---
title: "What Is Workforce shortage? Dental Practice Glossary"
description: "A lack of enough qualified hygienists, assistants or dentists to fill open jobs, which can reduce the number of patients a practice is able to see."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/workforce-shortage
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Team and HR

# Workforce shortage

A lack of enough qualified hygienists, assistants or dentists to fill open jobs, which can reduce the number of patients a practice is able to see.

A workforce shortage exists when there are not enough qualified people to fill open roles. The ADA Health Policy Institute reports that only 60% of dentists have an adequate number of dental hygienists on staff. It also reports that vacant positions in dental assisting and dental hygiene have reduced dental practice capacity by an estimated 10% nationally.

HPI notes that shortages were first tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that they are likely to remain an issue for years to come. Causes include people leaving the field, workplace factors and training capacity.

Shortages shape [dental recruiting](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-recruiting), [dental staffing](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-staffing) and [employee retention](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/employee-retention). Some states test new roles, such as the oral preventive assistant, in response. This entry reports data and takes no side.

[Next stepIndustry work with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=industry)

## Related terms

-   [Dental recruiting](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-recruiting)
-   [Dental staffing](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-staffing)
-   [Employee retention](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/employee-retention)
-   [Mid-level dental provider](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/mid-level-dental-provider)

## Sources

1.  [ADA Health Policy Institute, Dental Hygienist Shortage](https://www.ada.org/resources/research/health-policy-institute/dentist-workforce/dental-hygienist-shortage)
2.  [ADA Health Policy Institute, Dental workforce shortages: Data to Navigate Today's Labor Market](https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/dental_workforce_shortages_labor_market.pdf)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)