February 06, 2026
In 2026, dental practices are not only competing for patients and market share. They are also competing for hygienists, assistants, and front office talent who have clearer expectations and more options than they did even just a few years ago.
DentalPost, Amplify360's sister company and one of the most trusted sources for dental workforce insights, just published the 2026 Salary Survey Report, an annual release that's closely watched across dentistry. This comprehensive report highlights where competition is intensifying, how compensation is evolving, and what matters most to professionals, capturing the clearest read of the dental workforce in one place.
Today, we're taking a look at how the industry's evolution shows up in patient experience, reviews, and growth.
Let's start with some of the standout themes in the survey.
Dental Workforce Themes for 2026
→ Workforce stability is improving, but unevenly
Compared to recent years, fewer dental professionals report changing jobs, and more say they plan to remain in their current role. Dentists and hygienists in particular show measurable gains in pay satisfaction and lifestyle indicators, following a few years of sustained pressure.
Dental assistants, however, remain an exception. Despite year-over-year increases in average compensation, assistants report the lowest satisfaction with total pay and the highest likelihood of leaving in the near term.
→ Job changes are driven by environment as much as economics
In this year's survey, when they've switched jobs, dentists and hygienists both rank work environment at the top of their reasons — right alongside pay.
This is a telling signal to leaders and practice owners that it is past time to invest in their workplace experience. Remember, work environment is not just the office furniture or exit on the highway. It's the daily composition of the job. How the schedule runs. How conflict gets handled. How communication works. Whether the team runs on rhythm or chaos. All of it goes on the scale when people decide what "work environment" means.
Compensation still matters, of course, but it doesn't stand alone anymore. How people feel about work is just as much of a driving factor behind whether they stay with the practice or not.
→ Flexible schedules are standard operating reality
With the exception of front-office staff, who still primarily work full-time, the majority of dental professionals now work fewer than five days per week, making flexibility the standard and no longer the exception.
This changes how practices staff teams, build schedules, and plan coverage. Practices eyeing growth in 2026 will need to adjust their strategies to reflect how most teams operate, building flexibility into the model.
→ Workforce aging adds pressure industry-wide
The dental salary survey report notes that a significant share of dentists and hygienists plan to retire within the next five years, while a smaller proportion of the workforce sits at early career stages, pointing to the potential for persistent shortages across roles. Additionally, technical education requirements lengthen replacement timelines, making backfills even less predictable.
This elevates the importance of internal development and longer-term workforce planning. It also reinforces why employer reputation matters alongside patient-facing branding. Dental practices are competing for talent and trust at the same time.
What it means for today's dental practice owners
Taken together, these themes remind us that stability requires active work. It is not enough to simply achieve improvement; true leadership is the discipline of sustaining it.
Gains in retention won't hold without attention, especially in the roles most likely to disengage. Lower-paid positions, often lower in the practice hierarchy, feel pressure first — and that's already visible in survey data. And let's not forget, when those roles turn over, the effects don't happen in isolation. Impact spreads quickly across scheduling, clinical flow, and patient experience. And before you know it, the improvements in satisfaction across other roles start to slip backwards.
Here are some practical places to invest in 2026 so your dental practice continues to capitalize on the upward trends and support the areas that may be at risk.
Dental Teams & Continuing Education
Identify the roles that carry the most risk and build support there first. Invest in mentorship, team building, and formalized training.
Tie skill-building and continuing education to clear compensation progression. As your team can do more, your practice can offer more services. Their success is your success.
Use cross-training not only to protect operations, but to build confidence across teams, reduce internal friction and single points of failure, and create visible paths forward.
Workplace Environment & Benefits
Treat benefits such as flexible hours, stipends, wellness support, and parental leave as retention tools.
Use engagement surveys, regular one-on-ones, and clear feedback loops to surface friction before it turns into turnover.
Tighten operations with daily huddles, clear roles, and consistent expectations to reduce stress in ways no single perk ever could.
Scheduling
Design schedules and teams around mixed availability, keeping in mind different roles contribute in different ways, and clarity around responsibilities is essential.
Establish guardrails around lunch breaks, add-ons, new patient blocks, and end-of-day boundaries to protect both the team and the patient experience.
And of course, all of this becomes more pressing against the backdrop of an aging workforce. Practices with short planning horizons will feel that pressure first. Those that look three to five years out have more room to develop talent internally, sponsor education, and prepare for life transitions before they become urgent.
Patient experience and dental practice growth
Workforce conditions shape the practice long before they show up in financial reports. They influence how the day runs, how confident the front desk operates, and perhaps most importantly, how patients and staff feel. Over time, those details affect retention, referrals, reviews, and the ability to grow.
Leaders who treat workforce planning as a core part of running a healthy business are better positioned to protect margins, sustain growth, and build practices that work for both patients and the people who care for them.
Download a full copy of the 2026 Salary Survey Report here. For more information about dental practice growth and profitability, check out our Practice Tools or book a call.
