Dental Practices Continue to Struggle With Labor Shortage

With research conducted jointly by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the American Dental Association reporting that approximately 8% of dental hygienists left the field for good during the pandemic, many dental practices are struggling to fill key positions on their teams. And as more patients return to their local offices to seek much-needed dental care, the labor shortage is acutely felt. For example, the Boston University Dental Health Center reports that the only appointments available for prophylaxis are more than 5 months away. The Massachusetts Dental Society is responding to the labor shortage by instituting efforts to recruit recent high school graduates to train as dental assistants. Click here to read more.