Patient cancellations were the top barrier preventing dental practice schedules from being 100 percent full in December, according to a recent poll by the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
The poll was taken as part of the ADA's monthly "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" report for the week of Dec. 12. The ADA surveyed 958 dentists about the factors preventing full practice schedules.
Here are the factors that prevented full practice schedules in December:
Patient no shows/cancellations less than 24 hours prior: 85.1 percent
Patient cancellations more than 24 hours prior: 47 percent
Not enough patients making appointments: 40.1 percent
Trouble filling staff positions: 28.6 percent
COVID safety protocols: 6.3 percent
Other: 5.8 percent