As dental facilities across the country face challenges in meeting patient demand, more are turning to locum dentists for relief. According to JAMA Network, 25 million Americans are living in a dental shortage area, contributing to the demand for dental staffing solutions. Even outside of shortage areas, many dental facilities face challenges in offering prompt appointment availability—particularly for new patients. In this blog, we’re highlighting how dental staffing can alleviate these challenges, producing benefits from expanding access to minimizing burnout.
Gain Access To A Wide Dental Staffing Talent Pool
Regardless of the size and scale of a facility, finding solid providers can be a difficult task. Facilities, particularly in rural areas, often lack the time or resources to recruit dentists. Partnering with a dental staffing agency provides access to a wide range of talent, especially providers who can perform specialized services, like locum tenens dentists.
Within Barton’s talent pool, there is a diverse group of locum dentists capable of handling specialized cases and providing a range of specialty services. Here are some examples:
- Pediatric
- Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
- Orthodontics
- Dentofacial Orthopedics
- Periodontics
- Otolaryngology/ENT Surgery
- Endodontics
Access to a wide talent pool allows facilities to gather several candidates in a timely manner during the selection process. This means facilities do not have to settle on a less than ideal candidate.The flexibility to be picky is what makes partnering with a dental staffing agency like Barton Associates a solid move.
Avoid Administrative Burden
Locum dentists come to relieve a facility—not to create additional paperwork. With permanent employees to manage, facilities have their hands full. Splitting hairs over administrative tasks takes away valuable time and resources that could be better spent ensuring patients receive the care they need. That’s why dental staffing companies like Barton Associates provide comprehensive credentialing and onboarding services.
Below highlights the administrative work dental staffing companies like Barton Associates take on.
- Organize applications—from resumes to references
- Verify the validity of state licenses
- Ensure the provider is registered for malpractice insurance
- Schedule and main records of immunizations
- Handle payment of locums
- Assist with documents needed for onboarding
By working with a dental staffing solutions partner, facilities stand to benefit from more assistance, rather than increased responsibilities.
Expand Access To Care
Locum dentists serve a dual purpose by filling gaps in care and enabling facilities to expand their capacity. As a result, facilities can eliminate the patient backlog and shorten the waiting time between scheduling and attending an appointment. According to a study released by Becker’s, the average delay between booking and attending an appointment as a new patient is 24 days. However, this gap can be significantly longer in rural and underserved areas, where waiting times tend to be extended. As a result, delays in seeing a dentist can allow diseases to progress—conditions that might have been detected and treated earlier with timely care.
As for expanding patient capacity, locum dentists allow facilities to accept larger case loads, extend hours of operation, and provide specialized services. This is because permanent employees can place their resources into different ventures.
From a financial perspective, locum dentists are a cost-effective option for facilities without the long-term commitment of full-time hires. In the case that expanding services becomes a burden, locum contracts allow facilities to scale back when needed.
Minimize Burnout Among Permanent Staff
Did you know that over 90% of dentists felt some level of stress related to their career? This occupational stress can compound, ultimately leading to burnout. At a time when there is already a dental shortage and facilities nationwide are stretched thin, permanent employees would benefit from relief. Bringing in another set of hands to your facility will provide your permanent staff with room to move. Some examples of the relief locum dentists provide to permanent staff include:
- Providing the ability to take time off
- Taking appropriate lunch breaks
- Avoiding work when sick
- Reducing the amount of overtime hours
- Refreshing the work atmosphere
- Allowing time for professional development
The threat of losing permanent employees to burnout could be avoided altogether by partnering with a dental staffing agency.
Partner With Barton Associates To Be Your Dental Staffing Agency
Are you feeling overwhelmed at your facility? Consider dental staffing solutions tailored for your facility. Why wait? Start working with Barton Associates, a trusted partner in the locum tenens market. Visit Barton’s dentistry staffing webpage for more information.
