2026 Airway-Centric Goals Blog Series, Part 2: Team Training — Building Confidence and Competence

If your schedule is the roadmap, your team is the engine that drives you toward your airway-centric goals. Even the most intentional calendar will fall flat without a team that’s confident, aligned, and fully equipped to deliver. That’s why revisiting team training is one of the smartest investments you can make in 2026.

Why Training Matters Every Year

Airway care is complex, and expectations can shift quickly. Over time, even the most talented teams develop habits that need refreshing. Training ensures:

• Consistency in patient experience across every appointment.
• Confidence in explaining treatment, financials, and follow-up steps.
• Efficiency in record-taking, documentation, and appliance delivery.

Just as repetition builds habits in scheduling, it also creates reliability in your team’s performance.

Where to Start

1. Revisit the Vivos Institute: If your program included in-person training, make this the year you return. New research, updated protocols, and expanded best practices are constantly being added. Don’t assume your team knows it all—give them the opportunity to refresh and grow.
2. Review Online Training & Webinars:The Vivos Institute offers ongoing education online. Schedule time for your team to watch webinars together, then discuss how to apply the learning immediately in your office.
3. Role-Specific Training: From front office to dental assistants to treatment navigators, each role carries unique responsibilities. Encourage each team member to revisit the training path that applies specifically to them.
4. Consider In-Office Support:Sometimes the best way to bridge gaps is hands-on coaching. If your team is struggling in a specific area—financial arrangements, case acceptance, or record collection—ask about in-office support to address those pain points directly.



Reinforcing Behaviors Daily

Training doesn’t end once a course or webinar is completed—it has to be reinforced consistently. Some simple, practical ways to hardwire training into daily operations include:
• Use checklists:Ensure every step of patient flow and record collection is followed, creating consistency across visits.
• Send new team members to training early:If your program includes Institute training, prioritize sending new hires as soon as possible so they start with the right foundation.
• Leverage huddles and staff meetings:Use daily huddles and weekly staff meetings as mini-training sessions—review checklists, role-play scenarios, or revisit a specific protocol to keep skills sharp.



Recognizing Your Team as They Grow

As your team learns and builds new skills, recognition reinforces positive behaviors and motivates consistency. Here are three simple but powerful ways to do it:
1. Celebrate in Huddles:Take a moment in your daily huddle to recognize someone who applied training the day before—whether it was handling a financial conversation smoothly or nailing a records protocol.
2. Peer-to-Peer Shoutouts:Encourage team members to recognize each other. A quick note on a whiteboard, a shared message, or even a small “caught doing great” card can build camaraderie.
3. Tie Recognition to Milestones:When the team hits a training goal—like 100% completion of a checklist for a month—celebrate with lunch, coffee, or a small office reward. These celebrations don’t have to be big; consistency matters more than scale.



Encourage a Culture of Learning

Training isn’t a one-time event; it’s a culture. When you combine ongoing learning with consistent recognition, you build a team that is not only skilled, but also motivated and engaged. That energy translates directly into better patient experiences and stronger results for your practice.



Final Thought

Investing in team training is about more than checking a box—it’s about equipping your team to deliver consistent, confident care to every patient. When training is reinforced daily and paired with meaningful recognition, your team feels valued, capable, and aligned with your mission. With this approach, your 2026 goals aren’t just possible—they’re inevitable.