A letter from the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs to major dental insurers said dental practices have experienced increased overhead costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and urged payers to welcome meaningful discussions with dentists about fees, ADA News reported. ADA Health Policy Institute research is being shared with insurers, showing the challenges dental practices face filling vacant allied positions and patient volume trends coming out of the pandemic. "What is now becoming evident is that the data is bearing out what we feared would occur -- dental offices have seen a dramatic increase in the cost of doing business while patient volumes have yet to fully recover," wrote Kevin Dens, D.D.S., council chair.