Dental practice schedules were 83.1 percent full in September, the least full month of 2023, according to a poll from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
The ADA's monthly "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" survey asked respondents — 1,039 dentists — about how full their schedules were the first week of September and the biggest barriers to reaching a 100 percent full schedule.
Before September, schedules had never been less than 85.2 percent full in 2023, and they had been above 86 percent full since March.
Here are the top factors dentists reported as reasons why their practice schedules were not completely full in September:
Patient no shows or cancellations less than 24 hours in advance: 80 percent
Patient no shows or cancellations more than 24 hours in advance: 49.4 percent
Not enough patients making appointments: 48.8 percent
Trouble filling vacant staff positions: 26.1 percent
Other: 9.6 percent
COVID-19 safety protocols: 4 percent