Staffing Issues

According to the American Dental Association's "Dental Workforce Shortages" report, 42.9 percent of dental hygienists voluntarily left the field because of the culture.

More than 30 percent of dental practices in the U.S. are recruiting dental assistants and hygienists, according to a recent poll by the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.  

The American Dental Association recently gave tips on factors dental professionals should consider before taking a new job. 

Beckers' reported on three workforce shortages and solutions in the dental industry since Aug. 26:

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is launching a 14-month paid apprenticeship program for dental assistants to address workforce shortages.

Portland, Maine-based Community Dental will close two of its six Maine locations due to workforce shortages, CBS affiliate WGME reported.

Hygienists remained the most challenging role for dentists to recruit in August, according to a poll from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is giving $89,000 in funding to local apprenticeship firm Over All Training to grow its dental assistant program in the Philadelphia area.

Here are five statistics that offer a snapshot of the current state of the dental workforce:

Teledentistry company SmileDirectClub is partnering with the National Dental Association to offer dental students and dental professionals of color tuition scholarships.