Employment of dental hygienists and registered dental assistants: highlights of the 1996 survey.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine various employment characteristics of Minnesota's allied dental health workforce, specifically dental hygienists and registered dental assistants. METHODS: In 1995 and 1996, two questionnaires one-year period apart were mailed to all licensed dentists in the state, accompanied with a request that only one survey form per practice be returned. An estimated 73 percent and 65 percent of all practices reported in the two years respectively. RESULTS: Results suggest few changes over the two-year period. Information is reported on a wide variety of conditions, including practice configurations, workload distributions, turnover, salaries, and relative demand for hygienists and registered assistants. CONCLUSIONS: These studies provide a good baseline for future reports and suggest that, at present, patient demand is stable or strong, and that while an adequate supply of allied dental health workers is available statewide, some local supply problems exist.