Dental practice schedules were 86 percent full in September, down slightly from 86.2 in August, according to data from the American Dental Association.
The poll was taken as part of the ADA's monthly "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" report. The dental association asked 12,553 owner dentists how full their practice schedules were in September.
Here is how practice schedules compare each month in 2022:
January: 76.7 percent
February: 83.4 percent
March: 87.7 percent
April: 86.9 percent
May: 86.2 percent
June: 86 percent
July: 84.9 percent
August: 86.2 percent
September: 86 percent
Factors preventing dental practice schedules from reaching 100 percent in September:
Trouble filling vacant staff positions: 33.2 percent
Not enough patients making appointments: 43 percent
COVID-19 safety protocols: 10.1 percent
Patient no shows/cancellations less than 24 hours in advance: 81.7 percent
Patient cancellations 24+ hours prior: 42.5 percent
Other: 6.8 percent
Dentists who responded "other" cited the following reasons:
Beginning of school year: 35 percent
Staff out on vacation/leave: 18.3 percent
Bad economic conditions: 10 percent
Staff shortages: 8.3 percent
Staff out with COVID-19/quarantine/other illness: 8.3 percent
Dropped dental plan/low reimbursement/insurance issues: 5.0 percent
Patient fear/hesitancy to visit dentist: 3.3 percent
Losing existing patients: 1.7 percent
Miscellaneous: 13.3 percent