This month, dental executives spoke with Becker’s about workforce shortages, strategic growth initiatives and upcoming challenges for the industry.
Here is what four dental leaders told us in November:
What will finally solve the hygienist shortage? 5 leaders weigh in
John Bell. CFO at Fireside Dental Co.: The hygienist shortage is putting tremendous pressure on dental practices, and it’s projected to continue to get worse over the next 10 years. From my perspective, an effective solution requires addressing both the supply and demand for hygienists. To increase the supply of hygienists, a coordinated marketing campaign to promote the hygienist career path to high school and college students could be very impactful to raise awareness and promote the opportunity to young people. To impact the demand side, the industry will need to embrace impactful AI workflow optimization tools that reduce the cognitive load and staff time required to do non-clinical tasks. There’s no magic bullet, but challenges create opportunities to improve.
Cal Dental USA eyes expansion after ‘transformative’ year
James Jones. CEO of Cal Dental USA (Los Angeles): I’ll be honest — even though AI is exciting, I’m still a believer that patients want more human interaction. I’m a hands-on CEO. I’m in the offices every day. I literally had a patient tell me recently, “Do you guys actually answer the phone?” I said yes. He said, “Good — I’m coming here. My dentist has robots and I can never get through.” That told me everything. Technology is powerful, but the human connection is irreplaceable. The DSOs who master both will win the next decade.
Tend targets growth with innovative dentist compensation model: Q&A
Chris Salierno, DDS. Chief Dental Officer at Tend (Nashville, Tenn.): We have a constant, never-ending improvement philosophy. We want to innovate in healthcare. We want to innovate in hospitality. We’ve just completed a multi-year process of getting real operational excellence, and we’re ready to hit the gas pedal on real growth in terms of number of locations, but also really making good on our promise to innovate in healthcare and hospitality. Innovation means change. It means new, exciting technologies and investments we’re making, and we need a top team to do that. I think it made so much sense to start with, “Hey, it’s been a little while since we’ve reviewed the compensation structure.” Our retention is good. Our dentists really enjoy the culture we build at our practices. They love playing with the technology we have, but we’re in growth mode. To take on that change and those innovations, we really need to make sure we continue to just always dial up attracting and retaining top talent.
The biggest challenge dentists will face in 2026
Scott Kalniz, DDS. Chief Dental Officer and Vice President of Network Development at Beam Benefits: One of the biggest challenges facing dentists in 2026 will be balancing the increasing operational complexity of running a modern dental practice with the need to deliver high-quality, personalized patient care. Rising costs, staffing shortages, administrative burdens and growing patient expectations will continue to strain clinicians’ time and focus.
The key to overcoming these challenges will be the thoughtful integration of technology — particularly artificial intelligence. AI can deliver powerful data insights that help practices make smarter, faster decisions while automating many of the administrative tasks that slow teams down, such as scheduling, patient communication and revenue cycle management.
