Only 27 percent of employed dentists reported being paid fully for the week of May 18, compared to 58 percent of dentists reporting paying staff in full, according to an American Dental Association Health Policy Institute biweekly poll.
The poll's fifth wave collected data from more than 6,500 dentists in private practice for the week of May 18.
Four survey findings:
1. Twenty-seven percent of employed dentists reported being paid in full, a 13 percentage-point increase from the week of May 4.
2. Nationwide, 65 percent of dental practices were back open, with 38 percent reporting that patient volume had returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. In 27 states that have been reopened for at least three weeks, the patient rebound has reached 54 percent of pre-pandemic volume.
3. Twenty-one states don't have additional dental restrictions other than personal protective equipment requirements.
4. Owner dentists who had not opened their practices yet said they weren't open because their state wasn't recommending resuming elective care (62 percent), followed by lacking appropriate PPE (53 percent), unclear guidance for reopening (34 percent), and dental team members' hesitation to return (28 percent).