5/11/2020 Dental practices led record health care job losses in April but are bouncing back

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HEALT H AND SCIEN CE

Dental practices led record health care job losses in

April but are already bouncing back this month
P U B L I S H E D S AT, M AY 9 2 0 2 0 • 5 : 5 2 P M E DT

Bertha Coombs
@ B E R T H AC O O M B S

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KEY POINTS
The health care sector lost a record 1.4 million jobs in April, led by more than
half a million job cuts at dental practices 

Dental jobs could bounce back, with 48 percent of practices fully staffed in
the first week of May after states that are lifted Covid moratoriums on dental
practices

Finding personal protection equipment is one of the big challenges dental

offices face in ramping service 

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5/11/2020 Dental practices led record health care job losses in April but are bouncing back

Dr. Paul Giotopoulos of Quaker Ridge Dental 

Source: Dr. Paul Giotopoulos of Quaker Ridge Dental

The health care sector lost a record 1.4 million jobs in April led by more than half a
million job cuts at dentist offices according to the Labor Department, as the
coronavirus pandemic kept most non-emergency health care services on hold
nationally.

The staggering jobs losses mark a 53% decline in dental practice employment over
two months. All but 3% of dental offices nationally were shut down except for
emergency appointments last month, according to the American Dental Association,
and nearly 9 out of 10 had laid off staff.

Most of the jobs could come back online over the next few weeks. The first week of
May saw nearly half of dental practices bringing workers back, according to the ADA.

“This week 28 states have reopened… in those states we’re finding 48% of dentists
have fully hired back their staff, which is a considerable jump from two weeks ago,”
said Marko Vujicic, the ADA’s chief economist.

Dr. Paul Giotopoulos and his partners in New Rochelle, New York furloughed a
dozen employees last month. They’ll be bringing them back next week, with the
moratorium on routine dental care scheduled to be lifted on May 15th in the state.

It will be anything but business as usual.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of different things--taking some of the seats out of the
waiting room… we’ve put up barriers for the receptionists at the front desk,” as well
as doing pre-screening of patients for Covid symptoms, Giotopoulos said.

Safety protocols a challenge

For many practices, one of the biggest challenges to fully ramping up service is
finding enough personal protection equipment for their staff. The other is trying to
control the spread of patient aerosols that occur during dental procedures.

“Aerosols are created when we use our drills or ultrasonic tools. If you’re ever had
cleaning done with your hygienist
your
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5/11/2020 Dental practices led record health care job losses in April but are bouncing back

spreads all over the office,” in the air said Giotopoulos.

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Dental practices that have resumed service this month are seeing about a quarter of
their usual patient volumes, to maintain safe practices. At the same time, they are
facing higher costs because of new safety protocols to protect themselves and their
patients.

“Protocols like spacing patients out --and even some states are requiring exam rooms
to be left vacant, so the aerosols can settle-- all these things are going to reduce
productivity and increase variable costs for dental offices,” said Vujicic. “That’s not a
constraint to reopening, but it’s definitely going to affect profitability and depends
on… who bears the cost of that increased PPE expense.”

The ADA has asked Congress to provide tax credits to dental practices in the next
round of coronavirus funding, to help cover the increased costs of PPE.

Unemployment headwind   
Following the 2008 financial crisis, while other service sectors shed jobs in droves,
health care hiring steadily rose. But the sharp spike in unemployment poses a
headwind for providers trying resume their practices.

Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs may qualify for health insurance
coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchanges or the Medicaid safety net
program, which could provide a hedge for doctors and hospitals. But dental coverage
is generally separate from insurance for medical care.

“We’re going to be facing a two-fold problem… the disease itself and then now you’ve
got people that can’t pay. They don’t have a job,” said Giotopoulos. “I don’t think we
really understand the scope of that just yet, and that’s something we’re going to have
to work our way through.”

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5/11/2020 Dental practices led record health care job losses in April but are bouncing back

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