The past few years have impacted dental practices in many ways and today the lingering effects of the pandemic continue to present new challenges such as unpredictable patient appointments, last-minute cancellations and hiring increasingly elusive quality team members. For patients, the cost of care continues to be a top reason why they delay seeking treatment, and 87% of patients report having difficulty paying for a $500 unexpected medical bill not covered by insurance. These numbers are important because in 2020 patients paid a total of $53.2 million in out-of-pocket costs for dental care.

Oral medicine had just nine program graduates in 2021 while general practice residency had 1,176, according to the American Dental Association's "Dental Education Program Enrollment and Graduates Report: 2021-22."

Dental assistants typically bring in less money each year than the average household income in each state, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The average annual salary for dental hygienists exceeded the average household income in most states, except for three. 

The University of Rochester is the best college in the U.S. for periodontics and pediatric dentistry, according to universities.com.

Teledentistry company SmileDirectClub and dental technology company Align Technology were recently ranked on Financial Times' list of the fastest-growing companies in 2022. 

SmileDirectClub was recently included on Forbes' "Best Employers for Diversity" 2022 list.

Dental hygienists in Alaska — the highest paid in the U.S. — make on average about $45.19 more than the state's minimum wage, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor.    

Dental assistants make roughly between $9 to $17 more than the minimum wage in each state, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor.    

Colgate was recently ranked as the second most chosen global consumer brand on Kantar's "Brand Footprint 2022" list.

The average hourly wage for dentists largely exceeds the minimum wage in each state, with some making up 15 times more, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor.  

Dental hygienists make more than double the average base cost of living in most states, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator.

Dental assistants typically earn salaries just above the base cost of living in each state, but they make slightly less in four states — Hawaii, Louisiana, New York and Utah — according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator.

New York University is the best college in the U.S. for dental hygienist degrees, according to universities.com.

The University of Rochester (N.Y.) is the best college in the U.S. for periodontics, according to universities.com.

University of Rochester (N.Y.) is the best college in the U.S. for pediatric dentistry and pedodontics, according to universities.com.

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is the best college in the U.S. for oral and maxillofacial surgery, according to universities.com.

Hawaii is the top paying state for orthodontists, where they earn an average annual salary of $330,386, according to ZipRecruiter.

From the highest earning states to the percent of workforce reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic, here are eight statistics about dental hygienists to know:

Massachusetts is the state where oral and maxillofacial surgeons earn the most, with the average annual salary being $365,376, according to ZipRecruiter.