One in Five Hygienist Openings Took More Than Six Months to Fill, ADA Report Says

Posted: October 29, 2026

One in Five Hygienist Openings Took More Than Six Months to Fill, ADA Report Says

Edited by Hygienetown staff

One in five dentists who filled a dental hygienist position reported that the job had been open for more than six months, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute’s quarterly report on the U.S. dental economy for the third quarter of 2026, released in October with a special focus on staff recruitment.

About one-third of dentists were recruiting dental hygienists during the quarter, and the vast majority of them said recruiting was very or extremely challenging. The institute said that pattern has held for more than two years.

Among dentists who recruited in the prior three months, only two in five filled the open hygiene position, compared with about two-thirds of those recruiting dental assistants. The institute reported the same pattern in the third quarter of 2025 and said hiring challenges have not changed over the past 12 months.

Dental assistants were perceived as less difficult to recruit than hygienists, although assistant positions took slightly longer to fill than a year earlier.

The staffing findings came alongside signs of a slower dental economy. Two in five dentists said they were not busy enough and could have treated more patients, up from about one-quarter in the second quarter, and consumer spending on dental care was down 2.4% for the year through August. From January through August, reimbursement rose 1.5% while inflation reached 2.3%.

The institute concluded that staffing shortages have not eased much within the past year and that the dental jobs landscape has changed little. The quarterly report draws on the institute’s panel of practicing dentists and on federal economic data.

Sources:
ADA Health Policy Institute, “The State of the U.S. Dental Economy: 3rd Quarter 2026 Update,” October 2026:
ada.org/state_us_dental_economy_q32026.pdf
ADA Health Policy Institute, State of the U.S. Dental Economy report page:
ada.org/health-policy-institute/state-of-the-us-dental-economy


One in Five Hygienist Openings Took More Than Six Months to Fill, ADA Report Says

Views: 6
Sponsors