Patient volumes appear to have stabilized at volumes lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the November 2 edition of the ADA Health Policy Institute’s biweekly survey of dental professionals.
During the week of November 2, 37.7% of practices said they were open with business as usual, while 60.9% said they were open but with lower patient volumes than usual. The previous poll, taken the week of October 19, 39.4% were open with business as usual, while 59.3% said they saw less patient volume than usual.
Specifically, 18.6% of practices in the November 2 poll said they were seeing more than 95% of their pre-pandemic volume; 27.5% were seeing between 86% and 95%; 25.0% saw between 76% and 85%; and 16.6% saw between 51% and 75% of pre-pandemic volumes.
The October 19 poll saw similar numbers, with 19.5% in the more than 95% range, 28.6% in the 86% to 95% range, 24.7% in the 76% to 85% range, and 15.2% in the 51% t0 75% range.
Collections seem to have stabilized as well, with 19.7% reporting more than 95% of their pre-pandemic collections during the October 19 poll and 19.1% reporting more than 95% of their pre-pandemic collections during the November 2 poll.
Similarly, 27.6% and 27.3% reported between 86% and 95% of their pre-pandemic collection totals, respectively, during the October 19 and November 2 polls.
Payrolls are seeing a slight decline, however. During the September 21 poll, 94.7% of practices fully paid their staffs. That total dropped to 93.2% in the October 5 poll, 91.1% in the October 19 poll, and 90.9% in the November 2 poll.
Non-owner dentists are reporting some fluctuations. During the September 21 poll, 77.3% said they were fully paid. That increased to 80.4% during the week of October 5, dipped to 73.6% in the week of October 19, and then increased to 74.0% in the November 2 poll.
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