The ongoing shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants throughout the industry workforce has been an ongoing issue in dentistry.
The American Dental Hygienists Association recently released a position statement on the dental hygiene shortage and provided strategies that could help rebuild the workforce.
Here are five things to know:
1. The organization stated that in order to grow and restore the dental workforce, there needs to be an increase in the recruitment and retention of trained, educated and licensed dental professionals.
2. A report from 2022 by the ADHA, American Dental Association and other oral healthcare organizations found that inadequate benefits, non-responsive compensation, poor communication, lack of professional fulfillment and negative workplace culture were some of the top barriers to staff retention in dentistry.
3. The ADHA supports the creation of additional entry-level dental hygiene programs and increasing the capacity of current entry-level dental hygiene programs.
4. The organization is developing a chairside recruitment program with the goal of expanding the dental hygiene workforce.
5. In addition, the ADHA is promoting collaboration efforts between dental and oral healthcare organizations to foster professional autonomy and empower dental hygienists to work to the full scope of practice.