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Dental assistants perform one of the most critical roles in oral health but their poor treatment during COVID-19 restrictions among other concerns have resulted in a startling decline in those willing to work in the profession. By Tracey Porter.
Earlier this year the Australian Dental Association (ADA) commented on the Dental Industry Reference Committee draft industry summary compiled by national not-for-profit organisation SkillsIQ.
Included in its response was a reference to an Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) report that made the rather startling admission that dental assistant employment levels fell from a high of 34,400 in 2019 to 22,400 in 2021—a 35 per cent decline over two years for a position that boasts a median annual salary of around $60,860.
The AISC report cited job vacancy data showing the most advertised occupations were for dental assistants, followed by dental assistant/receptionists, with the top requested skills by employers in the sector being communication skills and attention to detail.
While this in itself isn’t unusual as many sectors have battled to fill positions post pandemic, what is surprising is the same report projected employment levels for dental assistants to grow to 36,400 in 2025—a 63 per cent forecast increase over four years.
This begs the question of how the sector will fill this gap.
State of play
Barbara Hayes, director of peak membership body, the Dental Assistants Professional Association (DAPA), says her organisation is only too aware that the sector is currently experiencing a mass exodus of people.
While dental assisting is a “rewarding and fulfilling career”, Hayes says member feedback suggests similar issues are being experienced among sister organisations in both the US and UK where the pandemic has given many workers pause to reconsider their future careers.
Other factors influencing the decision to leave include not feeling valued, low pay rates, long hours and limited career progression, she says. Employers themselves may also have contributed to the problem.
“Unfortunately, staff [also] reported poor treatment during COVID-19 restrictions. Employers were suddenly faced with overheads and no income, uncertainty, and risk management for which they were not prepared. DAPA dealt with numerous issues, among them staff standdowns, terminations, rehire attempts, issues to do with working from home such as expectations of unlimited hours and always being on call, and employer enforced vaccination requirements. This resulted in many long-term and loyal employees re-evaluating and leaving the industry.”
AB Dental Employment Agency director Pam McKean says her business has had to grapple with a lack of suitably qualified candidates ready and willing to fill dental assistant vacancies.
McKean says the government’s decision to close Australia’s borders has taken a far greater toll on talent pools. “That has had a massive impact because we’ve been missing all the students and all the working holiday people.”
The way forward
Organisations are looking at new and innovative ways to attract new blood to the sector while also retaining exsting staff.
McKean says her agency would typically be seeking candidates qualified with a dental certificate III or IV in dental assisting and while this is preferred, some practices are prioritising this less in the hope of securing staff.
On a more generic level soft skills like customer service, showing empathy, good attention to detail, and someone with a genuine interest in dentistry will always stand a chance.
Pam McKean, director, AB Dental Employment Agency
“On a more generic level soft skills like customer service, showing empathy, good attention to detail, and someone with a genuine interest in dentistry will always stand a chance.”
Like McKean, Hayes says DAPA is aware of the need for additional dental assistants and is doing what it can to come up with a more sustainable solution to the issue.
One of its first moves is to expand its instructional capability to provide higher throughput and increased numbers of trainees.
The organisation is heavily promoting a school-based traineeship pathway for year 10-12 students as an opportunity for part-time practical work in dental practices and a vocational qualification as part of their HSC.
The scheme sees students given a day or two off school to attend the workplace for onsite training and time at school to complete written assessment work. This should enable them to enter the workforce as a qualified employee straight out of year 12.
“Encouragingly, we are also hearing from those who may have left the industry some years ago, now interested in returning as wage levels are increasing.”
Hayes says employers can also take advantage of current employer funding incentives. This has contributed to an increase in new entrant traineeships, however employers wishing to take advantage of this will need to be quick as this funding is only available until January 2023.
In terms of retaining existing staff, Hayes says employers should be acknowledging and valuing the staff they have now as replacing them will not be easy in this current environment. Employees are more likely to stick around if they feel their employer is invested in their future.
Helping to support endeavours to expand education and offset the expenses of various certifications can go a long way towards building loyalty and increasing staff engagement, she says.
It may also be worth looking at staff roles, delegating responsibility where possible and repositioning the team to make work easier.
“Seek your team’s input when it comes to some decisions in the practice. Allow them to use their talents as they work together to solve practice problems, such as broken appointments, meeting daily goals, clinical procedures, or dental supply management.
“Roles such as clinical coordinator, sterilisation manager, chairside assistant or administration manger can be rotated daily among staff and shifts allocated. This means your chairside assistant isn’t racing from sterile area to front desk and back to clinic all day trying to cover four or five different roles.”
Hayes says remuneration is also important. “The message this conveys as a degree of respect is a core issue of all dental assistants. Forward thinking dentists should be considering above award remuneration along with CPD and other benefits to employment as many other industries have had to do in what is really an employees’ market.”
My Daughter complete VCE Private School in 2023. Commenced as a Dental Assistant last month. Loves the job, however she is working 745am to 630-645pm ( no set finish time, relying on a bus to commute) with only one break of an hour, no rest or food breaks in between? She has fainted once already, a combination of a tooth removal patient and being hungry as has not eaten since 7am, no food until 1.30 pm. I’m not sure how Companies can expect that of an 18 year old, new Employee or anyone. She has always had after School employment and is a hard worker. She is going to resign this week and is very disappointed. They will never hang onto young enthusiastic workers if that is how they are treated.