Dental practices across the United States are facing financial and operational strains. This is causing many to close their doors — potentially limiting dental care options for your employees. Despite this, you can help keep employees connected to convenient, high-quality, and cost-effective care by seeking dental plans with specific benefits.
Current Dental Industry Challenges
- Staffing Shortages
In a March 2024 poll of dental practices by the American Dental Association (ADA), almost 72% reported it was extremely challenging to recruit dental hygienists, while 47% reported extreme difficulty in recruiting dental assistants, and 52.4% reported difficulty recruiting dentists.
- Staffing Costs
Due to these shortages, attracting and retaining dental professionals has become increasingly competitive, resulting in increased payroll costs. In fact, 49.2% of dentists in solo practices report staff wages increased by more than 11% from August 2022 to August 2023. Likewise, 57.6% of dentists in a practice with two to nine dentists reported a double-digit year-over-year increase for the same period.
- Student Loan Debt
On top of the increased staffing costs, student loan debt incurred by dentists is at an all-time high. The average dental student debt is $286,000, with 65% of dental school graduates taking out loans to pay for school.
- COVID-19 Losses
During COVID-19, dental practices often had to delay nonemergent and elective procedures as a result of local mandates. These delays had a negative impact on the practices' revenue stream that is still being felt today.
Dental Solutions For Employees And Employers
While these issues have the potential to become pain points for employees and employers, there are several dental plan benefits that help make affordable quality dental care accessible for employees.
- An Expansive Network
The most straightforward solution to a lack of dental providers is access to a significantly larger network. Anthem's Dental Complete network, for example, includes 143,000 dentists at 621,000 locations.
- Help Finding An In-Network Dentist
Members can use the Find Care tool on our SydneySM Health app or anthem.com to search for an in-network dentist according to distance, specialty, or even if the provider is accepting new patients.
- Virtual Care
Members can access in-network dental care wherever they are through virtual options.
Anthem provider TeleDentists® connects members with a dentist 24/7 who can assess and provide care recommendations and even prescriptions, if needed, for dental problems. Available by phone, app, or online, this service helps members avoid the high cost of an emergency room visit.
Ortho@Home and Dentures@Home are other innovative virtual programs that allow members to avoid a trip to the dentist while also saving up to 60% compared to traditional braces and dentures.
- Ask a Dentist/Hygienist
Rather than scheduling a visit to the dentist, this benefit allows members to email non-urgent dental questions to licensed professionals who will provide a recommendation within 24 to 48 hours, at no extra cost.
- Worksite Dental Care
Bringing the dentist's office on-site is an increasingly popular workplace benefit, as it also reduces lost work hours. Through Dental@Work, dentists and other dental professionals from Jet Dental set up temporary exam rooms at your facility for no additional cost. Employees can receive routine cleanings, X-rays, fillings, teeth whitening, and orthodontic scans.
- Web-Based Cost Estimator
This tool, available via Sydney Health or anthem.com, makes it easy for members to know how much they can expect to pay for common dental procedures and treatments provided by an in-network dentist, so there are no surprise bills.
As the dental industry navigates these challenges, Anthem remains committed to our healthcare partners and our members. We will continue to work with dental practices to help control costs and increase value while maintaining members' access to high-quality care.