Dr. Summer Kassmel Boost 2026 Speaker Spotlight

Leading Associates Without Micromanaging: Expectations, Mentorship, and Building Confidence

This presentation equips practice owners and leaders with a practical framework for leading associate dentists with clarity and confidence, without micromanaging or over-functioning. Participants will learn how to set and communicate clear, non-negotiable expectations, apply a mentorship model that builds clinical judgment and accountability, and use coaching tools that develop confident, capable associates while maintaining high standards of care and culture.

Key Learning Objectives:

1. Define and communicate clear, non-negotiable expectations for associate dentists that align with clinical standards, culture, and patient car

2. Apply a “teach them to fish” mentorship model that develops clinical judgment, confidence, and accountability instead of rescuing, fixing, or over-functioning for associates.

3. Recognize how over-helping creates entitlement and disengagement, and replace it with leadership behaviors that build capability, resilience, and trust.

4. Use coaching questions and decision frameworks to guide associates toward solutions without micromanaging or lowering standards of care.

Dr. Summer Kassmel, Owner at Ladder5 Mentorship

Dr. Summer Kassmel is owner of Castle Peak Dental, Avon Dental, and Ladder5
Mentorship & Resources. She also owns and operates Vail Valley Dental Assisting School, DA Schools Delivered, and Dental Career Academy in the Vail, Colorado area where she has built a life she loves in the mountains with her family. Leaving the clinical chair of her offices in 2014 has allowed Summer to focus on scaling
and maximizing profit in her 2 large offices, as well as create DA Schools Delivered and Dental Career Academy. These products help doctors grow high culture DA and front office departments that minimize staffing costs and increase profitability in their own offices.

Summer is currently a Black Belt Coach for the Dental Success Institute, where she coaches other doctors to implement elite systemization and control their overhead. She loves utilizing numbers and metrics to help doctors make intelligent decisions and work with intention rather than at a frenetic pace. She is also faculty for Dental Success Network where she facilitates the Lady Leader Group to encourage and help other women. She is passionate about helping doctors build successful practices and lives of their
dreams but is especially enthusiastic about supporting women doctors to grow thriving practices they love through her personalized Ladder5 Mentorship.

Super Dentist Boost Camp 2026 Star Speaker: Dr. Summer Kassmel

Leading Associates Without Micromanaging: Expectations, Mentorship, and Building Confidence

Key Learning Objectives:

1. Define and communicate clear, non-negotiable expectations for associate dentists that align with clinical standards, culture, and patient car

2. Apply a “teach them to fish” mentorship model that develops clinical judgment, confidence, and accountability instead of rescuing, fixing, or over-functioning for associates.

3. Recognize how over-helping creates entitlement and disengagement, and replace it with leadership behaviors that build capability, resilience, and trust.

4. Use coaching questions and decision frameworks to guide associates toward solutions without micromanaging or lowering standards of care.

Dr. Summer Kassmel, Owner at Ladder5 Mentorship

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