MINNETONKA, Minn. — As employers struggle to fill certain jobs, that's especially true for dentists trying to hire hygienists. And that can make it tough to schedule an appointment.
The latest numbers from the American Dental Association show nearly half of all practices are hiring.
"I have other colleagues where they work in various parts of the cities and they're booked out six months," said Lali Williams, a hygienist who works at Tonka Smiles in Minnetonka.
She sometimes sees up to 60 new patients a month, which is also impacting wait times.
"We did not really see it to the degree it is (now) until lately," said Jeanne Anderson. She's the advocacy council chair for the Minnesota Dental Hygienists Association.
Anderson says a poor workplace culture, burn-out and low pay are just a few parts of the problem attributed to the pandemic. It's since led to people leaving the profession altogether and early retirements.
"And today, I think, there are many other choices for women besides dental hygiene or nursing," said Anderson.
Except, enrollment is up at the state's nine accredited programs – only now the lack of clinical space is limiting the number of students.
"The interest is very high, they're just not able to take the numbers of students that they could be taking," said Anderson. As a result, it's leading to a long-term challenge.
For some people, barriers already exist to access dental care, and these experts worry the sustained shortage will only make it worse.
"The different demographics and rural areas, it is a lot harder and some people have to travel two to three hours to a clinic just to be seen," said Williams. "They were having to hop around just to get in."
The American Dental Association also says employers are changing clinic hours to satisfy applicants, as well as offering paid leave. Clinics are also relying more on recruiters, not school programs, to bring in new employees.
Although, the Minnesota Dental Hygienists Association says it plans to help introduce a new bill this legislative session to give schools millions of dollars in grants and forgivable loans to further increase enrollment and capacity.
In response to the shortage, the American Dental Association wrote KARE 11 in a statement, "The American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute (HPI) is closely monitoring dental workforce data trends. Enrollment in dental hygiene programs has recently recovered to pre-pandemic levels, while enrollment in dental assisting programs has been on a steady decline since before the pandemic, according to the American Dental Association’s HPI. Dental practice owners are also providing wage increases and other benefits to either attract or retain dental team members. According to HPI, around 9 in 10 dentists report they offer paid vacation, paid holidays and dental benefits to their employees. Roughly half of dental assistants and dental hygienists indicate they have received a raise within the past year, according to a 2022 HPI report, and the majority of dental assistants and dental hygienists surveyed are satisfied in their current job."
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