Alabama has a preceptor program for dental assistants and hygienists—which means they learn on the job, with some weekend classroom time, rather than passing a qualifying exam before they can practice, as is the norm in other states. That allows people who usually work in an office to occasionally take a turn assisting the dentists and thus accumulate hours toward a new career. (To promote this flexibility, every large piece of dental equipment is tagged with a QR code, which launches a homemade video demonstrating its use and maintenance.) Sarrell covers the cost of tuition for staffers who decide to pursue further education. I met a hygienist who used to work in a call center, several dental assistants who got their start on the business side of the operation, and a dentist who started out in the claims department and went on to graduate in the top 10 percent of her dental school class at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.