Curve Dental Names Rick Hansen Chief Customer Officer to Build a New Standard for Customer Experience in Dental Software

Appointment accelerates Curve's investment in customer onboarding and implementation, training, support and long-term success—combining high-touch human expertise with modern technology to make every stage of the customer journey faster, easier and more connected

ALPHARETTA, Ga., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Curve Dental^®, the leader in AI-powered, cloud-native, all-in-one dental practice management software, today announced the appointment of Rick Hansen as Chief Customer Officer, a newly created executive role reflecting Curve's fast-paced growth and expanding customer base. Hansen is charged with transforming the experience customers receive from implementation and go-live through ongoing support, adoption and growth.

Hansen will lead Curve's post-sales organization, including Customer Success, Support, Implementation, Training and Account Management. His mandate is to connect those functions around one customer journey, modernize how Curve serves practices at scale and raise the standard for what dental teams should expect from their software partner. The role also supports Curve's continued expansion with multi-location groups and DSOs, where implementation, standardization, training and ongoing support become increasingly complex as organizations scale.

The appointment extends the same long-term investment philosophy behind Curve's recently announced $200 million R&D commitment into the customer experience around the platform. As Curve continues to grow, the company is investing in both the people and technology that help practices transition successfully, reach value faster and get the right help when they need it.

"When a practice moves to Curve, we're not just installing software. We're being trusted with the system that keeps their business running," said Dave Cormack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Curve Dental. "That means we are with our customers every step of the way: in the lead-up to going live, through the conversion and training, and long after the switch is made. We want our customers to know that Curve is truly part of their team—not simply a vendor they call when something breaks."

"At the same time, we're continuing our investment in AI and automation to make the simple things faster, because no one should have to wait for an answer that should take seconds," added Cormack. "But technology should never become a wall between us and the customer. When a practice needs a person, they have always been able to reach a knowledgeable Curve team member who can listen, use judgment and help them move forward. Rick's mandate is to raise the standard on both sides of that equation: make us faster through technology and more valuable through our people."

From Implementation to Long-Term Success

For dental practices, changing practice management systems is not a simple software purchase. It can touch years of data, workflows across the front office and clinical team, training, billing, reporting and the daily rhythm of the practice. Curve's customer model is designed around supporting that change before, during and after go-live—not handing a practice a login and wishing them luck.

Under Hansen's leadership, Curve will continue strengthening implementation and onboarding while bringing Training, Support, Customer Success and Account Management into a more connected experience. Working closely with Kristen Smith, Vice President of Customer Success and a 17-year Curve veteran, Hansen will build on the deep customer relationships and institutional knowledge already in place as the organization scales. The goal is to reduce handoffs, accelerate time-to-value and give customers a clearer path to help throughout the life of the relationship.

Curve customers have access to U.S.-based, Curve-trained support 24/7 when a situation calls for human expertise. At the same time, self-service and AI-powered resources such as Ask CurveAI complement live support by giving teams immediate access to routine product guidance and answers, and speed up resolution time when human-led support is needed. By using technology to remove unnecessary waiting and repetitive work, Curve creates more capacity for its Customer Success team to focus on the higher-value moments where context, judgment and partnership matter most.

"Customer experience shouldn't feel like a series of handoffs," said Hansen. "It should feel like one team from the first implementation conversation through every stage of the customer relationship. My focus is connecting those moments, making it easier for practices to get value from Curve and making sure we are there with the right level of help before customers have to fight to find it."

"Technology gives us the ability to be faster, more proactive and more consistent. Just as important, it gives our people more time to do the work only people can do well—understand the customer, solve complex problems and build trusted relationships," added Hansen. "That combination is where I believe the customer experience is going, and it's what we intend to build at Curve."

Building a Customer Organization for Growth

Hansen brings more than 15 years of experience building and scaling post-sales organizations across SaaS, dental, healthcare and other technology markets. His background includes leading Customer Success, Training, Implementation and Support teams and deploying technology, AI-enabled tools and automation to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.

Prior to joining Curve, Hansen held senior customer leadership roles at Weave, where he led Customer Success Management, Training, Implementation and Customer Support and helped guide the company through its 2021 IPO. Earlier, he spent more than seven years at Instructure, ultimately overseeing a global organization spanning Customer Success, Implementation, Training and Support while helping the company expand internationally across APAC, EMEA and Latin America.

At Curve, Hansen will also serve as a senior voice for the customer across the business, bringing customer feedback and experience data into product and operational decisions as the company continues to expand its platform.

Curve supports more than 6,000 dental practice locations across North America, including clinics operating within shared multi-location databases. The company's continued investment in product innovation and customer experience is designed to help practices not only move to the cloud, but operate with greater confidence once they are there.

About Curve Dental

Curve Dental provides an AI-powered, cloud-native operating platform designed to help dental practices manage and grow their businesses while giving teams more time to focus on patient care. Curve brings together practice management, clinical workflows, revenue cycle capabilities, payments, patient engagement and an expanding ecosystem of connected solutions, with AI and automation increasingly embedded across workflows to reduce administrative burden and make practices easier to run.

Curve Dental serves dental professionals and practices across the United States and Canada and is privately held, with operations in Provo, Utah; Alpharetta, Georgia; Calgary, Alberta; and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Curve Dental is proud to be named a 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces award winner. Visit www.curvedental.com or call 1-888-910-HERO for more information.

SOURCE Curve Dental