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.
Staffing Issues
A coalition of dental organizations urged the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to address challenges contributing to workforce shortages in the dental industry.
North Central Michigan College in Petoskey created a nine-week accelerated dental assistant program to address labor shortages.
Nevada legislators are considering a three-bill package to incentivize dentists and doctors to practice in rural areas of the state, the Las Vegas Sun reported March 8.
Three states have proposed several pieces of legislation that would make changes to various dental roles, including dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental assistants.
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A new law in Colorado will allow the state to begin licensing dental therapists, but a lack of training and resources could hinder the state's ability to bring enough in, The Colorado Sun reported March 10.
Patients of a Kentucky dental practice have to wait months for an appointment due to ongoing dental workforce shortages, CBS affiliate WYMT reported March 7.
The Wisconsin Dental Association launched a social media campaign to help decrease dental workforce shortages.
Dental hygienist is the position dentists are having the most difficulty recruiting at their practices, according to a poll from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute.
Several dental companies recently made Forbes' best midsize U.S. employers list for 2023.