The Growing Use of Locums Tenens Dentists

Note: AMN Healthcare is proud to be NACHC’s sole provider of locum tenens staffing services and to partner with community health centers nationwide on physician, dentist, and advanced practitioner staffing efforts. The role FQHCs are playing in dental care increased over the last several years due in part to the fact that in June 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $156 million to 420 FQHCs around the country to help address an overwhelming demand for affordable dental care. The growing role of FQHCs and other no or low-cost dental providers also is driven in part by the fact that many Americans lack dental insurance. According to the National Association of Dental Plans, 39% of Americans (124 million people) have no dental benefits of any kind, compared to about 10% of adults today who do not have medical insurance. As the population ages, lack of dental insurance is becoming an even more pronounced problem as Medicare does not cover the cost of most dental procedures, further enhancing the role of community health centers in dental care. The Effect of COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the healthcare industry, creating disruption and financial challenges at hospitals, medical groups, FQHCs, and dental practices of all types. Hospitals lost billions of dollars as elective procedures were shut down to create more resources for treating COVID19 patients. Eight percent of physicians closed their practices, at least temporarily, while many were furloughed, according to the 2020 Survey of America’s Physicians, conducted by Merritt Hawkins on behalf of The Physicians Foundation. Dental practices were hit particularly hard by the pandemic, as patients put off both regular care and dental procedures over concerns about the virus. The following statistics from the ADA’s Health Policy Institute quantify the impact the pandemic has had on dental practices: Annual income earned by general practice dentists declined from $207,234 in 2019 to $170,164 in 2020, a decrease of 17.9% Annual income earned by dental specialists declined from $347,650 in 2019 to $323,776 in 2020, a decrease of 7%. Income for female dental general practices declined more steeply than for males. Female dental GP

income declined by 26.6% from 2019 to 2020, compared to a 14.7% decline for males. Average hours worked per week for dental GPs dropped 16.6% from 2019 to 2021. Average hours worked per week for dental specialists dropped 11.7% from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, dentist received an average of $95,000 in Covid-related financial relief.

The pandemic effectively ended recruiting at many dental practices and led to furloughs or layoffs of dentists, hygienists, and other dental workers. According to NACHC, FQHCs were obliged to layoff 100,000 healthcare professionals during the height of the pandemic.

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