A large percentage of dentists offered dental assistants and hygienists raises in the past year as staff recruitment continues to be a top priority at practices nationwide, according to a June poll by the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. More than 1,200 dentists were polled, though not every question yielded that many responses, according to the institute.

More than half of dental hygienist positions at practices in the top 20 largest cities are open, according to a recent poll from the American Dental Association. 

Beam Dental, an employee benefit company, has rebranded to Beam Benefits. The company has a new brand identity and website to go along with the change.

Several Southern states are facing a shortage of dental practitioners, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated ongoing staffing challenges facing the dental industry, largely affecting the supply of dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienists. 

Here's how a dental company, practice, nonprofit clinic and college are working to alleviate staffing issues in dentistry:

Dental recruitment company DirectDental is partnering with the Harbor Dental Society to help dental practices in California fill vacant roles.

A Texas dentist has begun offering dental assisting classes at his practice to help meet the high demand for dental assistants in the area.

Residents in Humboldt County, Calif., are struggling to find dental care amid a dental workforce shortage hitting the area, ABC affiliate KRCR reported May 5. 

New York has the lowest job resignation rate in the country, according to a survey from WalletHub.

A sense of unappreciation, COVID-19 and a lack of training programs are all contributing factors to the ongoing shortage of dental hygienists in the industry, according to William Simon, DMD.

A nonprofit dental clinic in Maine and the adult education department of the local school district are partnering on a new dental assistant program to alleviate the local workforce shortage, Bangor Daily News reported May 1. 

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: