Recruiting dental hygienists, dental assistants, dentists and administrative staff was more challenging in July than in June, according to recent polls by the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
Both polls were taken as part of the ADA's monthly "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" report for the week of July 17 and June 12. The July survey received 576 responses and the June survey received 683.
Here is how challenging all four of the positions were to recruit in July compared to June:
Dental hygienists
Extremely challenging: July: 82.5 percent; June: 79.8 percent
Very challenging: July: 13.2 percent; June: 14.7 percent
Dental assistants
Extremely challenging: July: 55.4 percent; June: 53 percent
Very challenging: July: 29.5 percent; June: 30.7 percent
Dentists
Extremely challenging: July: 62.7 percent; June: 59.2 percent
Very challenging: July: 20.4 percent; June: 20.1 percent
Administrative staff
Extremely challenging: July: 45.6 percent; June: 38.1 percent
Very challenging: July: 31.6 percent; June: 31.3 percent