S4 E3: Working Together for Team-Based Dentistry, Access to Care and the Future of Prevention with Crystal Spring (Smiles Across Montana)

Working Together for Team-Based Dentistry, Access to Care and the Future of Prevention | w/ Crystal Spring (Smiles Across Montana) | Inspired Hygiene Podcast Welcome back to the Inspired Hygiene Podcast. This season is focused on the Powerful Partnership—how dentists, hygienists, and the entire dental team can work together to strengthen culture, improve access, and rebuild trust across the industry. In this episode, Rachel Wall is joined by Crystal Spring, RDH, co-founder and Executive Director of Smiles Across Montana, a nonprofit portable dental program bringing care directly into schools, nursing facilities, and community centers throughout Montana. Rachel and Crystal connected recently at Dental Entrepreneur Women (DEW) in Charlotte, and quickly realized they share a common mindset: the future of dentistry depends on collaboration, innovation, and a team approach.  Crystal shares the real story behind building Smiles Across Montana: starting with two hygienists, navigating barriers tied to a limited access permit, and ultimately choosing to build a model centered on interprofessional teamwork—including dentists, hygienists, assistants, and community health partners—to deliver care at scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: What Smiles Across Montana is and how portable dentistry works in real life Why Crystal intentionally moved toward a dentist-inclusive team model to improve outcomes and continuity of care The role of fear and “territorial tension” in dentistry—and how it shows up in regulation and scope debates How Crystal views the evolving role of the dental assistant and preventive support (including OPAs) through an abundance mindset Why access challenges aren’t limited to rural communities—patients everywhere are waiting months for hygiene care Practical next steps to help dentists and hygienists heal relationships: meet, collaborate, solve problems together, and stop leading with attack Crystal also discusses the importance of professional advocacy and encourages clinicians to support organized dentistry and hygiene so solutions can be built with alignment—not conflict. Mentioned in this episode: Dental Entrepreneur Women (DEW): dew.life Smiles Across Montana: smilesacrossmontana.com Crystal’s focus on minimally invasive dentistry and innovative care delivery models- listen to this episode of Straight Up with Steph to learn more from Crystal Volunteer opportunity: Crystal shares details about an upcoming mission clinic centered around mental health and invites dentists, hygienists, and team members interested in volunteering to learn more through Smiles Across Montana. If you care about the future of prevention, access to care, and what it looks like to truly operate as one team, this episode will expand your perspective—and challenge the profession to move forward together. Subscribe for more episodes this season as we explore real solutions to rebuild the dentist–hygienist partnership and elevate modern team-based dentistry. #InspiredHygiene #DentalPodcast #DentalHygiene #Dentistry #AccessToCare #PublicHealthDentistry #TeamBasedCare #PreventiveCare #MinimallyInvasiveDentistry #RDH #DentalLeadership #DEW #SmilesAcrossMontana #OralSystemicHealth