One in three owner dentists indicated they need more staff to see the same number of patients compared to before the pandemic, according to new data from November’s COVID-19 Economic Impact on Dental Practice poll conducted by the ADA Health Policy Institute.
Moreover, the results reveal that 35% of dentists have recently or are currently recruiting a dental hygienist. Forty percent have recruited a dental assistant. Among those, roughly nine out of 10 hiring dentists indicate that it has been “extremely” or “very” challenging to recruit dental hygienists and dental assistants compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For almost all positions on the dental team, recruiting has become increasingly difficult,” said Marko Vujicic, Ph.D., HPI chief economist and vice president.
View more COVID-19 news as it pertains to the dental profession.
