Our Mission
To educate dentists and office managers on the business of dentistry by building in operational goals, systems, and accountability.
At Optimize Dental, we believe in empowering dental professionals to reach their full potential. We understand that running a successful dental practice requires more than just clinical expertise, which is why we are here – to provide the necessary support systems to help increase operational efficiency and maximize growth.
Our amazing team of educators and consultants bring a combined total of over 37 years of dental and management experience. We are committed to helping you conquer challenges, while bringing a new level of excellence and sustainability to your clinic.
Meet Our Team
Theresa Smith
Co-Founder
Theresa Smith is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of management experience and 13+ years in dental management. With previous roles as an administrator, office manager, and district manager, Theresa brings a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to the table. She started Optimize Dental to bring support to dental professionals who have not had the opportunity to learn how to manage and develop a business. She is passionate about helping practices grow with sustainable operations that balance clinical culture, patient care, and business management. When she's not working, Theresa loves spending time with her family, watching her kids' sports games, and taking her horse for a ride.
Brittany Pollard
Co-Founder
Brittany Pollard is a dental professional with 7 years of experience in the industry. With a diverse background as an administrator, office manager, district manager, and account manager, Brittany noticed a gap in the education that dentists and managers were receiving. Using her own knowledge, she started Optimize Dental to expedite the learning process. Brittany’s mission is to help dental professionals gain the confidence to run their clinic as a business, putting patient care at the forefront while ensuring their systems and processes are running efficiently. In her free time, Brittany loves spending quality time with family and friends.
Michelle Knogler
Development Manager
Michelle Knogler is a highly experienced dental professional with over 22 years in the industry. Michelle completed her dental assisting program at Saskatchewan Polytech in 2001, and has worked in various RDA roles for which she was trained in IPC manual, protocols, systems, and processes. She also spent six years working in private practice as an administrator, where she handled financial surgical cases. Michelle then moved on to manage a corporate general dental practice, where she honed her management skills and gained valuable insight to the business side of dentistry. Michelle officially joined Optimize in early 2022 as the Development Manager, bringing her passion for patient care, clinic culture, and support, teamwork, and collaboration. As a mother, her personal values center around raising her children to be productive humans.
Colinda Higgins
Clinical Operations Coach
Colinda Higgins has been serving the dental community in private and corporate practices for the past 25 years around the Edmonton area. Early in her career, Colinda started as a dental assistant and transferred to the administration team. She continued to flourish as a hygiene coordinator, treatment coordinator, surgical coordinator and office manager for 10 of those years. With her hands on experience of the clinical, administrative, and management viewpoints, she understands the needs and challenges of each department that are all critical for a positive team culture. Colinda relishes working with teams helping them with operational systems to watch them thrive. Colinda joined Optimize Dental in the fall of 2023 as Clinical Operations Coach. She loves the outdoors and spending time with her husband and children.
Amy Emerson
Remote Recare Specialist
Amy Emerson is an experienced dental professional with over 24 years in the industry. Amy graduated from NAIT ‘s dental assisting program in 1999. Starting her carrier as an RDA, Amy moved to the clinical side of dental operations shortly after returning from her first maternity leave. Amy has spent 20 years working as an administrator, a clinical coordinator, a manager of a corporate general practice and has spent the last 2 years exclusively working as a Remote Recare specialist. When Amy is not auditing charts and reaching out to patients, she spends her time with family.
Let’s Work Together
Thank you for your interest in working with Optimize Dental! We are here to support you and your team every step of the way.