Staffing shortages have become one of the greatest challenges facing the dental industry, and there currently seems to be no end in sight.
Dental practices have consistently found dental assistants and hygienists two of the most challenging roles to recruit for, a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the American Dental Association’s most recent “Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry” poll for the second quarter of 2025, only between 37%-39% of dentists reported recruiting dental assistants and hygienists. When asked how challenging it has been to recruit dental assistants and hygienists over the last 3 months, 38.3% indicated it was “extremely challenging” to recruit dental assistants, while 74.1% said it was “extremely challenging” to recruit hygienists.
These shortages have led to a domino effect in the industry, including dentists having to perform more hygiene services, practice closures and long appointment wait times. Although legislators and providers are coming up with new solutions to alleviate shortages, such as licensure compacts, new programs and increased funding, it may still be several more years until we see any effects.
Source: Dentistry’s breaking point: What happens if staffing woes don’t ease? / Becker’s Dental