What Does the UDA/ADA Do For Me?

The year has gone by too fast. From my perspective every year goes a little bit quicker, and every year there seems to be a little more to do. Others say the same too.

This year, as always, the Utah Dental Association has attempted to visit all the dentists in the state during our Continuous Quality Improvement seminar. It seems over the years attendance has diminished, especially along the Wasatch Front.

The goal of our CQI meetings is to bring timely and important information to dentists that will greatly affect the practice of dentistry in the state. In Utah we have the third highest rate of solo practice in the country. That means that the individual practitioner is responsible for understanding and executing all the changes that occur each year.

I was amazed as we visited dentists last year that hundreds of dentists had the wrong license. Having the correct license and the correct malpractice insurance should be one of the most important aspects of your practice, but many dentists never

What’s your practice worth?

bothered to check. They must have assumed that someone would do it for them. Fortunately for those who caught their error early it was easily remedied by a simple call to DOPL, but uncorrected the ramifications of this mistake would be profound.

Many ask what does the UDA/ADA do for me? We work hard to do the things individual dentists can’t do or are unlikely to do themselves. We work on issues like staying on top of current and proposed legislation and we work to provide affordable continuing education that helps dentists meet the requirements of licensure. We will never be able to compete with the many custom CE programs available to dentists around the country but many of the topics we provide are requirements for licensure and are not something that many dentists want to pay top dollar for. But many are unwilling to take the time to attend the courses.

The most common complaint I hear regarding the UDA is that we have not changed the rates that insurance companies pay to their PPO’s and that there are too many dentists participating in PPO plans. Fortunately for all dentists in the state the UDA won’t come into your office and change the way you practice dentistry. This in a decision for individual practitioners and offices to make. If you don’t like the rate you are reimbursed by a company, then don’t accept the plan. Its that simple. Many insurance companies still reimburse for dental work done by non-PPO providers. Some even pay more. Many of us want to make these changes in our own practices but we haven’t taken the time to do it yet. We are too busy, and we keep hoping someone will do it for us.

I too feel like I have been too busy this year. Some of it is for play, some for “work” and some for family responsibilities. I still have not found the time to find a place to hang all our raft frames in our new garage and it has been sitting in my wife’s parking spot since the end of summer. She has asked a few times if I plan on working on it this weekend, but it seems like something more important keeps coming up…

Dr. Gregory Gatrell UDA President

Since 1968

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DENTAL WORKFORCE CRISIS

Nationally, dentistry is facing a workforce crisis. The shortage of dental hygienists, dental assistants and dental office administrative staff that existed prior to COVID-19 appears to have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as some staff members did not return to the profession after COVID-related dental office shutdowns. With regulations easing and vaccinations becoming more prevalent, many practices are again seeing an increase in patient appointments.

Our neighboring states of Wyoming, Nevada and Colorado are experiencing significant hygienist shortages leading to substantial increases in salaries. Unlike Utah where many hygienists continue to seek additional employment in an oversupplied marketplace. The four Utah public Higher Ed institutions which educate dental hygienists; Weber State, UVU, SLCC and Dixie State, continue to have high numbers of applicants. Similarly, the four Tech Colleges with dental assisting programs; Bridgerland, Ogden-Weber, Davis, and Mountainland, have wait lists for entry into their dental assisting certificate programs. Some dental offices have invested heavily or ramped up their use of patient communication platforms to compensate for a shortage of business office team members.

According to a May 17, 2021 study by the ADA Health Policy Institute, 35.8% of owner dentists were recruiting assistants; 28.8% were seeking hygienists and 26.5% were seeking administrative support staff. The same study reported hiring struggles: 86% of dentists reported hygiene recruitment efforts as “extremely” or “very” challenging; and 83% reported assistant recruitment efforts as “extremely” or “very” challenging. While COVID is partially to blame, the American Dental Education Association’s (ADEA) Snapshot of Dental Education of 2019-20 data indicates that the problem has been developing for many years.

According to ADEA, from 2007 through 2017, the average number of dentists graduating from CODA accredited educational programs increased each year from 4,714 to 6,238 (32.3%). During the same 10-year period, the average number of hygienist graduates from CODA-accredited programs increased modestly from 6,652 to 7,294 (9.7%), and the average number of assistants from CODA accredited programs actually decreased from 6,097 to 4,852 (-20.4%), partially the result of the increase in unaccredited assisting programs.

Clearly the number of credential completing dental team members is not keeping pace with the number of graduating dentists. There is no single solution to this growing workforce shortage. A kneejerk reaction may be to increase class sizes, but some schools report declining applications and enrollment. The problem is not just a need for larger classrooms, but a need for a larger applicant pool. Dentistry needs to be more aggressive in attracting young people to dentistry, hygiene and assisting careers.

To fulfill the ADA Mission of “helping dentists succeed and support the advancement of the health of the public”, it is imperative that dentists be supported by an adequate, welltrained dental team. This is a critical element in access to care and the financial viability and sustainability of dental practices. Perhaps best achieved by recruiting and training an adequate workforce, while also taking steps to increase employee tenure, by helping establish a safe and encouraging workplace environment.

ADA agencies have been tasked to undertake a national public relations campaign through existing print and social media communications materials to promote and encourage high school students to consider careers in dentistry, dental hygiene and dental assisting. There is also an urgent need to understand variables that lead to burnout and high employee turnover, as well as the variables that encourage long term employment. The profession needs to increase the tenure of dental team members.

Bottom line……….. let’s take care of our important team members by creating a safe, nurturing workplace environment and opportunities for an increased skill set, additional responsibility and compensation. And……. help fill the pipeline of future dental team members by encouraging our teen age patients, especially those of under-represented populations, to consider a post high school education, focused on a dental career.

Scott Theurer, DMD ADA Delegate

NEW E-PRESCRIBING LAW

The Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) is expected to finish the rule filing for this new law in November. It will allow an extension till January 1, 2024 for dental offices. More information will be coming as it is available.