The best organizations do more than grow. They give back.
They understand that success means very little if it does not create opportunities to serve others, strengthen communities, and make life better for people who may not otherwise have access to the care they need.
That belief is deeply personal for me, and it is one of the reasons I am proud of what we have built at Aspen Dental.
When people ask me what makes Aspen Dental a meaningful place to build a dental career, I don’t often start with technology or training. While those things matter, of course, I usually start with a Saturday in November, when hundreds of Aspen Dental offices open their doors to provide free care for veterans who have served our country and may not otherwise receive the dental care they need.
That is our Day of Service.
A day where doctors, hygienists, lab techs, DAs, OMs, and team members roll up their sleeves and show up for people they have never met. Helping veterans who have lived with pain for far too long. Veterans who have not smiled in years. Veterans who are grateful not because the care is free, but because someone made room for them.
Those moments stay with you.
This November 7, as the country continues to mark its 250th anniversary, Day of Service returns at a level we have not attempted before. And I cannot think of a more meaningful way to honor that milestone than by extending care to the people who served this country.
It says something real about who we are as an organization.
Day of Service, by the Numbers
Since Day of Service began, doctors and teams across the network have cared for more than 30,000 veterans, delivering more than $28 million in donated dental care and more than 21,000 hours of free treatment at Aspen Dental offices nationwide. This year builds on that legacy as part of a broader five-year commitment across the network to deliver up to $100 million in donated dental care and oral health services.
Those numbers are significant. But as a clinician, I can tell you the real story is not found in the totals.
The real story is the patient.
It is the veteran who can finally eat without pain. The patient who stops covering their mouth when they laugh. The person who walks out feeling seen, valued, and cared for.
That is what giving back looks like in dentistry.
Why This Day Stays With the People Who Show Up
I have heard the same thing from doctors, hygienists, dental assistants, office managers, and support teams who participate in Day of Service: it becomes one of the days they remember most from their year. It reminds people why they chose this profession in the first place.
Dentistry is clinical, yes. It is technical. It requires discipline, skill, precision, and judgment. But at its best, dentistry is also deeply human. It restores confidence. It relieves pain. It gives people dignity. It changes how someone moves through the world.
That matters when people are deciding where they want to build a career.
People want their work to add up to something. They want to know their organization is not only focused on growth, but also on impact. They want to be part of a culture where service is not an occasional campaign, but something woven into how people show up every day.
What Sets Aspen Dental Apart
Aspen Dental’s strength is that it brings together opportunity, support, and purpose.
There is a real growth path here, from structured onboarding and clinical development through The Aspen Group University (TAG U) to the support of a model that helps remove many of the operational burdens from clinicians, allowing doctors to focus fully on diagnosis, treatment planning, patient relationships, and leading their teams.
That support matters. So does the culture around it.
Culture is what makes people stay. And I see that culture most clearly when people choose to show up for something bigger than themselves.
Day of Service is one of the most visible examples. But the same spirit shows up in smaller ways every day — when a team finds room for a patient in pain, when a doctor mentors a new clinician, when an office rallies around a community need, or when someone takes the extra time to make a patient feel comfortable and understood.
Of the nearly nine million veterans enrolled in VA health care, only 20% are eligible for VA dental benefits, according to CareQuest Institute. That leaves many veterans without regular access to the dental care they need.
Aspen Dental is positioned to help meet that need in hundreds of communities across the country.
Recognition Beyond Day of Service
Other people have noticed, too. Earlier this year, The Aspen Group was named to Built In’s Best Places to Work in Chicago, and this summer Aspen Dental was named to TIME’s first Best Private Companies list, a ranking based partly on independent employee survey data. Recognition like that is meaningful because it reflects something that is difficult to manufacture: whether people feel proud of where they work, supported in what they do, and connected to a larger purpose. Day of Service measures that same idea in a different way.
It shows what happens when people believe their work matters — and when an organization creates space for them to use their skills in service of others.
How to Get Involved This November
If you’re a clinician weighing where to build a career, or a fellow dental or DSO leader curious what this looks like on the ground, I’d encourage you to follow along, see Day of Service for yourself.
Veterans can learn more at aspendental.com/dayofservice, where scheduling opens in late September.
Clinicians interested in career opportunities can visit careers.aspendental.com.
Giving back is not separate from who we are. It is part of what makes this organization special.
Day of Service may be the most visible example, but the heart behind it shows up every day in offices across the country.
I am grateful to be part of both.
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