Dentist Workload Impact from Staffing Shortages
Dentists report taking on additional tasks as staffing shortages persist, according to new data from the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Health Policy Institute (HPI).
Of the more than 1,000 dentists surveyed in the October 2023 edition of HPI’s “Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry” poll, more than one-third of respondents reported that workload division has changed between themselves and their teams since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many dentists taking on duties normally assigned to dental hygienists, dental assistants and administrative team members. Poll respondents also said that more team members are being cross-trained and maximizing their qualifications to meet staffing shortages.
Additionally, when asked whether staffing shortages or low patient demand concerned them the most, more than half of poll respondents said they are concerned about staffing shortages, while about one-third selected “concerns about low patient demand for care.”
Dental Staff Wages and Job Counts
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released new data on wages and job counts (currently filled positions) of dental hygienists, dental assistants and general practitioner dentists. HPI created an interactive dashboard to visualize the data at both the national and state levels from 2001 to 2022.
