From which roles are most in demand to which specialties have grown in the last 20 years, here are seven dental staffing stats to know:
1. Dental hygienists and assistants are some of the most recruited roles at dental practices, with 33.1 percent of dental practices recruiting dental hygienists and 37.6 percent recruiting dental assistants in March, according to the American Dental Association.
2. Workforce recovery in the dental industry is slow despite COVID-19 restrictions improving. Dental offices lost 1,500 jobs from February to March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. Dentists' retirement has increased during the pandemic, with 6,641 dentists over age 55 leaving the workforce in 2021, compared to 4,785 in 2017.
4. The number of dentists entering the workforce has grown, with the supply of dentists expected to increase through 2040.
5. The majority of dental specialties have grown between 2001 and 2021, including general dentistry, oral surgery and endodontistry. The only specialty to decrease in the last two decades was public health dentistry, which dropped by 5.9 percent.
6. The number of female dentists has increased in the last 20 years, with women representing 35.9 percent of dentists in 2021, compared to 16 percent in 2001.
7. There are 188,074 actively practicing dentists in the U.S., compared to 192,723 in 2021.