The Business of Dental Hygiene: Staffing Shortages, Rising Wages & Patient Care | Ep. 18

"You learn how to do all the clinical functions in school, but the business of dental hygiene is a completely learned skill on the job." In this episode of Beyond the Operatory, host John Stamper sits down with Brenda Alberts, Program Director at Midstate Technical College, to unpack the evolving landscape of dental hygiene. With over 20 years of full-time clinical experience under her belt, Brenda provides a highly insightful look into the current hygiene staffing shortage, surging clinician wages, and the heavy operational responsibilities weighing on today's practice owners. They dive deep into the ultimate balancing act: helping hygienists understand their financial worth to a business without reducing patient care strictly to a production metric. Brenda breaks down how a transparent, business-minded dentist completely transformed her own clinical career and shares her firsthand experience developing curriculum for some of the most disruptive roles in modern dentistry—Expanded Function Dental Assistants (EFAs) and Dental Therapists. In this episode, we cover: Chapters 00:00:00 The Business of Dental Hygiene: Staffing Shortages, Rising Wages & Patient Care 00:02:47 Setting the New Standard: Brenda's journey from a 20-year clinical hygienist to building Midstate Technical College’s brand-new dental hygiene program from the ground up. 00:05:33 The Business of Hygiene: Why dental hygiene school leaves out critical business training, and how to teach clinicians to look through the lens of a practice owner. 00:07:11 The Workforce Shortage Crunch: Unpacking the macro-effects of the hygiene staffing crisis, skyrocketing wages, and the push for schools to increase enrollment cohorts. 00:11:04 Total Scope Transparency: How monthly financial huddles can align a hygiene team with corporate overhead margins and change a job into a career. 00:16:08 The Impact of Dental Therapy: Explaining the 3-year curriculum structure of a Dental Therapist and how it acts as an opportunity—not a threat—to solo practitioners and DSOs. 00:20:17 Defining the EFA Role: A clear breakdown of what an Expanded Function Dental Assistant can safely execute to maximize doctor workflows and same-store productivity. 00:27:17 Profiling Today's Hygiene Student: Understanding the tactical struggles, career goals, and programmatic constraints facing the next generation entering the workforce. About the Guest: Brenda Alberts, RDH, MS, is the Dental Hygiene Program Director at Midstate Technical College in Wisconsin. Before transitioning into academia, Brenda spent over three decades in private practice. She has served as a CODA site visitor, contributed directly to the statewide expanded functions curriculum development task force, and is a certified Expanded Functions Dental Assistant (EFA).