The Rise of Dentistry Support®: A Dream Deferred, Then Achieved

The story of Dentistry Support® didn’t start with its current name—it began as The Temp Group back in 2013, and my journey into the world of dentistry started much earlier than that. When I was just 17 years old, a high school junior juggling school and work, I took a part-time job at a dental office. Little did I know that this small decision would lay the foundation for a career and a company that would change the dental industry.

It all started when a friend, who worked part-time at a local dental office, asked if I wanted to help out. I had no clue what “helping out” even meant, but I was trying to balance school, college courses, and a part-time job to support myself and my family. The idea of making extra money sounded perfect, so I said yes. That simple “yes” marked the beginning of my journey in dentistry.

The office I worked in was old—even for those days, it felt outdated. My job was to file insurance claims in a room filled with stacks of patient charts, piled high with no real system in place. The front desk team would somehow grab the right chart from the mess, but I never quite figured out how they managed. I wasn’t given any formal training, so I learned by watching others and figuring things out as I went along. Little did I know, this chaotic beginning was teaching me skills I’d use to build something far bigger in the future.

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At that time, I wasn’t just working for myself—I was also sending money to my mother in Colorado, who was struggling with addiction and living in extreme poverty. I had my paychecks mailed to my best friend’s house in another state, and she would deposit them so I could send the money to help my mom. My employer didn’t offer direct deposit, but we made it work. I was living with my dad in Illinois, focused on finishing school while earning my Associate’s degree and cosmetology license. It wasn’t easy, but it was what I needed to do.

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After leaving that dental office, I moved to Colorado and continued my career in dentistry. My husband and I struggled financially, often working two or three jobs at a time just to make ends meet. But no matter what other jobs I held, dentistry always called me back. I knew this industry was where I belonged.

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In 2007, I took my first manager role in a dental office, and as I learned more about the industry, I knew I wanted to make a real difference. I saw vendors take advantage of dental offices, and it frustrated me. No one seemed to understand just how expensive it is to run a dental practice—the constant problems, the equipment, and the turnover, with staff leaving for just a dollar more at the office down the street. I knew I could create a business that helped, and I was determined to do it with integrity. I didn’t want to make money by taking advantage of the industry; I wanted to build something better for it.

In 2013, I had the idea to start The Temp Group, a company focused on job placement for dental offices. I thought this was where I wanted to be—helping offices fill temporary roles. But as I worked with more offices, I saw another huge need: eligibility verification. I realized we could do this incredibly well, and we expanded to offer both job placement and eligibility verification services.

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By 2014, the name Dentistry Support came to me. I knew that this was the future of the company, but I wasn’t ready to fully rebrand just yet. We spent the first couple of years as The Temp Group, offering a combination of job placement and eligibility verification. But in my heart, I knew I wanted to focus solely on the dental industry. I wanted the name and the brand to reflect that commitment.

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In 2015, we officially rebranded to Dentistry Support®. This wasn’t just a name change—it was a commitment to serve the dental community with specialized services that made running a practice easier and more efficient. I knew remote work was the future, and we could provide valuable support to dental offices nationwide.

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But, of course, life had its twists and turns. Shortly after rebranding, I was offered a C-suite position with a large dental group in Beverly Hills. It was an opportunity of a lifetime—an incredible salary, a big relocation, and the chance to rise even higher in my career. I took it, and once again, my dream of growing Dentistry Support® took a back seat. We maintained our small client base, but I didn’t have the capacity to grow it the way I wanted. I didn’t know how to handle the infrastructure, manage wages, or reduce costs for dentists at the time.

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However, that C-suite position taught me invaluable lessons. As Chief Operating Officer, I learned how to hire the right people, build sustainable systems, and manage operations at the highest level. These skills would later become the foundation for Dentistry Support®, even though I didn’t realize it then.

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But then, in a twist I didn’t see coming, I was fired from that job. It was devastating. I had poured so much into that role, and suddenly, it was gone. But looking back, that moment was a gift. It pushed me to return to Dentistry Support® with everything I had. I took six weeks to pour my heart and soul into this company, investing my entire life savings. I drove from California to Arizona every week, staying in hotels, pitching Dentistry Support®, and hoping to land just one client. It was a grind, but I was determined.

In those six weeks, Dentistry Support® went from a small idea to a million-dollar company.

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We expanded from offering temp services and eligibility verification to providing a full suite of remote solutions—dental billing, credentialing, phones, medical billing, mentoring, and even launching a podcast. My daughter, who was only 11 years old when we first started, helped out alongside my husband, sending emails and working hard to land clients. It was a family effort from the very beginning, and I couldn’t be more proud of how far we’ve come.

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Today, Dentistry Support® employs nearly 600 people, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built. I speak publicly at events, host a podcast, and continue to innovate within the dental community. We’ve created something special—something that serves this industry with integrity, heart, and purpose.

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The sky is truly the limit. And through it all, I’ve never forgotten the cluttered back room where it all began—the place that taught me how to persevere, how to learn without a guide, and how to turn a dream into reality.

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Thank you for being here, 

Sarah Beth Herman

CEO, Dentistry Support®