Here are nine new statistics and trends showing how the dental assistant workforce is evolving: 1. Dental assistant job satisfaction has declined over the last 10 years, with only about 50% of dental assistants feeling satisfied with their jobs in…
Staffing Issues
Here are five updates showing how the dental hygiene field is evolving: 1. Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow much faster than the average rate for all other occupations, according to data from the Bureau of Labor statistics.…
Dental practices are facing complex hiring challenges as salary expectations increase and retention issues persist. Here are six statistics and trends pointing to shifts in the dental workforce and recruitment strategies of employers: 1. One-fifth of dentists stated that hygienist…
The majority of graduates from allied dental programs were inspired to join the field by their personal experiences, according to the American Dental Education Association’s 2026 U.S. Allied Dental Graduating Student Survey. To create the report, released this month, the…
U.S. dental hygiene programs graduated 7,447 people in 2025, the most in at least a decade, according to data from the American Dental Association. Dental leaders say the shortage is getting worse nonetheless. About one-third of dentists were actively recruiting…
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The University of Rochester (N.Y.) Eastman Institute for Oral Health has received a $5.1 million federal grant to train 40 early-career dental and dental hygiene faculty from institutions nationwide. The Health Resources and Services Administration award funds Project ELEVATE, a…
The U.S. now has 8,033 dental professional shortage areas, according to the latest data from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The HRSA updates its dashboard showing data on health workforce shortage areas Oct. 20. The dashboard shows that 13,211…
Chicago-based Delta Dental Plans Association has committed nearly $3 million to five organizations through its 2026 Future Workforce Fund. The three-year grants will support programs that introduce young people to oral health careers and build pathways into the profession, according…
Here are six updates on the dental workforce since September: 1. One-fifth of dentists stated that hygienist positions had been open for more than six months before being filled, according to the American Dental Association’s “State of the U.S. Dental…
Mid-State Technical College has opened a $3.5 million dental clinic in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., to support its new dental hygiene and dental assistant programs, according to an Oct. 19 report from ABC affiliate WSAW. The program will serve up to…