Competence and Trust: How Skill and Consistency Shape Strong Dental Teams

Competence is the first building block of trust. It includes technical skill, communication, leadership, time management, and the daily behaviors that help teams work reliably. When competence is strong at the clinical, team, and organizational levels, dental teams build trust and deliver better patient experiences. When competence is inconsistent or unclear, trust breaks down quickly.

Key Questions This Page Answers

• What is competence in the context of workplace trust?
• Why is competence foundational for dental teams?
• How does competence show up in clinical care, team interactions, and organizational leadership?
• How does competence build or erode trust?
• How can practices improve competence across their teams?

Episode Snapshot

• Hosts: Dr. Matt Allen (DifferentKind), Dr. Cory Scheer (TrustCentric)
• Topic: Competence as the first building block of trust
• Length: 5–7 minutes
• Part of: Most Trusted Dentists Mini-Series

Key Topics Covered

• Technical skill and training
• Communication competence
• Leadership as a competency
• Time, project, and risk management
• How competence shows up in day-to-day practice flow
• Onboarding, SOPs, standardization
• Why competence matters for patient experience

Episode Highlights

• Competence is more than your diploma
• Communication failures are often competence failures
• Leadership is a competency that can be developed
• Consistent note-taking, sterilization, and handoffs build trust
• Strong organizational SOPs reflect competence at the system level

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