Dental practice owners continue to deal with various staffing challenges that have made it more difficult to operate, including talent shortages, increasing wages and low retention rates.
Six dental industry professionals recently spoke with Becker’s about the workforce challenges facing practices in 2026:
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What roadblocks are you facing regarding recruiting and retention at your organization? What positions/roles are most affected?
Corey Anderson, DDS. Affordable Dentures & Implants (Bridgeport, W.V.): Staffing remains a challenge at all levels. Entry level positions take time to cultivate ability, with wages needed to match the hyper inflation world we live in with reimbursements flat. More procedures at unchanged 1995 reimbursement levels offered by insurers is not an answer with current wage/ability levels. This will eventually work out to pushing out solo offices and consolidate DSO control over the dental field.
Murat Ayik, DDS. Woodhill Endodontics (Dallas): The talent shortage extends well beyond specialists. Recruiting oral surgeons, endodontists and periodontists remains highly competitive, but we’re also seeing growing demand for exceptional practice leaders. Today’s leaders must blend operational excellence with technology adoption, HR expertise, financial management and an unwavering focus on the patient experience. As healthcare becomes more complex, finding individuals with that broad skill set is one of the industry’s biggest recruiting and retention challenges.
Doug Gray. Owner of Dental Business Solutions: I’m seeing a persistent national shortage of licensed dental hygienists that has led to extreme wage competition and workplace demands. Practices often struggle to match hyper-competitive hourly rates offered by larger practices or temp agencies, and demands for longer appointment times for procedures, resulting in unprofitable chair time.
Front office and administrative talent are increasingly drawn to remote or hybrid administrative roles in other industries that offer greater schedule flexibility and comparable pay. My small to mid-sized private practices often struggle to offer the robust benefit packages provided by DSOs. Many practice owners hire me because they lack structured onboarding, structured interview protocols or dedicated recruiting resources, leading to prolonged open positions or quick turnover from poor culture fits.
I would be remiss if I didn’t address the stress and strain of the clinical team’s physically demanding and high-stress roles. Without clear career growth pathways, competitive entry wages or positive practice culture, turnover will remain high.
Costas Harris, DMD. Orange (N.J.) Dental Center: I believe there are fewer trained job seekers in dentistry. Also, the continuing increase in pay rates that workers seek makes it challenging. Burnout within the industry also appears to be a continuing issue. Clinical staff are significantly affected, but this issue also extends to administrative staff.
Robert Trager, DDS. Dentist at JFK Airport (New York City): I don’t have this problem in my office because I vet staff as to what their desires and needs are and their long-term goals. I don’t hire staff who use their position as a stepping stone to a future endeavor. All positions from associates to dental assistants to office managers to hygienists are all affected in future hirings. I found out over the years that staying small without running a multi-chair office with more than four operatories is the most ideal situation. The fewer people you hire causes less controversies and friction among staff. The ideal situation is to train your staff with multi-tasking where one person can do multiple duties such as dental assisting and making appointments. Also, other staff can be trained to do front desk duties which require multiple tasks. For example, other staff can verify insurance, eligibility and do recalls, etc. The larger the staff, the more conflicts that can arise. In past years I have kept my team small, gave bonuses and hired people who are bilingual and live in the area who can provide referrals to cut down on long commutes to and from work. They have shown their loyalty by staying for many years. The best hires are people who are friendly and know how to communicate with the general public (hospital volunteers, bank employees, store clerks, etc.)
Thomas von Sydow. CEO of Cornerstone Dental Specialties (Irvine, Calif.): For our organization, it continues to be front and back office staff. We also have some challenges with associates. For the front office/back office, things are improving. For example, people are showing up for the actual interview. However, wages and benefits still pose a challenge given the fee pressure and [selling, general, and administrative expenses] of operating a practice. We are seeing some better retention rates as well. Some of this is the screening we do, and I think the labor market is less open than a few years ago. Work week schedules continue to be a challenge. We are always looking for opportunities to improve benefits as well. For our associates, we do not really struggle with applicants. We struggle with any type of commitment. It seems that many almost want a per diem relationship where they work on very short timelines with a daily guarantee. What they do not understand is that this makes employers uneasy as it dismantles trust because the positions are not per diem.
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