Lawmakers in Minnesota have introduced legislation to create a $20 million grant appropriation designated for dental hygiene and dental assisting programs.
Staffing Issues
Leaders in several states are weighing or have approved changes to how dentistry is practiced, including the authorization of new practitioners.
About 33% of dentist owners plan to retire within six years, according to Dentalpost's 2024 Dental Salary Survey.
California, one of the states with the most dental shortage areas, has more than 30,000 active dentists.
Wyoming, one of the states with the fewest dental shortage areas, has 306 active dentists.
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The nationwide lack of dental hygienists is forcing patients in Virginia to have to wait as long as 14 months for a routine cleaning, according to a Feb. 22 report by WWBT.
Dental laboratory technician positions are expected to see -4.5% growth through 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the only medical technician position projected to experience negative growth in that span.
Rhode Island dentists are predicting a staffing "superstorm" in the state driven by several factors, The Providence Journal reported Feb. 20.
Dental practices in the U.S. created more than 2.4 million jobs in 2022, according to data from the American Dental Association.
Here are four states that have created and passed legislation to combat staffing issues and shortages in the dental industry that Becker's has reported on since Jan. 29: