From the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting to Trapezio, this online training is a go-to for orthodontic and dental offices. Here’s how it started.
Curious how Trapezio became the trusted source for online training for front desk team members, office managers, treatment coordinators, orthodontic assistants, and more? You’re in the right place. Dr. Doug Depew, DMD, MS, is often asked how Trapezio got its start. Here’s the full history!
Trapezio’s online training for your orthodontic team is endorsed by the AAO and NZAO
The Trapezio Timeline
A Training Gap Is Identified
As a young orthodontist in a rapidly growing practice, Dr Depew watched an ortho assistant who was working on his wife’s best friend’s daughter. He thought “What is the assistant slips and hurts her? I’ll never hear the end of it.” There was some humor in his thought, but it also raised a serious question: Were orthodontic assistants getting the standardized training they really needed?
A Curriculum Is Developed & Licensed
With very few resources specifically designed to teach orthodontic assistants not only what to do, but why they were doing it, Dr. Doug Depew decided to create what was needed. He spent the next two years developing a structured curriculum and writing a textbook. In 1998, the curriculum became licensed by the state of Georgia as the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting. With a talented administrator and experienced assistants as instructors, they offered an eight-week course combining classroom instruction, home study, and hands-on clinical training. Dr. Depew also with Kilgore to develop training-model mounts students could use in a dental chair or at home. Students who successfully completed the program received a certificate.
Training Expanded & Came Back In-House For Quality Control
The Academy of Orthodontic Assisting classes were offered and filled four times a year, attracting students from throughout Atlanta and surrounding states. As interest grew, the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting licensed orthodontists in other states to offer the program, but a desire to maintain consistent quality led to training being brought back in-house.
Online Training Opened Standardized Training To More People & Practices
The internet gave another way to reach people, and Dr. Depew invested heavily in custom web-based e-learning software—a Learning Management System, before those platforms were widely available. Students could complete their lessons and tests online, giving the ability to provide the same structured education to people regardless of where they were located.
What began as a way to bring new people into orthodontic assisting soon became a primary resource for doctors looking for a better way to train their own teams. Practices began using the online programs to educate new hires, strengthen the knowledge of existing team members, and provide a more consistent foundation for training throughout the office. The online format also allowed team members to learn at their own pace and gave practices a structured resource they could incorporate into onboarding and ongoing staff development.
An American Association of Orthodontics Partnership Led To a Nationally Recognized Program
With the American Association of Orthodontists, AAO, placing greater emphasis on the recruitment and education of orthodontic team members and their involvement in the profession, they approached about a partnership. The AAO formally endorsed the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting program in 2006, and the two worked together to establish a nationally recognized Specialized Orthodontic Assistant certification program. That relationship also led to lectures, webinars, and educational opportunities at AAO annual meetings.
Training Expanded To Other Roles & the Programs Are Rebranded as “Trapezio”
As the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting grew, Dr. Depew recruited respected orthodontic consultants to help develop training for front desk team members, insurance coordinators, financial coordinators, and treatment coordinators. The need for structured training extended well beyond clinical assisting. With a new CEO and a purpose that had grown far beyond assisting, the Academy of Orthodontic Assisting became “Trapezio”.
Partnerships Expanded Trapezio’s Reach Across the Globe
Trapezio began working with professional associations to offer additional hands-on training opportunities for team members who completed the online training programs. Through these partnerships, team members completed their online lessons and testing through Trapezio, then attended a hands-on training retreat organized by the association and led by local orthodontists using Trapezio’s curriculum. The first collaboration of this kind was with the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists in 2010. Trapezio began working to develop similar relationships with associations in other states and countries.
Trapezio Gets a Fresh New Look
Trapezio completed a rebrand to bring the look and feel of the online experience inline with the expert training courses offered. The new focus centered around making orthodontic training “ez” for orthodontists and their team members.
Trapezio Partners With the Manitoba Dental Association
The MDA recognizes Trapezio as an approved provider for online education of orthodontic assistant. The pathway supports foundational orthodontic knowledge while ensuring participants also complete required clinical training for certification.
Trapezio’s Online Training In the Now
Today, orthodontic practices use Trapezio’s online programs to train team members across multiple roles and at different stages of their careers, and training programs are even available for team members of dental practices. The programs can be used to onboard someone who is completely new to their role, cross-train an existing team member, prepare someone for additional responsibilities, or provide consistent continuing education for the team.
Thousands of graduates have now completed the programs, and an amazing management team and the experienced Board of Experts continue to add courses and improve our materials. Through every change, our philosophy has stayed the same: teach both the how and the why.
Clinical and non-clinical team members need practical skills and the knowledge to understand their work. Our structured approach to training and assessment gives practices a consistent foundation across different techniques and manufacturers, while allowing doctors to add their own preferences and procedures.
“Looking back at that moment in my office, I certainly didn’t imagine everything it would lead to. I just knew we needed a better way to train our team members who we depend on to represent us. That purpose is still very personal to me: helping orthodontic teams understand their work, feel confident in what they do, and take great care of our patients,” Dr. Doug Depew.
