Dr. Aisling Whitaker has been around dentists all her life and grew up wanting to be one. You could say it is a family affair. Born and raised in Ireland, she is the daughter of a dentist and a dental assistant and studied dentistry at University College Cork where she met her partner, Dr. Anand Iyer, a Canadian and fellow dental student. After graduating, the couple moved to Canada to start their journey in Canadian dentistry.
Rather than purchasing an existing practice, they chose to build one “from scratch” as Dr. Whitaker describes it. The result was Bitehaus Dental in mid-town Toronto. Their approach to clients, as Dr. Whitaker puts it, is to “treat you as if you are our own family – judgement free and gentle. Our goal is to help you reach and maintain your health goals.” This client-centric approach is achieved by ensuring that everyone on the Bitehaus team is committed to providing a seamless and exceptional customer experience.
Building a great team – from the ground up
Ensuring that level of commitment from clinic staff puts the spotlight on recruiting and retaining the right people. Dr. Whitaker explains that building a practice from the ground up gave her the opportunity to experience the challenge the industry is facing around attracting and retaining a team. To stand out, Bitehaus offers candidates what they are looking for in a job, including: professional development opportunities, good leadership, a positive work culture and regular communication meetings. The reviews from clients on their experience at Bitehaus speak to the success of their approach.
With that experience in mind, Dr. Whitaker launched Dental Hive in 2022, an app to support dental professionals and to help navigate the day-to-day needs and issues they face in dental practice including addressing staffing challenges faced by many dentists. Dental Hive focuses on helping practitioners build resilient, high-performance teams using a unique approach to staffing and recruiting that takes into account the perspectives of both employer and employee. In short, Dr. Whitaker is on a mission to create dream teams within the dental community.
Together with her Co-Founder Felicia Sprague (dental office manager & HR manager), Dr. Whitaker has grown Dental Hive into much more than a mobile app for jobs. It is now a key hub for practice management resources, industry connections and most recently a business directory to help dentists find professional services such as finance, IT, insurance, and legal support. Dr. Whitaker describes the app as a “digital tradeshow” with relevant resources to connect dental community members.
For Dr. Whitaker and Ms. Sprague, it is about finding the “right match” whether you are searching for dental staff or looking for your next opportunity. Their mission is to bring together the dental community and build stronger and more collaborative teams. The goal is to not only help users find their ideal job, but also the ideal team and culture for them. To help facilitate this, they created the Matches feature on their app to pair the right candidate with the right opportunity. According to Dr. Whitaker, “the dental team plays a vital role in delivering exceptional patient care, fostering a positive work environment, and achieving professional growth. In the dynamic world of dentistry, building the right team is essential for success. With Dental Hive, the groundbreaking app connecting dental professionals, finding your dream dental team has never been easier!”
A “digital hub” for dental professionals
For Dr. Whitaker, Dental Hive is a “digital hub” that provides a place to learn new skills and find resources focused on the challenges dental practices face. This includes training modules and video content aimed at various dental staff roles and other helpful resources. The business directory was inspired by Dr. Whitaker’s and Dr. Iyer’s experiences as they built their practice and the business challenges they faced. As she puts it, “the dental business directory is an interactive way for dental professionals to find experts in areas such as – employment law, accounting, marketing and all kinds of businesses that support the day to day running of a dental office.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Whitaker has her sights on expanding Dental Hive into the U. S. Dental Hive will continue to innovate and grow with the focus on continuous learning, forging connections, and community, and building great teams. The future looks very bright. As Dr. Whitaker puts it: “Together, we will revolutionize the way you connect, collaborate, and grow within the dental field.”
The information contained in this article is intended for informational purposes only.