How Dr. Tao built a scalable revenue cycle across two locations amidst ownership changes

When Dr. Chih-Yun Tao acquired the practices that would become Origin Periodontics, she was taking on more than two dental offices.

With advanced periodontal training from Tufts University and years of teaching experience at UMKC, Dr. Tao had built her career around clinical excellence. But owning and scaling a two-location practice brought a different set of challenges: managing staff, building administrative systems, and keeping revenue flowing.

The transition was particularly complicated. Changes in ownership, provider credentialing, and billing information created obstacles to getting paid.

Then, a front desk employee left on a Friday afternoon. By Monday, one coordinator was juggling insurance verification, predeterminations, payment posting, and front desk responsibilities across both locations.

By February 2026, Origin’s two locations had accumulated nearly $400,000 in insurance A/R over 30 days old.

The Challenge: Building a Billing Operation That Could Scale

Origin needed to keep daily insurance operations running while navigating an ownership transition, staffing turnover, and credentialing complications.

Hiring another employee could provide additional capacity. Investing in software could reduce manual work. But neither approach alone would necessarily address the recurring problems behind unpaid claims.

Dr. Tao needed a more systematic way to manage the revenue cycle without continually expanding her administrative team.

The Solution: Scaling with an Integrated Revenue Cycle Partner

After evaluating multiple vendors and paths, Origin partnered with Teero in February 2026 to modernize its back-office operations, starting with revenue cycle management.

Teero combined AI-powered workflows with dedicated data scientists to manage insurance verification, payment posting, outstanding claim follow-ups, denials, appeals, and resubmissions across both locations.

As Teero worked through outstanding claims, it also identified recurring issues connected to the ownership and credentialing transition, distinguishing claims that could be resolved through standard follow-ups versus those requiring action by the practice.

While Origin continued managing credentialing internally, Teero handled ongoing collections and surfaced upstream issues for the office to address systematically.

The Results: A More Systematic and Efficient Revenue Cycle

Within eight months, Origin saw measurable improvements across both locations despite ongoing historical credentialing challenges.

1. Streamlined Operations: Faster Claims and Automated Payments

Across both locations, 91% of insurance payments were posted within one day of receipt, with EOBs and payment details recorded in Dentrix. This helped reduce manual administrative work and keep financial records current.

2. Improved Cash Flow: Collecting Insurance Revenue Faster

With more insurance revenue arriving sooner, Origin improved its cash flow to support its growth.

3. Continuous Improvement: Resolving Complex Claims and Identifying Root Causes

Since August 1, 2026, Teero has worked on 192 appeals and resubmissions across Origin’s two locations.

Each denial, appeal, and resubmission provides insight into recurring payer issues and reimbursement barriers. Teero uses these insights to identify upstream problems and inform process improvements, helping Origin build a smarter revenue cycle tailored to its needs over time.

The Impact: A Stronger Foundation for Growth

For Origin, the partnership offered more than a way to navigate an ownership transition, staffing turnover, and credentialing challenges. It provided an opportunity to fundamentally rethink how the practice managed its revenue cycle.

Instead of hiring another employee to manage an increasingly complex billing workload, Origin adopted a more scalable operating model—one built around automation, faster collections, and continuous improvement.

For Dr. Tao, that meant more time to focus on delivering exceptional periodontal care and growing Origin, knowing she had a dedicated partner supporting the business as it scaled.