Make no mistake: dental hygienists are one of the core pillars of the dental industry. You need hygienists to run a successful practice.
Unfortunately, there is a huge shortage of them, with many practice owners in Seattle scrambling to find a hygienist to replace those who retire or leave the field. A recent report reveals up to 8% of dental hygienists left the field during the COVID19 pandemic, with a higher percentage retiring without a suitable replacement.
In fact, nearly 30 percent of all dental offices are actively looking for (and failing to find) dental hygienists. Worse, even offices with dental hygienists face significant headaches during their vacations or off days. Chances are, you were lucky to get a good hygienist in the first place. Most offices lack effective hygienist overflow to deal with emergencies or extremely busy periods.
Luckily, there’s a way out of the never-ending chase. You can bring on board temp hygienists to immediately alleviate dental office pain points and help increase patient satisfaction and reduce lost revenue. But are dental temp agencies worth the hassle? And what types of benefits come with using a dental temp agency?
Understanding Temp Hygienists
A temp hygienist, also known as a traveling hygienist, is a trained health professional who performs dental hygiene practices such as prophylaxis, non-surgical periodontal therapy/SRP procedures, radiographs, and any other dental duty in a dental office. Temp hygienists are hired temporarily and work under a licensed dentist’s supervision. They usually work in several different offices daily, with some working in five different dental offices weekly. The following are the minimum qualifications of temp hygienists:
- Completion of a two-year associate’s degree in a dental hygienist program
- Passing a written and clinical exam to get a license
- A license from the state you practice in
In short, temp hygienists are qualified, vetted hygienists who choose to work in temp roles. They can help you solve short and long-term staffing issues. And they’re the perfect salve to today’s dental hygienist shortage headaches.
Why Use a Dental Temp Agency to Find Qualified Temporary Dental Hygienists?
Studies reveal in the next decade, employment in the dental field is expected to grow at an above-average rate. Dentist, dental assistant, and dental hygienist jobs are expected to record an 18 to 19 percent growth rate in the period between 2014 and 2024. Although the employment growth rate is great news, finding the right available employees amid a biting shortage can be hard.
A dental staffing agency is a great resource to turn to get your hiring process right. The following are some of the benefits that come with partnering with a dental staffing agency like WORKFORCE to fill vacant positions in your dental office:
- Thorough screening of candidates: A dental staffing agency has the tools and skills to weed out unqualified candidates. They conduct screening procedures to determine which candidates are the most qualified. Screening processes typically take time, and you won’t have enough time to juggle between hiring employees and running a busy dental practice. At WORKFORCE, we diligently vet our candidates. From background checks and skill verification to weeding out candidates with poor work ethics, our candidates are skilled, knowledgeable, and capable of instantly contributing to your practice.
- Scalability: Working with a staffing agency allows you to easily increase your staff during busy periods. The sophisticated nature of dental work makes finding temp staffing such a challenge. A dental hygienist can call out unexpectedly, yet you still have all of the appointments that they had scheduled. A dental staffing agency is a crucial resource when you have an immediate need to find a replacement. Working with an agency provides relief since they can help you get the staff you need when you need it. We’re talking about immediate staffing relief in hours — not weeks.
- Easy transitioning: Partnering with a staffing agency makes it easy for you to transition temporary staff to permanent positions. WORKFORCE strives to provide clients with the most talented and qualified temp hygienists. We make the transition easy and simple should you choose to keep on temporary workers for permanent positions.
- No liability: you are not liable for staffing agency employees should something unexpected happen, such as an injury when they are on the office premises. This doesn’t only provide peace of mind; you will also feel more confident onboarding a temporary employee into your practice. Besides, you won’t have to pay benefits unless your staff is on permanent hire.
- We employ: While this is not true of most dental staffing agencies, at WORKFORCE, we employ our temporary dental staff. That means we do the taxes; we handle the workers’ compensation, and we deal with all of the employment headaches. You simply get great talent when and where you need it most.
WORKFORCE is Your Dental Work Horse.
One of the most prevailing problems in the dental field is a lack of qualified team members, specifically hygienists. Finding the right hygienists, whether on permanent or temporary hire, is daunting. Instead of scouring through resumes, reaching out to potential candidates, and conducting background checks, considers working with a dental staffing agency to help save your time and money and ensure you fill vacant positions quickly.
WORKFORCE Staffing Solutions has provided temporary and permanent staff to our clients across Canada and the United States for over 20 years. If you need help finding temp hygienists in Sea