Confronting Dental Workforce Challenges
The PDA and our Board of Trustees have recognized this need of our members for many years, especially after COVID. We established a workforce taskforce to look for solutions to this problem. As many of you are aware, an easy fix simply does not exist.
As I meet with the guidance counselors at various events across the state, they are very appreciative of our efforts to promote dentistry as a career choice. Many have said that they just do not know enough about a dental career to guide a student down this path. PDA has compiled information to help explain the various options, and this( as well as a free PDA logo toothbrush!) is collected by counselor after counselor to bring back to their school district. They ask many, many questions. And one thing I hear time and again is that they would love for someone to come to one of the school career days and talk to the students directly about careers in the dental profession. And this is an area where every PDA member can help.
14 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL