About 28% of dentists have added staff at their practices so far this year, according to a new report from the American Dental Association.
The ADA recently released its “State of the U.S. economy” report for the first quarter of 2026. The report includes economic data for dental practices as well as information on consumer dental spending and staffing.
The ADA surveyed dentists on actions they planned to take at their practice in 2026 during the fourth quarter of 2025. In the fourth quarter survey, 42.3% of dentists said they planned to add staff at their offices. The first quarter report for 2026 shows that 28.4% of dentists have already done so.
The report also shows that job growth within the dental industry has remained relatively flat over the last year. The total number of dental office jobs increased by less than 0.1% between January and February, and there has only been a 0.5% increase in dental jobs over the last 12 months.
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