Dental assistant hiring and retention is getting a negative forecast due to mounting workforce challenges, according to Dentalpost’s 2026 Dental Salary Survey Report.
Dentalpost’s annual report highlights various industry trends, including workforce, salary and practice management. Dentalpost surveyed nearly 3,575 dental professionals to create this year’s report. The survey was conducted from Aug. 29 until Sept. 30, 2025.
Dentalpost surveyed 173 dental assistants for the report.
Seven notes on the dental assistant workforce from the report:
Source: Dentistry’s simmering workforce challenge / Becker’s Dental