Professional services of practically any kind seem especially hard to find these days.

Even in the dental profession, there is a growing demand for hygienists and dental assistants who have become increasingly hard to schedule in the dental office. A study by the American Dental Association traces the shortage in dental staffing to the Covid pandemic.

The researchers found that about 8% of hygienists who had been employed in March 2020 had not gone back to work as of September 2020. By August 2021, that rate was about 5%.

Almost 2% of study participants said they no longer intended to work as dental hygienists, a possible reduction of 3,300 nationwide, according to the study.

The report also allayed concerns that dental hygienists would be at greater risk of COVID. The researchers found the COVID rate among U.S. dental hygienists was less than 9%, compared with about 12% in the general population. The findings appeared in the February issue of the Journal of Dental Hygiene.

Dental offices are having to adjust to the changes with flexible hours.

A recent TruBridge patient was unable to find his way into our comfortable dental chairs during the regular Monday thru Friday work week. We were only too happy to make scheduling adjustments and introduce his set of gleaming new TruBridge Zirconia teeth on a Sunday afternoon.

Shown above is a photo of our making the introduction:

“TruBridge teeth, please meet your new home.”

”Mouth, say hello to TruBridge.”

Sometimes life does not comply with perfect scheduling, nor perfect teeth. for that matter.

In both cases, your team at TruBridge is ready and able to do what it takes to help our patients reclaim their Tru smiles. [TBD]