In 2019, there were 7,311 dental hygiene graduates and 7,132 graduates in 2023, a decrease of 2.4%.
The decrease in dental assisting graduates has seen a much larger drop, with a decrease of 17.6% between the 4,517 graduates in 2019 compared to the 3,721 graduates in 2023.
This downturn in graduates has had a negative impact on the dental workforce. According to a recent survey from the ADA, nearly 90% of respondents said it was “extremely” or “very” challenging to recruit dental hygienists, and over three-quarters responded the same for dental assistants.
Here is the number graduates from dental hygiene and dental assisting programs from 2019 to 2023:
Dental hygiene
2019: 7,311
2020: 7,002
2021: 7,325
2022: 6,857
2023: 7,132
Dental assisting
2019: 4,517
2020: 4,003
2021: 3,943
2022: 3,720
2023: 3,721
