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The most successful dental practices don’t just hire for skills: they hire for fit, and temp-to-perm arrangements give you the runway to do exactly that. 

The Interstate Dentist and Dental Hygienist Licensure Compact is transforming how dental practices recruit talent, turning what was once a bureaucratic nightmare into a streamlined pathway to building stronger teams. 

The real cost of dental staff turnover isn’t just the $60,000 in annual misallocated effort or the 6-9 months of salary spent on replacement: it’s the erosion of trust, culture, and patient care that happens when good people keep walking out the door.

The difference between a dental practice that thrives with locum tenens support and one that struggles isn’t luck: it’s avoiding the critical hiring mistakes that 78% of practices make when bringing in tempo rary dental professionals. 

The dental hygienist shortage isn’t just a staffing problem: it’s a strategic opportunity for practices that know how to position themselves as employers of choice in an increasingly competitive market.

The numbers don’t lie, and they’re pretty sobering. 62% of dentists identify hiring challenges as their number one concern heading into 2025. If you’re running a dental practice right now, you’ve probably felt this pressure firsthand. Maybe you’ve had to turn away patients because you’re short staffed, or perhaps you’re watching your current team burn out from covering extra shifts. You’re def initely not alone. 

Finding qualified dental hygienists has become one of the biggest challenges facing dental practices today. With demand far outpacing supply, many practice owners are making critical errors that push top talent straight into competitors’ arms. The good news? Most of these mistakes are completely fix able once you know what to look for.