Graduation rates for dental hygiene and dental assistant students have declined, according to a dental education program enrollment and graduation report from the ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI).
Following dental assistant program closures that occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment, like graduation rates, continues to follow a long-term downward trend. However, enrollment in dental hygiene programs has climbed above prepandemic levels during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the report.
The report features information gathered by the Commission on Dental Accreditation’s annual surveys of dental education, advanced dental education, and allied dental education. But will a decline in allied dental graduates mean staffing shortages will continue? If recent data are indicators, it might. In May, HPI reported that more than one-third of dentists are actively recruiting dental hygienists and dental assistants.
In 2022, 6,857 students graduated from a dental hygiene program. Of these students, 6,464 were women, 328 were men, and 25 were other. The number of dental hygiene graduates was down about 6% compared to 2021.
In 2021, 7,325 students graduated from a dental hygiene program. Of these students, were 6,946 women, 375 were men, and four were other, according to the 2021-2022 HPI report.
In 2022, 3,720 students graduated from a dental assisting program. Of these students, 3,442 were women, 261 were men, and 17 were other, according to the 2022-2023 report.
The number of dental assistant graduates was down about 5% compared to 2021. In 2021, 3,943 students graduated from a dental assistant program. Of these students, 3,667 were women, 248 were men, and 28 were other, according to 2021-2022 HPI report.
Shifts in enrollment
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 8,642 students were enrolled in the first year of a dental hygiene program. These results indicate an approximately 5% increase from the 2021-2022 school year, when 8,197 students were enrolled in the first year of a dental hygiene program.
Meanwhile, 4,510 students were enrolled in the first year of a dental assisting program during the 2022-2023 school year. This is an approximately 4% decline from the 2021-2022 school year, when 4,715 students were enrolled in the first year of a dental assistant program, according to the reports.
As for dental school and advanced dental education programs, enrollment and graduation rates continue to tick up slowly and appear not to be affected by the pandemic. Additionally, more than 56% of first-year dental school students are women, which is the highest it has ever been, according to HPI.
