Roughly half of dental assistants are satisfied with their jobs in 2026, according to the Dental Assisting National Board’s 2026 Dental Assistant Hiring and Retention Report. The DANB survey was conducted in April. The findings published in the report are…
Staffing Issues
Employment of dental assistants is projected to grow much faster than the average rate for all other occupations, but challenges remain for the recruitment and retention of these professionals. Here are six notes on the dental assistant workforce: 1. Dental…
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. Here are seven notes on the hygienist workforce: 1. Employment of dental hygienists…
The West Virginia University School of Dentistry’s inaugural pediatric dentistry residency cohort recently graduated, completing the first and only pediatric dental residency program in the state. The three residents trained at WVU Dental’s Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and WVU Medicine Golisano…
Dental practices and DSOs may have to do more than increase compensation in order to get ahead of the industry’s growing dental assistant shortage. Dentalpost’s 2026 “Dental Salary Survey Report” pointed to future challenges with recruiting and retaining dental assistants,…
Advertisement
The U.S. currently has 7,980 dental professional shortage areas, according to new data from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The HRSA updates its dashboard showing data on health workforce shortage areas Sept. 1. The dashboard shows that 12,656 practitioners…
The increased demand for dental hygienists has led to a surge in compensation costs. But many hygienists may actually be looking for other things besides a bigger paycheck. The recruitment of hygienists has consistently been one of the biggest challenges…
The dental assistant shortage could worsen as the industry grapples with decreased job satisfaction, an upcoming wave of retirements and program enrollment. Dentalpost’s 2026 Dental Salary Survey Report pointed to potential challenges with recruiting and retaining dental assistants, showing that…
Dental professionals are optimistic that growing enrollment in dental hygiene programs and increased retention rates will help alleviate workforce shortages in the field. But others say more work is needed before further improvements can take place. Enrollment in dental hygiene…
Seventeen states enacted or implemented changes to dental assistant requirements between April and July 2026, according to Dental Assisting National Board’s Fall 2026 State of the States report. Nine states expanded dental assistant functions, three modified requirements, three changed supervision…