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.

The American Dental Association has recently been lobbying and supporting federal legislation that would help alleviate workforce shortage issues in the dental industry, according to an Aug. 3 news release from the ADA. 

Recruiting dental hygienists, dental assistants, dentists and administrative staff was more challenging in July than in June, according to recent polls by the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.

Dental practices have faced major staffing shortages this year, with many struggling to recruit dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and administrative staff. 

North Carolina has the highest ranked workforce, according to CNBC's top states for business rankings, published July 17. 

Negative workplace culture is the top reason why dental hygienists are voluntarily leaving the industry, while dental assistants most frequently leave due to insufficient pay, according to dental workforce shortage research from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.