The latest ADA Health Policy Institute poll asks dentists if they have received approval for Small Business Administration PPP and EIDL loans and if funds have been received. 

The vast majority of dental practices remain closed, except for emergencies—that’s according to the latest polling data released by the American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute. The poll, which gathered responses from 6,614 dentists in private practice during the week of April 20, found that 79% of dentists reported their practices are closed except for emergencies, with 17% closed completely. 

This latest data is part of the ADA Health Policy Institute’s initiative to track data every 2 weeks in every state to provide a real time snapshot of how COVID-19 is affecting dental practices. 

In addition to the rate of closures, the poll also looked at the financial situation in private practices. The data shows that collections are less than 5% of what is typical in their practice for 77% of reporting dentists, an 8-point increase from the last reporting period. Meanwhile, the number of practices reporting paying staff in full was up 2 points, from 11% the week of April 6 to 13% for the week of April 20. Still, 45% of dentists report that they did not pay their staff the week of April 20. 

In this latest poll, the ADA Health Policy Institute introduced a question about Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. For the SBA 7(a) PPP loan, as of the week of April 20, 74% of dentists reported that they submitted an application. Of those, 50% received loan approval, and 58% of those have received funds. Meanwhile, 15% of respondents report their applications were not approved. 

With regard to the SBA EIDL grant/loan, 77% of dentists reported submitting an application, with 35% of those receiving an approval.