The COVID-19 pandemic saw the beginning of the Great Resignation, with dental hygienists representing one of the largest exoduses in the dental industry. But even as the pandemic wanes, few hygienists have returned to the field. 

Dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienist jobs are expected to grow by 71,100 through 2030, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Massachusetts had the highest employment and concentration of jobs for oral surgeons in 2021, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Maryland had the highest number of employed orthodontists and concentration of jobs in 2021, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

California had the highest number of employed dentists in 2021, while Virginia had the highest concentration of dentist jobs, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

California had the highest number of employed dental hygienists in 2021, while Idaho had the highest concentration of hygienists per 1,000 jobs, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From which roles are most in demand to which specialties have grown in the last 20 years, here are seven dental staffing stats to know:

Here are five dental scholarships from the last four months totaling $1,592,500:

The James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston is launching a dentistry fellowship after receiving a grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation.

From new dental schools to university leadership moves, here are 10 essential updates for dental educators:

Dental hygienists and assistants continued to be the most recruited roles for dental practices in March, according to a recent poll from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. 

Batesville, Ark.-based Lyon College is planning to create a new dental school in Little Rock, Ark., ABC affiliate KATV reported April 12.

Workforce recovery in the dental industry is slow despite COVID-19 cases and restrictions improving, according to new data from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. 

2021 – The Great Resignation + The Great Reshuffle In 2021, both terms came to frequent use. They were phrases we hadn’t heard before. What was this about? Well, after a long 2020 with the pandemic, we expected people to start reentering the workforce and coming back to a full work schedule (kind of how were in 2019). Here’s what happened: people did return to the workforce, but they returned with a new set of expectations. What does that mean? Well, they knew that they had choices, and they were going to work where they wanted, how they wanted and on their own timeframe.

The labor shortage rippling through the economy is affecting all positions in the dental industry. Today’s competition for top talent is forcing dental support organizations to adopt creative approaches for the recruitment and retention of top talent. To get insight into a leading DSO’s practices for attracting talent in this challenging labor market, Becker’s Dental + DSO Review recently spoke with Josie Martinez, senior director of talent acquisition at Heartland Dental. Heartland Dental has 20,000 employees and supports over 1,550 dental offices across 38 states. Ms. Martinez has been at Heartland Dental for more than five years and has about 20 years of experience focused specifically on talent recruitment and retention. 

Nine out of 10 dental specialties saw increases in the number of practitioners between 2001 and 2021, according to data from the American Dental Association.

There was a nearly 14 percent increase in the number of periodontists in the U.S. from 2001 to 2021.

There was a 108 percent increase in the number of pediatric dentists in the U.S. from 2001 to 2021.

The number of oral and maxillofacial pathologists in the U.S. has only increased by 1.6 percent from 2001 to 2021, according to data from the American Dental Association. 

Three states have recently taken action to expand dental care by introducing and passing legislation to change how services are performed.