Picture a Tuesday morning at a busy dental practice. The schedule is full, the front desk is fielding calls, and one hygiene chair sits empty. Again. The job post has been up for months, and the few applicants who show up are already employed and just shopping for a better offer.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. A recent Business Insider piece highlighted how widespread the hygienist shortage has become, with only about 60% of dentists reporting an adequate number of hygienists on staff, according to the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
Why hiring more isn’t the whole answer
Most conversations focus on getting more people into the profession. That matters, but the article makes a sharper point. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s president compared the situation to filling a bucket without addressing the leak. In other words, new graduates can’t solve a shortage if experienced hygienists keep walking out the door.
So why do they leave? The reasons tend to be practical: physical strain, packed schedules, limited benefits, and little room to grow.
What this means for your practice
The good news is that several of these factors are within an owner’s control. A few questions worth asking your team:
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Do our hygienists have access to meaningful benefits, or are we leaving that gap for a competitor to fill?
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Is the schedule sustainable, or are appointment times quietly getting squeezed?
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Do hygienists feel heard on clinical decisions and treatment recommendations?
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Is there a path for growth, whether through added responsibilities, continuing education, or flexible hours?
Small practices often assume they can’t compete with larger groups on compensation. But benefits, flexibility, and respect can carry more weight than owners expect. For many hygienists, those are the reasons they stay.
Where benefits fit in
Health coverage is one of the most common gaps in smaller dental offices, and it’s often one of the first things a candidate asks about. The right employee benefits package doesn’t have to be out of reach. Options like voluntary benefits can give your team more choice without adding major cost to the practice.
At R.K. Tongue, we work with dental practices every day on exactly this kind of question: how to build a benefits and risk strategy that helps you attract and keep the people who make your practice run.
If you’re curious how your current offering stacks up, we’re always happy to talk it through. No pressure, just a conversation.
Source: Emily Stewart, Business Insider. ADA Health Policy Institute data referenced as reported in the article.
