What do you do when you have a problem without a solution? For dentist Dr. James Younger, you build one.
It all started in 2015 with a 4 a.m. text and a full schedule. With a sick dental hygienist and no replacement, Dr. Younger began to personally call patients, cancelling their appointments for the day. Ideally, Dr. Younger could pick a replacement from a pool of available hygienists, but traditional dental temping agencies are only open during regular business hours, and that was just too late for patients expecting to come in for their appointments in just a few short hours.
While ringing patient after patient, Dr. Younger believed there had to be a better way for dental offices to connect directly with a local and available hygienist or assistant interested in temping for the day. With a notepad and pen in hand, Dr. Younger began to sketch out the idea for what would become TempStars, a dental temping app with real-time 24/7 availability – the first and only app of its kind in Canada. A service like this could provide hygienists and assistants with an empowered and flexible lifestyle and offer appointment stability for dental offices.
“Essentially, TempStars was created for two purposes: The first was to alleviate stress by giving dental offices a way to find a good hygienist or assistant quickly and easily; and the second, was to provide a way for hygienists and assistants to live flexible and empowered professional lives,” explains Dr. Younger.
This is how the app works – dental offices post their shifts to TempStars, as well as the day/time they need a temp, and for which role. From there, hygienists and assistants will be notified in real time of any shifts posted and can send in an offer to work the shift, along with their resumé and their own hourly rate. The offices then review the individual’s reliability and performance ratings, and accept the best fit. And it’s all done, quickly and simply in minutes.
Because of this, in less than two years, TempStars has become the largest and #1 rated dental temp agency in Canada, operating from coast-to-coast while connecting over 3,600 hygienists and assistants with more than 1,800 dental offices.
And, for hygienists and assistants, the app is more than a job board. It helps them create a schedule and pay rate on their terms, and manages all their invoices and past jobs. Plus, there is no cost to using the service. For dental offices, the placement fee is only $38, one of the lowest in the industry when compared to traditional agency fees of $45-$80-plus.
“Hygienists and assistants are essential members of the patient care team, and the cornerstone of a successful dental practice. Our commitment is to make it easy to find a good hygienist or assistant, fast. Not just anybody, but a hygienist or assistant who delights your patients and helps you grow your practice,” said Dr. Younger.
For dentist Sandra Carriero, she says TempStars is a fantastic and easy service for dental professionals to use to find replacement staff quickly and efficiently. “I appreciate the fact that I can see the temp’s resumé and have direct contact with them. Scheduling is easy and payment is easy as well. I highly recommend the service.”
For more information, visit www.tempstars.ca. Available on iPhone and Android, TempStars can be downloaded on Apple App Store or Google Play.
