Staffing Issues

Here are four dental schools that have added dental hygienist or dental assistant programs that Becker's has reported on since March 16:

Here are four updates about how workforce shortages are affecting dental practices:

The Edgar County (Ill.) Public Health Department is struggling to find a dentist for its dental program, and healthcare professionals say the low salary is to blame, The Prairie Press reported April 24.

Employment in offices of dentists has increased by 23,000 employees compared to March 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Report from April 7. 

Dentists in Massachusetts could see success retaining staff as the state has the lowest job resignation rate in the U.S., according to personal finance website WalletHub.

Oregon legislators are supporting two bills in the House of Representatives that would get rid of written tests for dental assistants, according to an April 6 report by The Lund Report.

Dentists in Kentucky may struggle to retain staff as the state has the highest job resignation rate in the U.S., according to personal finance website WalletHub.

Patients in Southern Nevada can wait four months for an appointment due to a shortage of dental hygienists in the area, ABC affiliate KTNV reported April 5.

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry created a new training program to help alleviate the national dental assistant shortage. 

Dental practices are still having trouble hiring dental hygienists and assistants, with 33.7 percent of practices actively recruiting the positions, according to a poll from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.