There has been a 16.9% decrease in the number of dental assisting programs in the U.S., according to data from the American Dental Association.
The American Dental Association has tracked data on dental education programs since the 2012-13 academic year.
Here is the number of dental assistant programs for each academic year since 2012-13:
2012-13: 278
2013-14: 273
2014-15: 272
2015-16: 264
2016-17: 257
2017-18: 256
2018-19: 251
2019-20: 242
2020-21: 240
2021-22: 240
2022-23: 231