Why the Shortage of Skilled Workers Is Hitting Dentists So Hard
Especially in a dental practice with a small team, every vacancy immediately means extra work for the remaining employees. Overtime and additional tasks become routine.
The consequences:
- Motivation decreases
- Sick leave is increasing
- In the worst case scenario, employees turn their backs on work
In addition, many practices have to restrict their range of services without sufficient staff.
According to a survey by KZBV 43% of practices were no longer able to offer all treatments due to staff shortages.
This not only jeopardizes the economic base, but also patient care. After all, your employees are the heart of the practice. Without an experienced team, the quality of care suffers.
Identify causes before it's too late
In order to specifically counteract the shortage of skilled workers in dental practices, you must know the causes and recognize the first warning signs in your practice in good time.
Here are the most important reasons why dentists today have difficulty finding and retaining staff:
1. Fewer new talent, more emigration
Fewer and fewer young people are making their way to dental practice. The number of trainees at ZFA has fallen by around 25% in the last 10 years.
At the same time, around 50% of trained ZFAs are turning their backs on the job within a few years.
If this trend persists, up to 40,000 ZFA positions could remain vacant by 2030 (Source).
Practice feels this when new jobs can barely be filled.
2. Unattractive working conditions
The dental industry is in fierce competition with other healthcare professions, which often advertise better working conditions and more flexible working hours.
Many ZFAs are dissatisfied with salary and working time models. As soon as assistants find more attractive conditions elsewhere, they change careers.
3. Heavy workload and bureaucracy
New regulations and documentation requirements are constantly increasing pressure on practices. Instead of working on patients, bureaucracy takes up valuable time.
This leads to frustration within the team. Martin Hendges from KZBV WarnsThat skilled workers lose their job as a result of excessive bureaucracy and migrate to other occupations.
Briefly: Overwork without compensation drives employees away.
4. Generational Change and Expectations
Young workers today place greater value on work-life balance and development opportunities.
Rigid working hours and few career opportunities: All of these scares off potential applicants.
If practices ignore these changed expectations, they will hardly find any new talent and risk existing staff becoming dissatisfied.
5. Practice Managers Must Pay Attention to These Warning Signs
By keeping an eye on the causes described above, you can take countermeasures in your practice at an early stage.
Watch out for warning signs such as:
- Frequent overtime
- Declining motivation in the team
- Or longer staffing periods
As soon as you recognize these warning signs, you take action. Otherwise, you will lose good employees or suitable applicants will drop out early.
What exactly can you do now? We'll look at this in more detail in the next section:
Relieve the team with digital processes
Many dental practices still work with outdated procedures: Manualforms, telephone appointments, manual Reckoning.
This costs time and puts a strain on the team, especially when there is a shortage of staff anyway. Digital processes create targeted relief here.
Who signup, digitizes documentation and communication, significantly reduces administrative costs.
Set exactly at these points Providers like Nelly On.
We support dental practices with smart automation:
- Patients fill their Digital anamnesis and from the comfort of your own home.
- Documents become Digitally signed and automatically assigned.
- Invoices are sent to the patient directly after treatment via SMS or email — including a payment link.
- The team doesn't have to follow up, payment and confirmation are automatic.
- About the integrated Nelly Factoring Receivable management is completely taken over. You receive your money instantly, without a reminder or risk.
- Review invitations are sent on request and increase your visibility on Google.
In this way, you relieve your team of everyday tasks, save time when signing up and create more space for what counts: treating your patients.
Strengthening Employee Loyalty in Dental Practices: Appreciation and Development
It's hard to find good employees. But keeping them is even more important. A strong team is created when people feel seen, supported and treated fairly in their work.
How to strengthen your team's loyalty:
- Show Appreciation: Praise, honest recognition and respectful treatment create trust and motivation.
- Provide prospects: Support continuing education on ZMF, ZMV or DH. Development opportunities promote commitment and commitment.
- Create fair conditions: Review salary, working hours, and flexibility. Happy employees stay longer and work more concentrated.
- Encourage feedback: Regular discussions help to reconcile expectations and identify challenges early on.
- Enable relief: Use digital tools to automate routine tasks. This leaves more time for patients and significantly relieves the team in everyday life.
In short: An environment in which Employees feel good and develop Ability is the most important factor for long-term stability in your dental practice.
Dentists must rethink recruiting
The classic way of looking for personnel is often no longer enough today. Posting a job ad and waiting doesn't work as well as it used to.
To attract suitable employees, you should be visible, creative and authentic.
Show why your practice is a good place to work and understand recruiting as an ongoing process, not as a one-off measure.
Here's how to find new employees for your dental practice today:
1. Strengthen employer brand: Make it clear what your practice stands for. Highlight benefits such as modern equipment, training opportunities or flexible working hours. Show that your practice is a place where people enjoy working.
2. Use social media: Potential applicants are active on Instagram or TikTok every day. Use these channels to provide real insights into everyday practice. Short videos, photos from the team or patient feedback make your practice accessible.
3. Train young talent yourself: Offer apprenticeships or work with vocational schools. In this way, you attract specialists who know your processes and want to remain in the long term.
4. Encourage lateral thinking: Start a referral program where employees can suggest new colleagues. Career changers from other industries are also often motivated and bring fresh perspectives.
Summary: How to secure your team for the long term
Finally, an overview of the most important strategies: As a dentist, you can address the shortage of skilled workers in your dental practice and make your team fit for the future:
- Countermeasures early on: Identify overwork and dissatisfaction early on and act before employees quit.
- Use digitization: Automate processes to save time and free up your team.
- Appreciate and support the team: Offer fair conditions, flexible working hours, and development opportunities.
- Rethinking recruiting: Be visible, creative and active — on social media, through training or recommendations.
Conclusion: Long-term employee retention is achieved when you combine good working conditions with efficient processes.
Digitalization plays a central role in this context. With providers like Nelly Digitize your practice processes step by step.
Patients fill out forms online, sign digitally and automatically receive invoices via SMS or email.
Integrated factoring ensures your liquidity and automated review invitations strengthen your online reputation.
Let's explore together how Nelly can make your practice more efficient. Simply arrange a non-binding and free appointment here: Make an appointment.
Common questions
How can dentists address the shortage of skilled workers?
As a dentist, you can address the shortage of skilled workers by creating good working conditions, using digital processes and actively promoting employees. This keeps the team motivated and the practice stable.
Which digital solutions help combat staff shortages in practices?
Digital solutions such as Nelly Help dentists compensate for staff shortages. They automate scheduling, document management and invoicing processes, which significantly relieves the team.
How do I keep good zFAs in the long term?
Good ZFAs can be maintained in the long term by offering development opportunities, paying fair salaries and enabling flexible working hours. Appreciation and clear communication further strengthen the bond.
Is recruiting via social media worthwhile for dentists?
Recruiting via social media is worthwhile for dentists because young professionals can be targeted there. Authentic insights into everyday practice make you visible and attractive as an employer.
How do dentists make their practice future-proof?
Dentists make their practice future-proof by focusing on digitization, employee retention and efficient processes. With Nelly, processes are automated and liquidity is ensured.
