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1 in 5 dentists raising fees: 3 notes on the industry's current state

Demand for orthodontic and cosmetic treatments at dental offices has risen since before the pandemic, according to poll findings from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.

Here are three takeaways from 1,712 respondents for the week of May 17:

Current status of dental practices
As of May 17, 60.9 percent of dentists said their practice was open and running business as usual. This is higher than the previous ADA poll taken for the week of April 12, when 58.1 percent of dentists said their practice was open as usual. It is also much higher than May of last year, when only 10.8 percent of respondents said their practice was open and running per usual.

Dental practices paying staff
As of May 17, 95.4 percent of dentists said they were paying staff in full this week. This is slightly lower than the previous ADA poll taken for the week of April 12, when 95.9 percent of dentists said they were paying staff in full. It is much higher than May of last year, when only 58.1 percent of respondents said they were paying staff in full.

Financial sustainability measures
As of May 17, 1,588 dentists responded to the question, "In the last month, have you taken any of the following measures to maintain the financial sustainability of your dental practice?" In total, 20.9 percent of dentists said they had raised fees; 14 percent said they changed dental materials supplier/lab; 12.5 percent said they borrowed money from a bank; and 11.8 percent reduced dental team hours.

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