Stop Treating Hygiene Like a Cost Center: How Dr. Joy Void-Holmes Helps Practices Grow Profit, Not Burnout
Hygiene wages are rising. Reimbursements are shrinking. And many dental practice owners feel stuck in the middle… trying to keep teams happy while protecting profitability.
On this episode of the Nifty Thrifty Dentists Podcast, Dr. Glenn Vo welcomed Dr. Joy Void-Holmes, a hygiene profit and practice valuation consultant who challenges the way most dentists think about hygiene.
“Just because a hygienist can produce $3,000 in a day doesn’t mean the practice is collecting $3,000 and that’s not the hygienist’s fault,” Dr. Joy explained.
Hygiene Is a Business System… Not Just a Clinical Role
Dr. Joy’s perspective is shaped by a rare career path. She began in the front office, learning day sheets, AR, and AP long before becoming a hygienist. That business foundation changed how she viewed hygiene performance.
“A hygienist who understands insurance and the front desk is golden,” she said.
Too often, practices expect high production without aligning insurance mix, systems, or expectations. The result? Frustration on both sides of the operatory.
Managing Expectations on Both Sides of the Chair
One of the biggest breakdowns Dr. Joy sees is mismatched expectations.
“If you’re asking for $75 an hour, you have to be able to bring $75 an hour worth of value to the practice.”
That doesn’t always mean working faster, it means understanding coding, recommending appropriate care, and working within the realities of the practice’s fee structure.
At the same time, Dr. Joy emphasizes that practice owners must level up too.
“If you want a high-level hygienist, you have to build an office that can support one.”
Why Training Is the Missing Link in Hygiene Performance
Unlike dentists, hygienists often graduate with minimal hands-on refinement beyond basic scaling. Dr. Joy saw this gap firsthand, which led her to create her P3 Workshops™ Precision, Power, Prevention.
“We graduate hygienists minimally competent. It can take five to seven years to truly master hand instrumentation without additional training.”
Her programs give hygienists hands-on skill development while teaching the business impact of hygiene decisions. For practice owners, the ROI shows up immediately in confidence, efficiency, and patient experience.
Turning Hygiene Into a Valuation Engine
When hygiene systems improve, practices don’t just feel better… they become more valuable.
Better recare adherence, stronger perio acceptance, and efficient workflows directly increase EBITDA and long-term practice valuation.
“This is your opportunity to mold your hygiene team into the provider you want them to be,” Dr. Joy said.
For dentists willing to invest in training, systems, and honest conversations, hygiene becomes one of the most powerful growth levers in the practice.
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