When Dawn joined Grand Avenue Dental Care two years ago, the practice was going through a period of transition and growth.
With more than 30 years of experience in dentistry—including roles as an orthodontic assistant, clinic director, treatment coordinator, and office manager—Dawn brought a deep understanding of how dental practices evolve over time.
“I have been in the dental field since the '80s,” Dawn says. “I was an assistant for many years in ortho. I went to general. I've been a clinic director, a treatment coordinator, and probably for the last seven years I've been office manager.”
As she got familiar with the practice’s systems and processes, she began identifying opportunities to strengthen the practice’s billing and insurance workflows—something that can become increasingly complex as practices grow.
Navigating the Challenges of Dental Insurance
Like many busy practices, Grand Avenue Dental Care had worked with multiple systems and vendors over the years to help manage insurance and billing.
As the practice continued to grow, the team began looking for ways to streamline those processes and ensure claims, appeals, and patient balances were handled as efficiently as possible.
“Insurance people are so hard to come by,” Dawn explains.
Hiring experienced insurance coordinators has become increasingly difficult for practices across the country, and for a high-volume practice like Grand Avenue Dental Care, the workload could easily exceed what one person could reasonably manage.
“This practice is way too big for just one person.”
Because of that, the team began exploring outsourcing as a way to bring in additional expertise and support.
Learning From Previous Outsourcing Experiences
Before partnering with Wisdom, the practice had tried outsourcing insurance support through other vendors – an experience that highlighted the importance of choosing the correct partner.
Their initial vendor frequently struggled to properly handle denied claims. Dawn explained that, “If a claim was denied, they would just put zeros and they would just write it off for us and collect nothing.”
In some cases, Dawn found herself stepping in to help resolve claim issues or review processes. “If I can find the errors, you're not doing it right,” she added.
Those experiences helped the team clarify what they were looking for moving forward: a partner with deep industry expertise, strong communication, and a proactive approach to managing claims.
Discovering Wisdom Through Industry Education
Dawn first learned about Wisdom through continuing education courses taught by respected dental billing experts, including Wisdom Chief Dental Billing Officer, Ashley Bond.
Through those courses, she began learning more about Wisdom’s approach to revenue cycle management and how the company helps practices navigate complex insurance workflows.
“Everything I have learned is coming from Ashley and Wisdom.”
As she listened to more of the training and heard about Wisdom’s work helping practices clean up complex billing issues, she started to realize the company might be exactly what their practice needed.
Eventually, she convinced the practice owners to attend a demo.
“I said, I want you to just come to this demo with me. I want you to just see.”
Once the doctors joined the call, the decision became much easier.
Dawn explained, “After we hung up, he said, ‘I see what you mean. They really know.’”
For the practice owners, the biggest takeaway was Wisdom’s ability to confidently answer every question. “Everything we could have come at you, the team had an answer for,” she added.
Soon after, the practice decided to move forward with Wisdom.
Why Outsourcing Made Sense
For Grand Avenue Dental Care, outsourcing their revenue cycle was ultimately about creating a more sustainable system for the future.
As Dawn explains, finding and retaining experienced insurance coordinators can be challenging for many practices.
Outsourcing offered a way to bring in a dedicated team without adding additional hiring or HR complexity.
“Honestly, I think a lot of practices are going to be outsourcing. You don't have to pay PTO, you don't have to worry about sick days. It's a no-brainer,” Dawn says.
More importantly, it meant having specialists focused on navigating insurance processes every day.
A Smooth Start With Wisdom
At the time of the interview, Grand Avenue Dental Care had only recently onboarded with Wisdom, but the early experience had already made a strong impression.
One of the first things Dawn noticed was the onboarding process.
“Everything [Wisdom] did for onboarding is what every practice should be doing.”
Transitioning insurance workflows to a new partner can feel daunting, but Dawn says the Wisdom team made the process straightforward and transparent.
“It’s kind of scary. You're handing all your insurance and patients over to an unknown company, and [Wisdom] answered every question without me even having to ask a question,” Dawn explained. “Everybody that I have spoken to so far is so knowledgeable.”
Setting a New Standard
For Grand Avenue Dental Care, the biggest difference is working with a team that truly understands dental insurance and takes ownership of the process.
“You guys know what you're doing.”
And while the partnership is still new, she already feels confident the practice has found the right partner moving forward:
“Wisdom is the epitome. You set the standard. And I cannot say that enough.”
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