Why Dental Specialists Change Their Jobs In US? Annual Salary Review: Part 2

DentistryIQ annual salary survey, comprehensively analyzing the American dental practice industry's labor market condition, demonstrated gradual salary and work conditions improvement in recent years. Still, it also highlights that a notable number of dental specialists, including general dentists, registered dental hygienists (RDH), and dental assistants, are planning to change their workplace or have recently done so.

This tendency may indicate particular issues in the industry, so let's review some of the most prevalent causes that force clinicians to find a new job.

Turnover rate

According to statistics, 28.8% of dentists changed their employer last year (0.6% more than last year), and 46.6% of respondents plan to find a new workplace within the year (4.3% more than in 2023). The most frequent motivating factors for these groups were:

Better work environment – 50% of dentists who changed (or plan to change their job)
Higher salary – 38.2%
Better work hours policies – 35.3%

In 2025, in turn, the top motivation for changing workplaces will be higher income (70% of surveyed).

Among RDH, more than 20% of participants reported that they changed employers during the last year (1% more than last year). However, the number of people who plan to find a new job within the next year notably decreased compared to 2023 indicators – 33.7% (44.4% in the previous annual survey). These groups of respondents have had similar motivational factors during the last year and next year:

Higher-income – 20% of surveyed
Better work environment – 15.5%
Better benefits – 14.4%

Dental assistants have a slight decrease in the number of specialists who changed their jobs – 23.2% compared to the 24.7% in 2023. Crucial factors forcing them to change their jobs were:

Better work environment – 12% of respondents
Higher pay – 9.3%
More appreciative employer – 9.3%

According to the survey, in 2025, most dental assistants (38.3%) who plan to find a new workplace choose higher income as the main criteria in their job search.

Notable tendency

Although the survey indicates stable annual income and hourly rate growth, most participants choose "higher income" as a key factor in job-seeking. That may mean salary growth does not match the applicant's estimations, and they constantly search for new opportunities to improve their wealth.

These tendencies, in turn, may affect dental accessibility in a country that is experiencing hard times in the US, according to recent research from Harvard University.

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