+80 Dental Hygienist Pay, Benefits, Work & Happiness Statistics

We talk to thousands of dental hygienists each year. Conversations around workplace happiness, pay, and job satisfaction are all fair game, and we’re not scared of the awkward conversations that happen around these subjects. Over the years, we’ve gotten a good feel for the industry at large. And, we’ve done surveys and crunched data internally (a few statistics from these crunches are present on this list.) But we’re only one company.

There are tens of thousands of hygienists we will never talk with. So, we dove deep into the latest and most up-to-date research to help you better understand what the industry looks like for RDHs.

Here’s what you need to know.

Career Outlook

The overall job outlook for RDHs is fantastic. Year-over-year growth is projected, and virtually every dental office is struggling to find high-quality hygienists. All data suggests dental hygienists will have zero issues finding work over the next few decades. This data is echoed across major news organizations — most of which rank dental hygienist among the best jobs in the United States & Canada.

1. Dental hygienists have an incredible career outlook, with growth expected at 7% over the decade in the United States and nearly 10% in Canada. ¹,²
2. Over 16,000 new dental hygienist positions are expected to open per year over the next decade.¹
3. Over 93% of dental hygienists are women, with men making up around 6 percent.³
4. The average dental hygienist is 42 years old, putting them in the middle of their careers.³
5. Dental hygienist is ranked number 24 in the U.S. News & World Report’s “100 Best Jobs” list.⁴
6. 82 percent of dental offices are looking to hire new talent.⁵
7. Dental hygienists are the most in-demand position in the dental office, closely followed by dental assistants and dental receptionists.⁵
8. Around half of offices looking for hygienists are looking for temporary assistance.
9. 69% of practices admit to challenges navigating the dental hygienist talent market.⁶
10. 95 percent of dental offices looking for hygienists admit that it’s “extremely challenging” to find one.⁷
11. Over 60 percent of dentists say finding dental hygienists is their number one biggest challenge.⁷
12. While the staffing shortage in dentistry isn’t confined to hygienists, they do represent by far the largest share — with 75% of dentists saying they have enough dental office staff. That number drops to under 50% when discussing hygienists.⁸
13. There are over 325 dental hygiene programs available in the United States alone, with 12 accredited university programs in Canada.⁹

Salary Figures

Overall, pay for dental hygienists is trending upward. However, data suggests raises may not be outpacing external salary increases. While many dental hygienists are fairly compensated, there is a tangible gap that shows us that a good chunk of offices may be underpaying their talent. (side hustles are also on the rise among hygienists).

14. The median salary of a dental hygienist is ~$75,000.⁴
15. The average salary for dental hygienists in community health is $79,224.¹⁰
16. The average salary for dental hygienists in hospital settings is $71,690.¹⁰
17. The average salary for dental hygienists in a corporate setting is $73,630.¹⁰
18. The average salary for dental hygienists in public health is $71,748.¹⁰
19. The average salary for dental hygienists in private practice is $68,861.¹⁰
20. The average salary for dental hygienists who work in prisons is $66,917.¹⁰
21. The average salary for dental hygienists in an academic setting is $64,113.¹⁰
22. The average salary for dental hygienists in mobile clinics is $59,333.¹⁰
23. Around 60% of hygienists work full-time, with the rest engaging in part-time or flexible temporary work.¹⁰
24. Those temporary work reported 25% higher hourly pay than those who worked full-time and 19% higher hourly pay than those with part-time jobs.²³
25. 35% of dental hygienists earn bonuses.¹⁰
26. Over 75% of these bonuses end up being less than $5,000 per year.¹⁰
27. Over 40% of dental hygienists received a raise last year.¹⁰
28. Over 60% received a raise in the last 2 years.¹⁰
29. 72% of dental hygienists are satisfied with their income.¹⁰
30. This number has grown by 10 percent over the last few years as hygienist pay continues to increase.¹⁰
31. 58% of dental hygienists who leave an office do so because of salary.⁵
32. Average pay for hygienists is $45 per hour in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas.⁶
33. The highest average pay is in the Pacific area, which ends up at $58 per hour.⁶
34. In the 90th percentile, dentists in the Pacific are making over $75 per hour, while that drops to $48 per hour in the Midwest.⁶

Benefits

Dental hygienists consistently rank benefits as extremely important to their job satisfaction. It’s a major reason we see hygienists leave offices. And, as usual, the news is mixed. While benefits have increased over the past few years, there are still many full-time hygienists who have subpar benefits despite sacrificing financial flexibility in their role.

35. More than 90% of RDHs are paid their full hourly rate if they have no-shows.¹⁰
36. Nearly 80% of RDHs say that benefits are “extremely” important to them.¹⁰
37. Less than 25% of RDHs in private practices receive health insurance compared to over 60% in corporate settings.¹⁰
38. While temporary workers rarely get health insurance benefits, they do have 25% higher pay — affording them a more affordable and sustainable way to enter the private healthcare landscape.²³
39. The most common benefit among RDHs is paid vacation, with over 88% of dental hygienists having this benefit from their workplace.¹¹
40. The second most common benefit is paid holiday at 87%.¹¹
41. 78% of dental hygienists now receive retirement benefits from their employer, a sharp increase from 57% just a few years ago.¹¹
42. Less than half of RDHs get health insurance from their employer, with the majority of these being in private practice.¹¹
43. Only 55% of RDHs have paid sick leave.¹¹
44. 42% of dental hygienists have CE tuition reimbursement benefits.¹¹
45. 62% of RDHs have some level of family benefits.¹¹

Satisfaction

The truth is: most dental hygienists are extremely happy with their careers. But there’s a flip side: the majority are not necessarily happy with their workplace. Data shows hygienists are more than willing to switch jobs (a good luxury afforded by the extreme demand for the position) when they aren’t happy. And, many hygienists feel they aren’t treated fairly by their offices.

46. 51 percent of people are satisfied with their jobs.¹²
47. 86 percent of dentists are satisfied at work, but that drops to 61% for dental hygienists.¹³
48. 58% of dental hygienists who leave an office do so because of salary.⁵
49. The other 42 percent leave due to burnout.⁵
50. 10 percent of dental hygienists are considering quitting.⁵
51. Nearly 30% of RDHs interviewed for (one or more) new jobs in the past years.¹⁰
52. Over 15% changed jobs in the past year.¹⁰
53. Similarly, over 15% are looking to switch jobs in the next year.¹⁰
54. Over the next year, 6% of full-time RDHs and nearly 20% of part-time RDHs plan to retire, leaving a massive gap in the workforce.¹¹
55. The top motivator for changing jobs was pay at 32%.¹¹
56. 28% of RDHs leave to find a better work environment.¹¹
57. 12% leave because they want an employer who appreciates them more.¹¹
58. 11% of dental hygienists seek a better location during the job hunt.¹¹
59. 7% leave for better benefits (often for benefits period).¹¹
60. 6% seek a new type of position.¹¹
61. Finally, 5% of dental hygienists leave to get better hours.¹¹
62. Over 66% of RDHs with +10 years of experience changed jobs over the past 5 years, showcasing gaps between raises and salary growth.¹¹
63. Despite burnout, benefits frictions, and pay headaches, the vast majority of dental hygienists are happy — with over 90% of dental hygienists admitting they would choose the same profession again.¹⁰
64. Over 85% of dental hygienists in private practice spend 40 or more minutes per patient.¹⁰
65. This drops to 76% for those in corporate practices.¹⁰
66. Around 60% of dental hygienists are satisfied with their hours.¹⁰
67. This means that 40% of RDHs are not satisfied with their hours.¹⁰
68. Most dental hygienists are confident in their work, with over 98% saying they are extremely confident in their scaling technique and ability.¹⁴
69. Even early in their careers, Over 60% of dental hygiene students say they’re confident in their ability to relay information to patients and children.1¹⁵
70. The reason for going into dental hygiene varies, with the majority (64%) saying a desire to “help others” drove their decision.¹⁶
71. On the other end, 33.5% staunchly admitted they chose the career because the pay was adequate and the schooling was doable.¹⁶
72. These trends are not confined to RDHs, with the majority of workers who quit citing the same reasons for leaving their workplace (63% say pay).¹⁷

Burnout

Big surprise: burnout is still an issue for dental hygienists. Data trends do suggest it may be less severe than in the past few years, but the burnout issue still looms. We’ve discussed this issue many times, but it’s safe to say it isn’t going away. Maybe ever. Let’s look at the data.

73. Nearly 1 in 3 RDHs are experiencing burnout.¹⁸
74. Less than 10 years ago, burnout levels were only around 20 percent.²²
75. Using different qualifying data, that 20 percent is closer to 38% according to one study, which suggests that — according to MBI scores — 38% of RDHs “feel used up at the end of the day” and “feel that they work too hard at their jobs.”¹⁹
76. Anxiety levels among dentists and dental hygienists have nearly tripled in the past few years.²⁰
77. Recent studies suggest up to 70% of RDHs have thoughts of leaving the industry due to burnout.¹⁹
78. Outside of overworking, the largest contributor to RDH burnout was a lack of appreciation in the workplace.¹⁹
79. Over 50% of dental hygienists feel that pay and hours worked are the two biggest contributors to their burnout levels.²³
80. Only around 60% of dental hygienists now believe that there are advantages to working full-time — with around 40% now swaying towards part-time or temp work.²¹
81. Temporary dental hygienists have 2x the happiness levels of their full-time counterparts, with many suggesting the flexibility and pay are to thank.²³

Key Points

Dental hygienists are satisfied with their line of work but not necessarily their jobs. Despite pay rising as an industry, data shows many workplaces have not caught up — forcing a near-majority of RDHs to seek new jobs to keep looped into external pay bumps. Benefits are increasing, but it’s obvious there’s still room for improvement, especially amongst those in private practice. Burnout is (mind-blowing) still a problem. But, at the very least, it has seemed to stabilize. Overall, dental hygiene as an industry is in a great position, but some RDHs feel mistreated, burnt out, and underpaid. But they don’t have to.

Sources:

1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-hygienists.htm
2. https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/explore_career/job_market_report/outlook_occupation_report.xhtml;jsessionid=B718C02EA22FD6E2C07C076DB48DC152.jobsearch76
3. https://www.zippia.com/dental-hygienist-jobs/demographics/
4. https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs
5. https://www.nexhealth.com/stateofdental2024
6. https://www.dentaleconomics.com/macro-op-ed/whitepaper/14299077/download-the-2023-dental-economics-fee-and-staffing-survey
7. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dentistry/article/14303729/staffing-shortages-recruitment-and-retention-lead-dentists-concerns-for-2024
8. https://adanews.ada.org/ada-news/2023/november/hpi-examines-dentist-workload-impact-from-staffing-shortages/
9. https://www.adea.org/GoDental/Future_Dental_Hygienists/Dental_hygiene_by_the_numbers.aspx
10. https://www.rdhmag.com/career-profession/article/14222280/dental-hygienist-salary-survey
11. https://www.rdhmag.com/career-profession/article/14287331/dental-hygiene-salaries-in-2023-the-state-of-the-career
12. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/30/how-americans-view-their-jobs/
13. https://ebusiness.ada.org/Assets/docs/101863.pdf
14. https://www.rdhmag.com/ergonomics/instruments-handpieces/article/55038346/sharpness-matters-surveying-hygienists-instrument-use-and-challenges
15. https://www.cjdh.ca/
16. https://www.dentalpost.net/dental-jobs/content/dental-hygienists-rated-amongst-top-jobs-for-great-work-life-balance/#:~:text=Our%20latest%20salary%20survey%20data,in%20the%20past%20four%20years.
17. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/
18. https://www.rdhmag.com/career-profession/article/14279250/burnout-in-dental-hygiene-5-steps-to-reclaim-your-life
19. https://jdh.adha.org/content/jdenthyg/94/6/40.full.pdf
20. https://adanews.ada.org/new-dentist/2022/may/the-burden-of-burnout
21. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dental-hygiene/career-development/article/55041497/the-realities-of-full-time-dental-hygiene-weighing-the-benefits-and-drawbacks
    
22. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dental-hygiene/article/16365688/career-satisfaction-survey-part-2-what-role-does-burnout-play-in-dental-hygiene
    
23. https://workforcedentalstaffing.com/