ADA Health Policy Institute Launches New “HPI Perspectives” Series

The American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute (HPI) has introduced a new publication series called HPI Perspectives — short, data-driven articles designed to translate the latest dental workforce and practice research into accessible insights for dental professionals. For dental practices trying to make sense of staffing trends, compensation benchmarks, and demographic shifts in dentistry, this new resource is worth bookmarking.

This post is part of our Dental Bytes eNewsletter 2026 hub, where you can access each monthly issue.

What Is HPI Perspectives?

HPI Perspectives is a new series of concise, research-based articles published by the ADA Health Policy Institute. The goal of the series is to make the HPI’s data findings more accessible and actionable for dental professionals, practice managers, and policy stakeholders.

Each article in the series focuses on a specific topic drawn from HPI research, covering areas such as:

• Dental workforce shortages and staffing challenges
• Demographic shifts in dentistry, including new dental school graduates and retiring practitioners
• Student loan debt and the impact of federal loan caps on dental education and career decisions
• Practice economics and trends in dental care utilization
• Economic outlook surveys for dental practices

The HPI Perspectives articles are intended to be shorter and more focused than the HPI’s full research reports, giving busy dental professionals a quicker entry point into the data that affects their practices and profession.

Why This Matters for Dental Practices

Dental workforce data has practical implications for every dental practice. The ongoing shortage of dental hygienists, expanded duties assistants, and other clinical team members has made hiring and retention one of the top operational challenges for dental offices in recent years. Understanding national and regional workforce trends can help practice owners and managers:

• Benchmark staff compensation against current market data
• Plan proactively for staffing needs rather than reacting to sudden vacancies
• Understand why hiring has become more competitive and how demographic shifts will affect the talent pool over time
• Engage with state and national dental associations on workforce policy issues that affect their practice

The ADA HPI has long been one of the most credible sources of data on the business of dentistry. The HPI Perspectives series makes that research more accessible to the practices that most need it.

Where to Find HPI Perspectives

HPI Perspectives articles are published on the ADA Health Policy Institute’s research page at ada.org/resources/research/health-policy-institute/hpi-perspectives. Dental professionals can access the articles there and sign up to receive HPI updates directly from the ADA.

Quick Summary

• The ADA Health Policy Institute launched HPI Perspectives, a new series of short, data-focused articles on dental workforce and practice trends.
• Topics covered include dental workforce shortages, demographic shifts, student loan impacts, and practice economics.
• Articles are available at ada.org/resources/research/health-policy-institute/hpi-perspectives.
• This resource is especially useful for practice owners and managers tracking staffing and compensation benchmarks.

Related OSHA Review Resources

• Dental Bytes eNewsletter 2026 Hub
• OSHA Review Compliance Program

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This post is part of the Dental Bytes eNewsletter 2026 series. Visit the hub to access all monthly updates.