Allied dental personnel: will there be enough?
The escalating number and size of dental practices mean greater dependency on a ready supply of allied dental personnel. However, despite the increasing number of entry places in allied dental training programs, many places remain unfilled and large numbers of individuals do not complete the course of studies. A review of the changes in dental practice sizes and dental assistant, dental hygienist and dental laboratory technician programs raises concerns as to whether there will be enough allied dental personnel to meet the future needs of the profession. The need for increasing attention to this potential eventuality is stressed.
Waldman
H Barry
HB
Department of General Dentistry, Stony Brook University, NY, USA. hwaldman@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
Perlman
Steven P
SP
D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000639:trends; D003727:Dental Auxiliaries / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000639:trends; D003729:Dental Care / Q000639:trends; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D011215:Practice Management, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce