Dentists in Multnomah County, Ore., voted to authorize a strike as negotiations with the county have stalled. 

Patients trying to get an appointment at Southern Smiles Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in College Station, Texas, are facing wait times of up to 10 months, according to an Oct. 11 report by CBS affiliate KBTX.

Mesa (Ariz.) Community College received full accreditation for its dental hygiene program from the Commission on Dental Accreditation. 

Dentists in public health settings are recruiting staff more heavily than general practice dentists, according to a poll from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. 

The U.S. is projected to be short 36,517 dental professionals by 2031, according to a Sept. 29 report from McKinsey & Co. 

The Action for Dental Health Act of 2023, which would reauthorize the Action for Dental Health program, has been introduced in the Senate. 

The Dental Assisting National Board will begin offering the Radiation Health and Safety exam in Spanish in January 2024. 

Seven years after initially creating plans to establish a dental therapy program, Vermont State University has been unable to fulfill the plans, according to a Sept. 25 report by vtdigger.

Front-line providers at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C., have taken the first step in the unionization process, guided by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. 

Sen. Roger Marshall, MD, and Sen. Bernie Sanders collaborated to create the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act to address the shortage of healthcare workers.

Des Moines (Iowa) Area Community College could lose accreditation of its dental assistant training program, according to a Sept. 14 report by Iowa Capital Dispatch. 

The U.S. is short more than 10,000 dentists, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Here are five updates on dental staffing that Becker's reported on in August:

Wake Forest-based NC Dental U is launching a dental assistant program at its location in Wilson, N.C., according to a Sept. 1 report from The Wilson Times.

Filling dental practices with enough staff has been an ongoing problem for the dental industry and is a big issue moving forward for many. 

New York legislators are considering two bills to authorize dental therapists to practice in the state, ABC affiliate news10.com reported Aug. 18.

The average salary for dental assistants across the country was $44,710 in 2022, according to salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Toothio, a dental staffing platform, raised $4 million in funding during its latest seed round.

The School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio created a bachelor of science in dental hygiene degree program.

The Primary Care and Health Workforce Expansion Act, which would reauthorize oral health workforce grants, was introduced in the Senate.