While dental hygiene education programs celebrate record enrollment, the dental assisting field faces a mounting crisis: the number of graduates has declined by nearly 40% over the past decade, dropping from 5,755 in 2014 to just 3,536 in 2024, according to the latest American Dental Association Survey of Allied Dental Education.

The stark contrast between these two allied dental professions reveals a troubling divergence in workforce pipelines. As dental practices across the country struggle to maintain adequate staffing levels, the continuing decline in dental assisting graduates threatens to exacerbate an already challenging situation.

The numbers paint a sobering picture. Total enrollment in dental assisting programs has plummeted 42.6% since 2014-15, falling from 8,416 students to just 4,831 in 2024-25. First-year enrollment has followed a similar trajectory, declining 41.7% from 7,601 to 4,428 students over the same period.

The decline has been relentless and consistent, with graduates dropping an average of 222 students each year. The 2024 graduating class of 3,536 represents a 5% decrease from 2023, continuing the downward trend with no signs of reversal.

Particularly concerning is the dramatic drop during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduate numbers fell from 4,517 in 2019 to 4,003 in 2020, and have continued declining even as other sectors of healthcare education have rebounded.

The divergence between dental assisting and dental hygiene education is striking. While dental hygiene programs have added 1,352 students to total enrollment since 2014-15 (an 8.3% increase), dental assisting programs have lost 3,585 students (a 42.6% decrease) over the same period.

In 2024, dental hygiene programs graduated 7,739 students—the highest number in a decade. Meanwhile, dental assisting programs produced their lowest graduate count in recent history at 3,536 students, representing just 61.4% of the 2014 total.

Several factors appear to be driving students away from dental assisting education:

Compensation Disparities: Dental assistants typically earn significantly less than dental hygienists, despite both requiring specialized training and playing critical roles in patient care. This wage gap may be steering students toward hygiene programs instead.

Limited Career Advancement: Unlike dental hygiene, which offers clear pathways to advanced practice roles and specialized certifications, dental assisting has fewer opportunities for professional growth within the field.

Educational Requirements: Many states now require formal education and certification for dental assistants, creating barriers to entry without proportional increases in compensation or career prospects.

Alternative Employment Options: In a competitive labor market, potential students may be choosing careers with better pay-to-education ratios or more flexible career trajectories.

Pandemic Impact: The COVID-19 pandemic's effect on healthcare education appears to have hit dental assisting particularly hard, with enrollment continuing to decline even as other programs recover.

The practical implications of this decline are significant for dental practices nationwide. With an average of 6.1 fewer dental assisting graduates entering the workforce every day compared to 2014, practices face:

If current trends continue, the 2025 graduating class could drop below 3,400 students, reducing the annual supply to just 58% of 2014 levels.

Addressing this workforce crisis will require coordinated efforts from multiple stakeholders:

For Educational Institutions: Programs may need to adapt their recruitment strategies, highlight career flexibility, and work with dental practices to create more attractive career pathways.

For the Profession: Dental associations and practice owners must advocate for better compensation, clearer career advancement opportunities, and professional recognition for dental assistants.

For Policy Makers: Reviewing certification requirements, supporting scholarship programs, and addressing barriers to entry could help attract more students to the field.

For Practices: Creating competitive compensation packages, offering continuing education opportunities, and providing clear advancement paths can help attract and retain talent.

The dental assisting profession stands at a critical juncture. With enrollment and graduate numbers in freefall while dental hygiene programs thrive, the data suggests systemic issues that require urgent attention.

Unless significant changes are made to improve the value proposition of dental assisting careers, practices should expect continued staffing challenges. The question facing the profession is whether stakeholders can work together to reverse this trend before the shortage becomes even more acute.

For an industry already struggling with workforce shortages, the loss of nearly 2,200 dental assisting graduates per year compared to a decade ago represents a crisis that can no longer be ignored.

Data sourced from the American Dental Association's 2024-25 Survey of Allied Dental Education. The survey encompasses all accredited dental assisting programs in the United States.