Dr. Amanda Hankins – or Dr. Amanda, as she is known by her patients and staff at Sprout Pediatric Dentistry – earned her doctoral degree with highest honors from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry. She then entered a pediatric residency program at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry. During that time in Dallas, she trained at three different hospitals – Children’s Medical Center, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, and Baylor Hospital – gaining valuable knowledge and experience working with special needs kids and the medically compromised.
Upon completing her residency in 2016, Dr. Hankins began practicing as an associate doctor for a mentor in her home state of Arkansas, saying, “He was a great clinician who taught me so many things beyond what I learned in school.” For the first four of her six years there, she worked alongside another doctor in one of their various locations, then spent two years as the only doctor in one of the offices.
During these last few years, Dr. Hankins recalls having put a lot of thought into what the rest of her career might look like; did she want to remain as an associate, or own her own practice like her dentist husband? Ultimately, she decided to start her own practice where she could establish the kind of culture she wanted for her young patients, and opened Sprout Pediatric Dentistry in Lowell, Arkansas in June 2022.
Setting Sprout Pediatric Dentistry Apart
A goal of Dr. Hankins was to “create a practice with a culture that is much more focused on the whole child, more than just their teeth. Cavities are important and we need to fix those, but the mouth is such a bigger thing than just teeth; how we breathe, how we eat, how our face develops is related to the shape of our teeth. We aim to focus on all of those things and incorporate more comprehensive care for the patient.”
Dr. Hankins also takes pride in the very intentional design of the office space. Instead of being overstimulating in ways that make already-nervous patients even more fearful, the atmosphere is very calming, comfortable and relaxing. Walls include murals of mountains, waterfalls and other serene scenes that help set the child at ease.
Serving a Small Community in Big Ways
Another way Sprout Pediatric Dentistry differentiates itself from other practices is through its entertaining educational programs at local elementary schools, preschools and even day care centers. They began these as a way of introducing themselves to the community when the practice first opened, and have continued as a way of giving back. Dr. Hankins explained,
“This is one of the most fun things we do. I dress up as the Tooth Fairy, the staff wear costumes, and we bring toothbrushes and cute functional toys.”
“We do presentations for all the little children, teach them how to take good care of their teeth, and let them play with and practice brushing the teeth on little models – such as a dinosaur, shark and unicorn. We send resources home for the parents so they can learn, too. A lot of these kids are so young that everything is new for them, and for the families.”
Sprout Pediatric Dentistry also supports local school activities and fundraisers, and provides dental services for foster children and neighboring underserved communities.
What it Means to Be an eAssist Top Practice
Receiving the Top Practice Award from eAssist caused Dr. Hankins to reflect on what that meant to her – “There are obviously some financial aspects of a practice that are important, because it is a business. But, being a Top Practice is so much more than that; it’s about the quality of care that we serve to our patients; that we have a clear strategy and that we’re implementing that strategy; and that we’re giving our patients great value in their care. The staff is also super important to me because we can’t do what we do without the staff. Being a great practice includes honoring your staff and taking really good care of them.”
She went on to explain how eAssist helps with those important financial aspects. Early on when she was hiring staff, Dr. Hankins realized she didn’t have anyone who was adequately knowledgeable about insurance. When eAssist was recommended by her dental equipment company, she found the pricing to be particularly advantageous for a startup practice, so opted to “try it and see how it goes.” Now she says,
“eAssist has been such a blessing to me. I’ll never not use eAssist; I’ve really enjoyed my experience with them and have recommended eAssist to a lot of people.”
“Obviously getting reimbursed for your service is really important, especially in the beginning. My eAssist team has been so helpful – super timely as far as getting pre-approvals back, and logging reimbursements; implementing systems for us; communicating with my front staff almost daily about patient records and adjustments and things like that. In weekly meetings they go over any kind of insurance things that we’re missing, or odd things that have happened that we’re not getting paid for.”
Dr. Hankins is especially grateful for how the eAssist team helps with things that she recognizes are not actually their responsibility – “They’ve caught errors that we’re doing from an insurance standpoint, and they’re making sure I’m doing everything correctly. I’m not as educated on the insurance side of things. Even though my husband’s practice helped me a lot when starting up, I never had experience with any of this kind of insurance stuff before.”
Advice to New Dental School Graduates
To new dental school graduates, Dr. Hankins highly recommends the path she took: “Find a good mentor – someone you can work with for a while, and whom will train you well. It takes years to develop your own way because you just haven’t had the experience. During that time you will also learn what’s important to you, and what you think is best for serving your community, your patients, and your staff.”
As far as taking an existing practice to a Top Practice level, she added,
“I honestly think if you take good care of people – both your patients and your staff – the rest will come.”
About Sprout Pediatric Dentistry
Sprout Pediatric Dentistry is proudly shaping fun, positive, and personalized dental experiences for children as they grow from infants into young adulthood. Sprout Pediatric Dentistry focuses on conservative, quality dentistry in a warm, caring environment. As a bonus, they also offer laser dentistry. Their experienced, compassionate team is committed to providing “compassionate dental care for your sprouts.” If you’re seeking a kid-friendly, parent-approved dental home in Lowell Arkansas, Sprout Pediatric Dentistry would be honored to serve you and your family!
Learn more at: https://sproutdentist.com/
About eAssist Dental Solutions
eAssist Dental Solutions, a Henry Schein company, is the nation’s leading platform for dental billing and patient billing services for dental offices. eAssist serves thousands of dental practices through a proprietary technology platform that connects dental practices to vetted dental billing specialists, allowing practice owners to fully outsource their billing department to eAssist. The end-to-end solution enhances a dental practice’s revenue cycle management and eases the burden on office staff, ultimately helping practices be more efficient, profitable, and patient-focused.
To learn more, visit eAssist online at: www.dentalbilling.com, Facebook.com/eAssistMe, and @eAssist.me on Instagram
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