How Covid-19 Impacted the Dental Hygienist Market

How Covid-19 Impacted the Dental Hygienist Market

It’s been a little over a year since the Covid-19 Pandemic took the world by storm and changed how we go about our daily lives. One of the many challenges it has brought the dental industry is a drastic decrease in the number of dental hygienists in the profession by about 8%, the majority of these hygienists leaving voluntarily or for other reasons including issues surrounding child care and concerns over safety measures in the workplace(1). This has resulted in unforeseen demand for hygienists and temporary hygienists which is reflected in an astonishingly low unemployment rate among actively licensed hygienists of 0.5%(2).

The extremely low unemployment rate explains why the dental industry has rarely if ever experienced the difficulty it has now; because there are simply so few unemployed dental hygienists available to work as temp hygienists. This explains the widely felt struggle to find a temp hygienist to fill in for an absent hygienist at a dental office. With an increased demand for temp hygienists to cover for full-time hygienists who may need to quarantine for two weeks, takes leaves of absences due to Covid-19, maternity leave, and other various reasons-there are simply not enough temp hygienists to meet the demand.

Following the tried and true logic of supply and demand-a scarcity of available temp hygienists, coupled with an increased demand for temp hygienists results in a dramatic increase in the average wage of temp hygienists & full-time hygienists in many regions of the country. Luckily, there is a truly innovative solution that seeks to equip dental offices with the tools necessary to survive this drought of temporary hygienists-TempMee. 

TempMee is a community that connects local hygienists with dental offices whether it be for temporary or permanent placement.  We have replaced those old-school temp agencies with technology that expedites the process and makes it easier, and cheaper. We are working diligently to provide dental staffing solutions to all  dental offices and would love to solve your dental staffing problem.

References: 

  1. ADHA Publication: “Critical Issues Facing the Dental Hygiene Profession” Feb2021 https://www.adha.org/pri_docs/Feb-2021_JDH_EmployPatterns_DH_COVID.pdf
  2. Dental Hygienist Job Overview https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/dental-hygienist 
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