The numbers in the Delta Dental Future Workforce Fund white paper are alarming: projected deficits of nearly 12,000 general dentists and 30,000 dental hygienists by 2037, shortages already felt in practices across the U.S. and a pipeline that simply isn't filling fast enough. But for Paul Di Maio, president and CEO of Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut, the most important thing about those numbers is that they don't have to be destiny.
In this episode of The DrBicuspid.com Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Henry sits down with Di Maio to talk about what's driving the shortage, what Delta Dental is doing to address it, and why getting in front of eighth graders matters more than most people in dentistry want to admit.
Di Maio doesn't soften the diagnosis. The exodus of hygienists and dental assistants from the workforce that started in 2020 hit the profession hard, limiting what dentists could offer and creating access problems that rippled through communities.
His organization's response has been direct investment -- more than $5 million in the past two years alone. That includes a $1 million commitment to the County College of Morris, which is building a health center with full dental operatories that are expected to graduate hygienists and assistants by the end of 2027, and a $100,000 grant to Brookdale Community College to support their radiology and assisting programs. Di Maio is candid that this approach isn't a check-writing exercise -- Delta Dental follows up, stays engaged, and considers itself a partner in the outcomes.
The conversation turns to pipeline strategy, and Di Maio makes the long game argument plainly: You can't manufacture dental hygienists out of thin air. Early exposure programs, including one that brought roughly 40 HISPA students into the Delta Dental offices to hear from dentists about career possibilities, are the kind of investments that don't show returns for years but which offer realistic ways to close a generational gap.
Di Maio also addresses what a true industry-wide response would look like, naming the structural challenge honestly: Payers and providers don't always agree. But access, he says, is the common ground -- the one thing everyone in dentistry agrees matters.
Listen to the full conversation below.
