How I Created My First Dental Checklist from Scratch (And Why It Saved Me Hours Every Week)

When I opened my first dental office, I had no systems—just stress.

I had one assistant, one front office coordinator, and me. That was the team. No manuals. No onboarding plans. No clue how to make sure the same things got done the same way every day.

That’s when I realized:

If I was going to survive this, I needed checklists.

But not the pretty laminated kind (I’ll get to that later).
I needed a real system. Something I could build once and reuse every time I hired someone new.

Step 1: Brain Dump Everything

The first thing I did was simple:

I wrote down every task that needed to get done in the office.

Not in order. Not by department. Just a messy, running list.
From “verify insurance” to “run the autoclave” to “call the lab.”
Because when you’re building systems, order doesn’t matter—yet.

Step 2: Group by Category

Once the chaos was on paper, I grouped everything.

• Insurance
• Scheduling
• Sterilization
• Maintenance
• CEO Duties

This gave me structure.

Step 3: Put it in Flow Order

Then I sequenced the steps the way they happened in real life. For example, my insurance flow became:

1. Submit insurance claims (primary or secondary)
2. Compile all EFT payments
3. Scan EOBs into patient accounts
4. Post payments (checks, EFTs, credit cards) into patient accounts

Suddenly, I wasn’t just listing tasks—I was building a repeatable operating system.

Step 4: Test, Tweak, and Train

Once I used it myself and trained my team on it, I realized:

• A few steps were out of order
• Some were missing
• Some needed clarity
• But most importantly… it worked

My checklist became the training guide for every new hire.

It saved me hours.
It prevented dropped balls.
And it kept me from explaining the same task 17 times in 17 different ways.

Here’s the Part No One Tells You:

When you’re starting a business, you don’t just need people—you need systems.

Because eventually:

• Someone quits
• Someone calls in sick
• Or you hire someone new

And if every task lives in someone’s head, you’re starting from scratch every time.

The Tool I Wish I Had Back Then

Today, I build checklists inside Milo—so I can assign tasks, track progress, and make changes without reprinting a single page.

But back then?

It started with a blank Google Doc and a big headache.

That’s how I built my first checklist—and it’s the same process I still use across my dental offices and startups today.

Want the actual checklist I used?

Here is my Officer Manager Survival Kit. I bundled 7 essential checklists into a PDF for you to download for free. And when you're ready to take your systems to the next level, try the digital versions inside Milo.