From salary reduction to higher education costs, here are five key numbers dental leaders should keep an eye on:
1. First-year dental school enrollment increased 22 percent since the 2010-11 school year, according to data from the American Dental Association.
2. Dentists made an average of $167,160 in 2021, down 7.5 percent from $180,830 in 2020, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. The U.S. is in need of 11,742 dental practitioners to relieve shortage areas, according to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
4. The cost of dental education at public and private universities has more than tripled in the last 50 years, according to data from the American Dental Association.
5. The percentage of dentists who own their practices fell to 73 percent in 2021 from 84.7 percent in 2005, according to data from the American Dental Association.