The 2024 Dental Connections RDH Salary Survey is open. Please participate, it takes under 1 minute to complete. Responses are confidential and it is important data for offices and employees.  Results available in February if we have enough participants.  Thank you!!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2YMLJYC

The 2024 Dental Connections Dental Assistant Salary Survey is open. Please participate, it takes under 1 minute to complete. Responses are confidential and it is important data for offices and employees.  Results available in February if we have enough participants.  Thank you!!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2285SVR

Dental Connections surveys local dental hygienists on an annual basis to produce accurate, comprehensive, and current statistics about their wages and benefits in dental offices.  The answers to this survey are completely anonymous and provide the most up to date and accurate statistics available anywhere. 

This survey combines ALL types of hygienists:  traditional, accelerated, restorative, part-time, full-time, experienced, new grads, etc.  Accelerated and restorative hygienists typically make more than traditional hygienists.  Full-time workers receive better benefits than part-time workers.  Take this into account while analyzing the statistics. 

WA State and all the major counties had approximately 9% average wage increases across the board.  Medical and retirement benefits also saw healthy increases.

The greater Seattle area is in its 7^th year of an extreme shortage of hygienists.  The Covid-19 pandemic made a bad situation even worse.  There are cohorts of workers that have retired or not returned to the workforce altogether.  The average age of workers has decreased dramatically.  Years of experience dropped from 15.85 in 2020 to 9.58 in 2022.  The workforce is much younger and the logical conclusion is baby boomer age retired in large numbers as a result of the pandemic.   

This is the first year we have surveyed hourly wages for temporary jobs.  Temp jobs typically pay more because of the high demand and no benefits.  Offices that offer a high hourly rate for 1 day temp coverage do not necessarily pay that rate to a permanent employee with valuable full-time benefits.

Before determining whether an hourly rate is fair, consider all important factors: location, hygiene role performed, experience level, type of practice, and benefits (which can add approximately $5-$20/hour to the compensation package).  Lastly, being satisfied in your job or with a loyal employee on a daily basis is always worth way more than a couple dollars an hour.

Please take the 2022 RDH Salary Survey. We offer this survey annually and will compare year over year statistics. We will post results in December. Please click the link below. Takes 1-2 minutes .

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3SJ7VGB

Dental Connections surveys local dental hygienists on an annual basis to produce accurate, comprehensive, and current statistics about their wages and benefits in dental offices. The answers to this survey are completely anonymous and provide the most up to date and accurate statistics available anywhere.

Before reading the results, we want to point out some key observations and historical trends:

• This survey combines ALL types of hygienists: traditional, accelerated, restorative, part time, full time, experienced, new grads, etc. Accelerated and restorative hygienists typically make more than traditional hygienists. Full time workers receive better benefits than part time workers. Take this into account while analyzing the statistics.

• The greater Seattle area is in its 6th year of an extreme shortage of hygienists. The Covid-19 pandemic has made a bad situation even worse. There are cohorts of workers that have retired or not returned to the workforce for health concerns/childcare reasons. The average age of workers has decreased dramatically. Years of experience dropped from 15.85 in 2020 to 9.99 in 2021. That is a startling number. Maybe it is a one year anomaly or the older generation of hygienists will not return at all.

• The survey compares hourly rates in 2021 vs. 2020. Examining just one geographic segment in North King County reveals hourly rates have risen over 9% in a single year. The increases vary by geographic area, but all track a similar trend of upward pressure on wages.

• Historically, experienced professionals that have spent more time in a single practice are compensated higher for loyalty. This is no longer the case because the shortage and increasing wages has not plateaued yet. Dental hygienists are routinely accepting permanent job offers or temp jobs well above the average hourly rates of employed individuals.

• 21% of respondents are part time workers and this has a dramatic effect on benefits statistics. The benefits percentages are lower as a result of the part time workers reporting lesser benefits.

Before determining whether an hourly rate is fair, consider all important factors: location, hygiene role performed, experience level, type of practice, and benefits (which can add approximately $5-$15/hour to the compensation package). Lastly, being satisfied in your job or with a loyal employee on a daily basis is always worth way more than a couple dollars an hour.

Dental Connections and the Washington Dental Hygienists’ Association (WDHA) have partnered since 2008 to produce accurate, comprehensive, and current statistics about dental hygienist wages and benefits in dental offices. The answers to this survey are completely anonymous and reflect a large sample set of workers providing the most up to date and accurate statistics available anywhere. Dental Connections and the WDHA have zero influence over the respondent’s answers and do not use this information for profit.

Before reading the results, we want to point out some key observations and historical trends:

• This survey combines ALL types of hygienists: traditional, restorative, part time, full time, experienced, new grads, etc. Restorative RDHs make more than traditional RDHs. Full time workers receive better benefits than part time workers. Take this into account while analyzing the statistics.

• By most measures the greater Seattle area is in its 5th year of an extreme shortage of RDHs. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem due to large cohorts of workers not returning to their jobs yet and current workers seeking hazard pay compensation. This has driven wages up even more dramatically due to basic supply and demand principles.

• Historically, experienced professionals that have spent more time in a single practice are compensated higher for loyalty. This trend is changing because of the shortage. North King County currently has a $54/hour average, but recent job offers in 2019-2020 have been above that average due to the market factors discussed above.

• 18% of respondents are part time workers and this has a dramatic effect on the benefit statistics. The benefit percentages are lower as a result of the part time workers reporting lesser benefits.

Before determining whether an hourly rate is fair, consider all important factors: location, hygiene role performed, experience level, type of practice, and benefits (which can add approximately $5-$15/hour to the compensation package). Dental offices weigh these factors before making a job offer or negotiating a raise for existing staff.

When we counsel dental professionals about a compensation package the most overlooked portion is benefits. There is a tendency to only focus on the hourly wage and there is a lack of education about how much the employer is spending on benefits. Colleagues discuss how much they are making per hour because it seems the most relevant. It may not be as exciting to say “I get 3 weeks of paid vacation and a 3% contribution to a 401k”. Our advice to both employees and employers is to make sure they have a full understanding of the total compensation package and shift the focus away from the hourly rate by itself. Lastly, being treated fairly and being happy at a job is always worth more than a couple dollars an hour.

Download PDF version of the results below. Please contact ryan@dentalconnections.com if you have any questions or comments.

https://www.dentalconnections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-RDH-Salary-Survey.pdf