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For the last couple of years, few dentist friends of mine complained about paying their dental assistants too high ($25+/hr) and how there is a shortage of DAs in their cities, mostly in the Midwest.
So out of curiosity, I looked up the trends in the DA profession. In a nutshell, there has been shortage of DAs and their supply will continue to get decrease in the future as the rate of of new offices continue to increase (mostly from corporate dentistry) and a record numbers of new dentists graduate.
The current ratio of practicing dentists to DAs is 1:2.2, while the ratio of new dentists to new DAs is 1:0.78 (see image below). Essentially, young DAs are fleeing, not interested and declining in great numbers in the profession. The number of DAs graduating today are down 35% from their peak 20 yrs ago. The number of DA applicants are also down, and as a result many DA programs had to close their doors across the country - while at the same time, new dental schools opened in recent years and more future dental schools are considered.
I also think the gig economy had an effect on the DA profession, in which temporary positions are common and corporations hire workers for short-term commitments. A lot of DA new grads don’t actually end up working at a dental office and explore other professions with better financial expectations after they complete DA schools. Also, America’s job market has evolved, with many companies now offering a comparable decent paying jobs with good benefits and no educational requirement. Up until covid19 pandemic, the youth had so many job opportunities and options.
10 yrs ago, I use to see DAs dropping their resumes at my office for an interview. Yes, that was around the last Great Recession and the job market was really bad. But in today’s recession, covid19 is having the opposite effect and caused any interest in a DA profession feel even more disconnected with all the new CDC guidelines and risks of the pandemic at a dental office.
Young dentists should be mindful of this trend, as they will see this trend at a more visible level.
So out of curiosity, I looked up the trends in the DA profession. In a nutshell, there has been shortage of DAs and their supply will continue to get decrease in the future as the rate of of new offices continue to increase (mostly from corporate dentistry) and a record numbers of new dentists graduate.
The current ratio of practicing dentists to DAs is 1:2.2, while the ratio of new dentists to new DAs is 1:0.78 (see image below). Essentially, young DAs are fleeing, not interested and declining in great numbers in the profession. The number of DAs graduating today are down 35% from their peak 20 yrs ago. The number of DA applicants are also down, and as a result many DA programs had to close their doors across the country - while at the same time, new dental schools opened in recent years and more future dental schools are considered.
I also think the gig economy had an effect on the DA profession, in which temporary positions are common and corporations hire workers for short-term commitments. A lot of DA new grads don’t actually end up working at a dental office and explore other professions with better financial expectations after they complete DA schools. Also, America’s job market has evolved, with many companies now offering a comparable decent paying jobs with good benefits and no educational requirement. Up until covid19 pandemic, the youth had so many job opportunities and options.
10 yrs ago, I use to see DAs dropping their resumes at my office for an interview. Yes, that was around the last Great Recession and the job market was really bad. But in today’s recession, covid19 is having the opposite effect and caused any interest in a DA profession feel even more disconnected with all the new CDC guidelines and risks of the pandemic at a dental office.
Young dentists should be mindful of this trend, as they will see this trend at a more visible level.