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December 5, 2005
New studies commissioned by the California Dental Association Foundation (CDA Foundation) indicate that the supply of dental hygienists and assistants is stabilizing to meet market needs, despite the widespread perception among California dentists that there is a shortage of these personnel. The studies by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UC Berkeley's Nicholas C. Petris Center for Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare indicate that while a small number of private practice dentists still encounter difficulty hiring qualified staff, the profession is rebounding from earlier shortages.
These reports provide crucial information needed for developing policies that ensure continuity of care for patients by maintaining a sufficient supply of dental hygienists and assistants.
"The CDA Foundation initiated this project because we wanted to understand the allied dental workforce environment and prepare for potential changes," said Brian Scott, DDS, chairman of the board of the CDA Foundation. "Given the multiple tipping points in a number of population categories, including the flux of baby boomers, changing demographics of Californians and evolving healthcare economics, we wanted to understand and begin forecasting workforce demands."
Researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research examined delays in hiring allied dental personnel, and other staffing issues, through a survey of approximately 13,600 general dentists throughout California in 2003. They found that:
- Only half of California dentists employed hygienists.
- Only 11 percent of dentists experienced delays in hiring qualified hygienists, and only 20 percent had similar delays in hiring assistants.
- Experiences of shortage were more frequent in Greater San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento Area, and Southern California Counties other than Los Angeles.
- The perception of a shortage of dental hygienists and assistants was widespread, even among dentists without openings and those with openings but no shortage experience.
"Most dentists in California believe there is still a shortage of dental hygienists and
dental assistants, but these perceptions are most likely due to their past experiences," said Nadereh Pourat, PhD, lead author and senior research scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
The UC Berkeley researchers analyzed shortage from the perspective of labor economics, using longitudinal data from 1997 to 2005. They found that:
- An increase in demand for dental services between 1997 and 2004 was also accompanied by an increase in demand by dental practitioners for qualified dental hygienists and assistants. Between 1999 and 2002, the average inflation adjusted wages of hygienists rose 48 percent.
- A similar increase in the average inflation-adjusted wages for dental assistants resulted in a 28 percent increase in their population-adjusted number from 1997 to its peak in 2003.
"The joint findings are a good starting point for further investigation of allied dental health personnel supply and demand as well as forecasting the provision of care into the future," said Timothy Brown, PhD, Associate Director of Research at the UC Berkeley Nicholas C. Petris Center.
The two reports will be complemented by additional research being commissioned from the Center for the Health Professions at UC San Francisco, which will survey employment tendencies for dental hygienists and assistants as well as additional dental workforce and consumer forecasting with the Petris investigators.
Taken together, the studies also provide greater understanding of increased training program opportunities for allied health professionals in order to prepare for changing consumer demands in the dental office.
View the report -->
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