As the dental industry deals with ongoing workforce shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are looking for solutions to alleviate these challenges.
Becker’s recently asked dentists to finish the sentence, “The U.S. won’t resolve its dental workforce shortage until _____.”
Here is what five dentists had to say:
Editor’s note: These responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Azma Ahmed, DDS. Dental Director at Multnomah County (Ore.) Community Health Center: The employers and training schools figure out how to engage the younger generation. As employers, we have long worked on the principle, here is the job, take it or leave it. This approach no longer works. The younger generation really wants to know what they are getting in terms of monetary value. It is no longer enough to simply share that we offer generous vacation and PTO time. It is imperative that we identify what that translates into in dollar value. It is also important that any bonus/productivity incentives include the support staff as well for retention.
Training schools have operated the same way on business hours for a long time. We must figure out how to leverage the power of remote didactic and combine that with in-person, real world experiences. Large dental organizations must figure out how to create internal workforce pathways that leverage minority and under-represented groups.
Andres Biaggi, DMD. Preferred Dental Center (San Antonio): Until a bonafide licensed dentist can work in any state and city without having to take a board exam again. The other reason is that education expenses are extremely high and less and less candidates will go the dental or medical route. It is really hard just to complete requirements and curriculum, and on top of that add $400,000 of debt.
Source: What the US needs to solve its dental workforce shortage / Becker’s Dental + DSO Review