Supporting Our Oral Health Workforce
Since our founding in 2015, AIDPH has developed programming and scientific activities to support an equitable oral health workforce. In 2022, we expanded our research to explore changes in workforce trends between dental providers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from our analyses revealed concerning trends in a declining dental workforce with significant economic implications both federally and in individual states.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 relief funding for veteran-, minority-, and women- owned dental businesses: A cross-sectional study
The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated dental staffing shortages, which impact care delivery and ultimately oral health equity. Federal funding efforts like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) sought to aid traditionally underserved businesses including those owned by veterans, minority racial and ethnic groups, and women.
In this publication, we examine the differences in PPP funding between veteran- and nonveteran- owned dental care delivery businesses and organizations. We also analyzed other relevant factors associated with variation in PPP funding for dental businesses besides veteran status.
Our key findings revealed:
- While there was not a significant difference, veteran-owned dental businesses received more PPP funding and had more forgiven than nonveteran-owned businesses.
- Compared with white-owned businesses, dental businesses owned by Asian, Black or African American, and Other racial groups both received less PPP funding and had smaller amounts forgiven.
- Hispanic and Latino-owned businesses were also given smaller amounts and had smaller amounts of loans forgiven, as were female-owned businesses.
These findings question the effectiveness of SBA-implemented strategies to fund traditionally underserved businesses, which included more diversity in lender type and efforts to target funding to these groups. To learn more, read our article on the Frontiers in Oral Health website.
The Financial and Policy Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Care Workers
In our newest report, AIDPH evaluated the impact on workforce numbers and wages using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (US-BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Our key findings revealed:
- The dental workforce as a whole reduced by 3% from pre-pandemic levels.
- A $66.5M annual loss from state revenue impacts the flexibility of social services, creates budgeting shortfalls, and reduces economic growth in local communities.
Explore Our Oral Health Workforce Dashboard
