ADDRESSING WORKFORCE SHORTAGES A TOP ODA PRIORITY
Increasing the number of dental assistants and hygienists in the workforce has been a top priority for the Ohio Dental Association over the past several years.
“The staffing shortages faced by dentists across the state have reached a critical level,” said ODA President Dr. Manny Chopra in a speech to the ODA House of Delegates in September. “It is imperative that we recognize the urgency of this crisis. The Ohio Dental Association has actively engaged in addressing our workforce challenges for a few years.”
Earlier this year, the ODA improved and enhanced webpages on oda.org with information about careers in dentistry. The pages include descriptions of dental office positions, American Dental Association resources related to careers in dentistry and contact information for dental assisting and dental hygiene education programs in Ohio. Many member dentists are using these resources with their patients and in their communities to encourage people to consider a career in dental hygiene or dental assisting. The new webpages can be viewed at www.oda.org/about/public-resources/careers-in-dentistry/.
Since the pages launched in April, they have had more than 6,000 pageviews.
The ODA also released a series of radio advertisements aimed at attracting new dental assistants and hygienists into the workforce. The three radio spots highlight the benefits of becoming a dental assistant or hygienist and point listeners to visit oda.org, speak to their school guidance counselor or a dentist in their community to learn more. The radio ads are airing on ONN stations across the state. All of the radio advertisements can be found on the ODA website at www.oda.org/member-center/news-media/.
The ODA has also placed advertisements online and in social media in the target market with a similar message to the radio ads. The digital ads direct people to the ODA’s new careers in dentistry webpages. The ODA’s careers in dentistry Facebook ads have received over 9,000 interactions, including link clicks, likes and shares.
In addition to recruiting more individuals into the field, the ODA is also working to bring hygienists and assistants who have left back into the workforce. The ODA has launched an email campaign to those individuals who did not renew their dental hygiene licenses and dental assistant radiographer permits during the last renewal. The emails have included a “return to work in dentistry” message along with practical, easy to use information on how they can reinstate their expired licenses and certificates.
These efforts are the result of a 2022 ODA House of Delegates resolution to develop and implement a dental staff recruitment campaign to help member dentists meet their staffing needs.
The resolution was submitted by the ODA Workforce Working Group, which was established by the Dental Education and Licensure Committee in 2021 to address the shortage numbers of hygienists, assistants, EFDAs and front office personnel.
The resolution aims to help ODA member dentists meet their staffing needs by promoting career path opportunities to the public, encouraging people to enter the dental field and growing the number of applicants to Ohio’s dental assisting and hygiene programs.
In 2023, ODA House of Delegates passed a resolution that permanently adds the duty of monitoring workforce issues and developing strategies to encourage careers in dental fields to the ODA Dental Education and Licensure Committee.
Last month, representatives from the Dental Education and Licensure Committee met with the Greater Cleveland Partnership to discuss their initiatives to create an apprenticeship program for dental assistants. The committee is now discussing the best way to work with GCP on this program.
