Meet Barbara Culbertson
PLA Trainer | 40+ Years in Dentistry | Former Practice Administrator, Heartland Dental
Forty years in dentistry. Every role. Every environment. Every challenge a dental team can face.
Barb Culbertson has seen it all — and she knows exactly what separates the practices that thrive from the ones that just survive.
Barb Culbertson has spent more than four decades in the dental field — as an office manager, a patient advocate, a trainer, and a builder of teams. She has worked in private practice, managed complex operations, and trained staff at every level of the organization.
When her practice was acquired by Heartland Dental — one of the largest dental support organizations in the country — Barb didn't leave dentistry. She went deeper into it. She became a Practice Administrator at Heartland, and was also asked to develop and deliver training programs across multiple practices at scale.
That experience gave her something rare: she knows what world-class dental operations look like from the inside of a corporate machine — and she knows exactly why private practice, done right, is something entirely different and entirely better.
She has seen corporate dental from the inside. That's exactly why she believes so deeply in what private practice can be when it's led well.
Her training background spans practice administration, communications, infrastructure development, team systems, patient experience, and more. But what sets Barb apart isn't a list of topics.
It's her output.
The teams Barb builds don't just follow procedures. They understand why those procedures exist. They take ownership. They show up with pride. They stay.
Her knowledge is unmatched. Her productivity is old school — the kind that doesn't need managing. And the teams she works with don't just respect her — they love her.
What a Barb Culbertson Training Looks Like
Barb trains on the operational side of private practice — the systems, the team dynamics, the patient experience, and the day-to-day disciplines that determine whether a practice runs with excellence or runs on chaos.
Her training is practical and direct. She doesn't teach theory. She teaches what actually works — because she's done it herself, for 40 years, in practices of every size and type.
Whether she's working with a front desk team, an office manager, or a full practice staff, Barb brings the same thing every time: clarity, high standards, and a genuine belief that every person on the team is capable of extraordinary work.
Practice administration and office management
Team communication and culture
Patient experience and advocacy
Infrastructure development and system
Staff development and mentoring
In Jody’s Words
Barb Culbertson is, without exaggeration, one of the best dental office professionals in the country. Her knowledge is extraordinary. Her productivity is unmatched. Her work ethic is the kind you rarely see anymore.
She has been one of the most important building blocks of our practice's success. The team she built at Melanie Pugh DMD PA is a direct reflection of who Barb is and what she believes — and it shows every single day.
When we built Pugh Leadership Academy, there was never a question about who we wanted training the people side of private practice. It was always Barb.
Barb's husband is from Paris, Kentucky, and they have a daughter named Heather — a dental hygienist in Owensboro. Dentistry clearly runs in the family.
When she isn't building world-class dental teams, you'll find Barb going to the gym, walking, golfing, doing yoga and spending time at the beach. She also leads a church supported life group. And if none of those are on the schedule, she's most likely spending time with her grandkids: Mylas, Walker, Everlee and Wrightley.
Outside the Office
If you want your team trained by someone who has genuinely done it all – Barb is your person.
Barb brings 40 years of real-world dental experience to every training she delivers at Pugh Leadership Academy. No theory. No guesswork. Just the disciplined, practical, people-first training that turns good teams into great ones.