The dental workforce (or lack thereof) was a consistent issue in dentistry throughout 2023, with there being a shortage of dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants.
These three dental professionals recently shared what they are expecting to see in terms of staffing and the workforce in the dental industry in 2024.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is your big prediction(s) for dentistry/the dental industry in 2024?
Heather Fotch. Founder and CEO of Quality Imaging Solutions (Bellevue, Wash.): Employers and management are going to have to figure out a better way to deal with labor shortages. Employees are looking for more comparable living wages, opportunities for continuing education and advancement (such as upskilling) and an improved company culture. Dental practices have been doing "more with less" for too many years in a row now and they are seeing the effects of low morale with the stagnant wages and increase in work their employees have been tasked with.
Alex Morrison. Chief Compliance Officer of Morrison Dental Group (Williamsburg, Va.): I'm predicting that dentists and dental groups will begin working with state and local legislatures to create better pathways to increase hygiene education levels and increase the availability of hygiene candidates entering the workforce pipeline. Additionally, there will be renewed conversations and focus on the need for new modalities of care and training, such as mid-level hygiene providers, or something more akin to what exists in the Armed Forces so that offices can see patients and reduce the industry's access to care challenges.
Holli Perez. Chief Marketing Officer of DirectDental (San Diego): For private practices that want to stay private, expanding their services beyond just general dentistry or one specific specialty will be key. In the staffing world we are already seeing this. In the last two weeks we have already seen an 11% increase in private practices posting dentist and specialist jobs compared to January of 2023. Many of our clients say that they are building out their practice to larger units and plan to grow their teams and services. Which leads to the fact that staffing is going to continue to be a major challenge as the size of private dental offices increase and there's a need to hire more dental assistants, hygienists and front office personnel.