Here are five statistics that offer a snapshot of the current state of the dental workforce:
1. California is the state with the highest number of active dentists and the most dental shortage areas, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
2. The number of vacant faculty positions at U.S. dental schools rose during the 2020-21 academic year, according to data from the American Dental Education Association.
3. The number of dental assisting graduates dropped 18.7 percent over five years, according to the American Dental Association's "Dental Education Program Enrollment and Graduates Report: 2021-22."
4. New York has the lowest job resignation rate in the country and has 10,391 active dentists, according to a survey from WalletHub and data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
5. Dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienist jobs are expected to grow by 71,100 through 2030, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.