Local dentist points to multiple causes behind hygienist shortage

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Dental offices across North Carolina are struggling to fill hygiene positions, as a shortage of dental hygienists continues to affect both urban and rural providers.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the number of licensed dental hygienists has not kept pace with demand. Some hygienists left the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many others have reduced their hours or shifted to part-time or temporary roles.

Dr. Sarah Pless, a dentist and owner of Renaissance Dental Studio in Wilmington, said her practice has experienced the impact of the shortage.

“I think a lot of times a misconception about a dental hygienist is that they are teeth cleaners,” Pless said.

She noted that compensation and flexibility are motivating many hygienists to change how they work.

“Most hygienists are preferring to go for a higher salary at this time with a part-time position,” she said.

Pless said the pandemic created uncertainty for dental workers, especially those concerned about exposure to aerosols during procedures.

“We probably have less hygienists today than we had before the pandemic,” she said. “There was a lot of uncertainty about what a real risk was to us breathing in aerosols in the room with patients and so a lot of people did leave the industry for their own safety.”

Burnout is also a contributing factor, according to Pless. She said dental hygienists are doing more work with little change in insurance reimbursement for the services they provide.

“What’s happened is the hygienists end up having to double up their workload to make the business model of dentistry make sense,” she said.

“It’s back-breaking work to be leaning over in a very static position so a lot of them have probably left the industry more prematurely than they might have 20–30 years ago as their workload has probably increased.”

Pless also emphasized the range of responsibilities dental hygienists handle during each patient visit.

“It is not just the scraping of teeth. That is one small piece of what they do, but they have a ton of tasks in the midst of their 60 minutes they are allowed with a patient,” she said.

North Carolina is one of the most recent states to allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthetics, following legislation supported by the North Carolina Dental Society. Pless believes giving hygienists more autonomy could help attract more candidates to the field.

“If we allow them to do some more things, I think it can help — it probably will help elicit some candidates too who really desire that sort of career,” she said.