Efficiency
While staffing challenges and cost pressures are immediate concerns, a longer-term shift is reshaping the competitive landscape: the adoption of AI. Across healthcare, 91% of organizations are planning to adopt AI, signaling a widespread move toward technology-enabled operations. More broadly, 83% of executives are already leveraging AI as part of outsourced services, and 92% of organizations are using or planning to use AI in service delivery.
AI is enabling organizations to improve efficiency, increase throughput, and reduce operational friction. Nearly 49% of organizations report productivity gains from AI-enabled services, while 45% report increased throughput and 28% report faster cycle times. Organizations that adopt AI-enabled workflows are able to process more work, respond faster to patients, and operate with greater consistency. Those that do not risk falling behind.
SupportDDS team members are trained to leverage AI tools to execute dental workflows more efficiently, which translates into tangible operational improvements. For example, our tech-enabled remote/virtual team members use AI tools to ensure faster and more consistent insurance verification. By embedding AI into daily execution, SupportDDS enables DSOs to match, and in many cases exceed, the efficiency gains seen across the industry. This ensures that DSOs are not only keeping pace with competitors, but positioning themselves for long-term performance.
One Model, Three Solutions
Staffing shortages, rising costs, and the need for AI adoption are separate issues, but they are interlinked. They require a new operating model that addresses all three of them. The tech-enabled hybrid model brings solutions for all three problems into a single framework. In-office teams remain focused on clinical delivery and high-value patient interactions, while AI-trained remote/virtual team members handle high-volume administrative workflows.
Within this model:
- Administrative roles are filled quickly through access to trained remote talent
- Staffing costs are optimized through a more flexible, scalable structure
- AI capabilities are embedded into daily operations through trained team members
SupportDDS enables this model by providing the infrastructure: talent, training, and technology integration.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In a traditional model, administrative inefficiencies often manifest as missed calls, delayed verification, and inconsistent follow-ups. These issues are treated as isolated problems, addressed through incremental fixes. In a tech-enabled hybrid model, the structure itself changes. Remote/virtual team members handle administrative workflows continuously, supported by AI tools that improve speed and consistency. In-office teams are no longer stretched across competing priorities, allowing them to focus on patient-facing responsibilities.
This shift creates measurable outcomes. Patient inquiries are handled promptly, insurance workflows move faster and schedules are more fully utilized. The clinical operation remains the same, but the system supporting it becomes more effective.
Strategic Takeaways for DSO Leaders
The pressures facing DSOs are unlikely to ease. Staffing challenges will persist, cost pressures will continue, and AI adoption will accelerate across the industry. The question is not whether these forces will shape the market, but how organizations will respond.
The tech-enabled hybrid model offers a way to address all three pressures simultaneously. By combining in-office teams with AI-trained remote/virtual team members, DSOs can build a more flexible, efficient, and scalable operating system. Organizations that adopt this model early position themselves for sustained performance. Those that delay may find themselves operating at a structural disadvantage.
By leveraging SupportDDS’s ability to quickly provide trained talent, optimize staffing costs, and deliver AI-trained remote/virtual team members, DSOs can transform these challenges into opportunities for improved performance.
For DSOs looking to address staffing gaps, control costs, and stay competitive in an AI-driven environment, the next step is to evaluate how a tech-enabled hybrid model can be applied within your organization.
To explore how SupportDDS can support your operational goals,
Schedule a discovery call here.
J.W. is a global leader transforming the way the world views and sees work. As the visionary of SupportDDS and Zimworx — an Inc. 5000 company — he oversees five operational centers with over 1,800 team members across four continents.
J.W. blends high-performance business instincts with faith-driven philanthropy, donating 51% of all profits to ministries and charities around the globe.
Beyond the boardroom, JW is an adventurer and endurance enthusiast who has trekked to Everest Base Camp and Machu Picchu. He is a pilot, a podcast host, and a serial entrepreneur. An ordained minister and devoted husband of 30+ years, JW is laser-focused on a massive mission: empowering 20,000 team members by 2032.
