Chief Dental Officer

We are hiring a Head Dentist to serve as the clinical leader of the organization. This is a hybrid clinical-administrative role designed for a senior clinician who wants to move off the chair and into a leadership position while remaining connected to direct patient care. The Head Dentist will own doctor recruiting, training, and onboarding; build out our compliance function; and represent clinical leadership in complex patient situations. This role reports directly to the CEO and dotted line reports to our founder and owner, Dr. Laura Banty DMD.

Role Structure

• Clinical time: Starts at 1–2 days per week in the clinic, ramping down to approximately 2 days per month as the organization scales and the administrative workload grows.
• Administrative time: The remaining 3+ days per week are dedicated to leadership responsibilities, including recruiting, onboarding, compliance, and operational oversight.

Key Responsibilities

Own the full lifecycle for bringing doctors into Sola — sourcing, interviewing, credentialing, and onboarding. Develop and maintain training programs to ensure clinical consistency and quality across all locations. As we grow, this person will build a team beneath them to support this function.

Doctor Management & Coaching

Directly manage all dentists across Sola’s locations. This is a multi‑site role and requires regular travel between offices to maintain visibility, build relationships, and hold doctors accountable to Sola’s standards. Conduct regular one‑on‑one and group sessions with providers to review production metrics, assess clinical skills, identify gaps, and provide coaching and feedback. The Head Dentist is responsible for the clinical performance and professional development of every doctor in the organization.

Compliance

Establish and lead Sola’s clinical compliance function from the ground up. This includes setting standards, managing audits, and ensuring adherence to Medicaid and private payer requirements and state dental board regulations. Will hire and manage compliance support staff as the practice grows.

Clinical Practice

Maintain a limited clinical schedule to stay current with practice operations, support provider coverage needs, and retain clinical credibility with the doctor team. Clinical time is expected to decrease over time as leadership responsibilities expand.

Patient Relations

Serve as the clinical point of escalation for complex or upset patients. Work with office managers and front‑line staff to resolve situations that require direct clinical judgment or a senior voice.

Lead the evaluation of new dental technologies, equipment, and tools — assessing both clinical impact (outcomes, safety, workflow) and business impact (cost, ROI, efficiency). Make recommendations and support implementation across locations when new technologies are adopted.

Clinical Philosophy

Sola Kids Dental is built on the belief that a positive dental experience in childhood shapes a patient’s relationship with oral health for life. Our clinical approach is centered on minimizing dental trauma, particularly for pediatric patients. The Head Dentist is expected to model, teach, and hold the team accountable to this philosophy.

• Tell‑show‑do: Every procedure is introduced with a patient‑centered explanation before it begins. We do not surprise patients.
• Lights on loupes: We don’t use overhead lights, instead we wear lights on our loupes.
• Nitrous oxide: We use of nitrous as a first‑line tool for managing anxiety and discomfort, particularly in younger patients.
• Minimal papoose use: Papoose boards are reserved for specialty days only and are not a routine behavior management tool.
• No general anesthesia: Sola does not offer GA. Our clinical team is expected to manage patients within the office using the tools above.
• Trauma‑informed care: Providers are expected to be patient, adaptive, and attuned to behavioral cues. We invest in taking the time to build patient trust, especially on first visits.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Clinical background: General dentistry and pediatric dentistry experience required. Enough orthodontic knowledge to credibly manage and evaluate orthodontists (direct ortho experience a plus but not required).
• Medicaid experience: Prior experience treating and managing within a Medi‑Cal/Denti‑Cal or comparable state Medicaid environment is strongly preferred.
• DSO / group practice leadership: Experience managing or overseeing other dentists in a DSO, group practice, or FQHC setting. Comfortable with clinical operations, metrics, and accountability structures.
• Leadership orientation: Genuinely interested in moving away from full‑time clinical work and toward a leadership and management role. Should be energized by building systems and teams, not just treating patients.
• Communication: Confident, calm communicator who can handle escalated patient situations and build trust with both clinical staff and the executive team.