The Impact Of Rising Staffing Costs On Dental Practices in 2026
As the end of January approaches, staffing challenges continue to plague the dental industry in 2026; negatively impacting practice performances.
From hygienists and assistants, to those in front-of-office, staff are still in high demand, and with such competitive pressure surrounding hiring, wages are being driven upward throughout the country. In fact, for a lot of dental practices, their biggest expense is staffing, and labor cost rises are literally reshaping both scheduling, and profitability.
Getting to grips with the rising cost of labor and its impact on the financials of your practice, is crucial if you want to build a business that’s resilient and forward-looking, and specialist accountants for dentists can help you do exactly that.
To help your practice adapt its financial strategies and maintain stable growth and robust margins, here’s a closer look at the rising cost of dental staffing:
Current trends in pay for hygienists and assistants
In many markets, hygienists and experienced dental assistants are commanding hourly rates that are higher than ever before, driven mainly by shortages in the workforce, and shifts in benefits and flexibility expectations.
Destined not to be short-term spikes, these trends reflect labor market shifts that are structural, resulting in anticipated continued wage growth for practices that they must account for over the coming months and years. Without accounting for these increases, scheduling could quickly become a nightmare, margins might drastically shrink, and long-term financial planning would likely become more challenging.
The impact of higher wages on overheads and profitability
With the cost of labor already representing a large portion of a practice’s overheads, increases such as those we’re seeing now, can make them even more impactful.
When case acceptance or production stays flat, and wages increase, a practice’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) quickly tighten. Although the result may be subtle, missing early warning signs such as a gradual decline in profitability can be fatal for a practice, and a lack of timely and accurate financial reporting is often responsible for this.
Increased labor costs can affect a practice’s entire financial structure, because labor is the driving force behind so many of its aspects.
Strategies to stay ahead
As critical as labor costs may be to the financial health of your dental practice, they don’t have to undermine your financial stability. With mindful budgeting and forecasting, your practice can absorb changes in wages without it having a negative impact on growth. Enabling better planning of adjustments in fees, goals for production and technology or training goals, forecasting also helps practice owners understand the true financial impact of hiring a new team member, adjusting compensation, or expanding hours, for the months ahead, not once the costs have already been absorbed.
With timely guidance from accounting for orthodontists, dental practice owners can strategically manage staffing costs with the help of financial projections that are realistic and include the cost of benefits, increases in wages and predicted trends in productivity.
The rising cost of labor doesn’t have to be something that undermines the success of your dental practice long-term. With the help of accurate data, reliable KPIs, mindful forecasting, and a sound understanding of wage trends and their financial implications, practice owners can confidently make decisions that will support the longevity of their business.
