Dental Hygienist Market Update

By David Haynes, MBA, Vice President of National Practice Sales

For the past few years, many dental practices have struggled to hire and retain quality hygienists. This issue was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation that followed. Since 2020, we have seen many hygienists take higher-paying jobs in other industries or retire from the workforce altogether. Our team wanted to provide a dental hygienist market update and share tips for maintaining your staff members.

Employment Issues Facing Dentists

As competition to hire dental hygienists has increased, wages for these positions have gone up. In Arizona, where our headquarters are located, hygienist wages have historically hovered around $40 to $42 an hour. Recently, we have heard of hourly rates between $46 and $52 with temporary hygienists being paid as high as $60 an hour. 

With increased wages, dental practice owners may see decreases in their profitability. To recoup those costs, some dentists may be forced to increase their rates, which may be difficult to do if they have contracts for insurance reimbursements. With staffing issues, many practice owners have been hesitant to expand their service offerings.

When offices lose hygienists, they may also face disruptions to their schedules and therefore to their patients’ care. Patients may be forced to go to another practice if their appointment had to be rescheduled or if they can’t book a hygiene appointment in the near future. Temporary hygienists are equally hard to come by, leaving few options for practice owners.

How to Hire and Retain Great Hygienists

While you should always offer competitive wages, salary is not the only factor potential employees consider. You can instead offer signing bonuses and periodic employment bonuses to attract and maintain quality hygienists. 

Another important factor to consider is your company culture. Some questions to ask yourself include: 

• Do your hygienists feel supported and welcomed?
• Do you provide training and education? 
• Are your employees burning out?

What the Future Holds

We recently had a conversation with faculty from a local hygiene school. They told us that the demand for entry is higher than ever. School waitlists are as long as two to three years for entry with very little turnover.

With high incentives and new hygienists entering the workforce regularly, we expect that the demand for hygienists and wages will level out over time. In the meantime, you should focus on employee retention by creating an office environment and company culture that will benefit your team, practice and patient care.

If you have questions about your dental practice, please contact our team.