The Growing Use of Locums Tenens Dentists
A MARKET TURNAROUND As has been seen in acute care and outpatient care settings, demand for medical services has rebounded since the pandemic began. The availability of vaccines and the widespread adoption of patient protective equipment (PPE) has restored the confidence of many patients in the safety of healthcare settings, including dental practices. While the delta variant has created patient surges in some areas, shutdowns of elective services are not expected to be as severe as in previous surges, as healthcare facilities are more prepared to cope with them than they were initially. GROWING DEMAND FOR HYGIENISTS A strong sign the demand for dental services has returned is the fact that many dental practices are recruiting dental hygienists and are having a difficult time finding them. A May 2021 poll from the ADA’s Health Policy Institute found that: 36% of owner dentists are recruiting dental assistants, 29% are seeking dental hygienists, 26.5% are looking to hire administrative staff and 13% are in search of associate dentists — all four percentages representing a rise in recruitment since October 2020. Compared with before the pandemic, more than 80% of owner dentists who are currently hiring are finding the recruitment of dental hygienists and assistants to be extremely or very challenging. 66% of dentists said recruitment of dental hygienists was extremely challenging and 20% reported it was very challenging. 59% of dentists found recruitment dental assistants to be extremely challenging and 29% stated it was very challenging.
Source: ADA News. June 9, 2021
AMN Healthcare has observed that many dental practices are in growing need of dentists but are delaying recruitment efforts until they have the necessary dental hygienists in place.
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