Assistant Apprenticeship, Career Education: MPCA Workforce Grant Focus
by KAREN DENT, CDA, EFDA D
elta Dental of Missouri has funded an application recently submitted by the Missouri Primary Care Association (MPCA) to
help address oral health workforce shortages in rural areas of Mis- souri. MPCA will take a two-pronged approach to execution of the grant as described below.
IMPLEMENT A DENTAL ASSISTANT APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM IN 4 RURAL MISSOURI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS
Four rural health centers will be chosen to establish a pilot dental assistant training program designed to recruit dental assisting staff members who live in communities served by each participating health center. Upon completion of the apprenticeship, students will be employed by the health center in which they received their train- ing. A total of 16 students across four rural health centers will spend part of each workweek engaged in didactic education, while learning clinical skills in the training facility’s dental clinic for the remainder of the week.
The curriculum was developed by the Washington Association for Community Health; it has been used to train more than 800 dental assistants in 10 states. The curriculum also aligns with ADA Com- mission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standards for dental assis- tant training and includes guidance for mentor/instructors to facili- tate the training program. The apprenticeship pilot is slated to last four to six months in each training facility, culminating in students sitting for the Missouri Test of Basic Dental Assisting Skills. MPCA anticipates that student apprenticeship programs will commence in early 2024. MPCA will work with participating health centers to determine sustainability of the training program beyond 2024.
DEVELOP AND DISSEMINATE AN ORAL HEALTH CAREERS RECRUITMENT PLATFORM FOR MISSOURI HIGH SCHOOLS
MPCA will create recruitment materials to be disseminated to Missouri high school health education programs. The recruitment platform may be presented in person, remotely or through blended learning. The oral health career information will include descriptions of various dental career options, responsibilities of each dental team member, educational requirements, employment/salary outlooks for each oral health career classification, and a list of educational enti- ties offering dental education. MPCA will begin sharing the recruit- ment materials with high schools in the fall of 2023.
Karen Dent has served as Director of Oral Health Network of Missouri for MPCA since 2003. Prior to this role, she was a dental assisting education for 19 years. Contact her at
kdent@mo-pca.org.
Surge in RDH Applicants Pushes STLCC to Expand Program Campuses
by KIM POLK, RDH, MEd T
he future is bright for the Dental Hygiene Program at St. Louis Community College (STLCC). The program moved into the col-
lege’s new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences building on the Forest Park Campus in fall 2019 after a more than 50-year stint at its previous location. The new facility, characterized by its bright- ness and beauty, is equipped with cutting-edge technology to offer students and patients an exceptional experience.
Positioned on the first floor, the STLCC Dental Hygiene Program features a 30-unit clinic, sterilization room, five radiology rooms, a reception area and waiting room, a dental lab, two classrooms, a student locker room, a faculty locker room/lunchroom and an office suite housing seven spaces capable of accommodating up to 12 faculty members.
After four years in this facility, interest in the program has surged beyond its capacity. In fact, the post-pandemic wait list for enrolling 32 students annually has expanded to nearly 150 students. STLCC is an open access college. This means that all students who meet the minimum requirements are placed on the wait list. Even after increasing enrollment to 40 students this fall, 110 students remain on the wait list.
Recognizing the pressing need for licensed dental hygienists within the greater St. Louis dental community, STLCC is responding by constructing a new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences on the Florissant Valley Campus. Just like on the Forest Park Campus, this expanded dental hygiene program will occupy the entire first floor and adopt a similar layout. The new educational facility, set to open in 2025, will also be capable of enrolling 32 students. Once the new facility opens, Forest Park will go back to enrolling 32 students an- nually.
Dental Hygiene Program Director Kim Polk has submitted multiple reports to the Commission on Dental Accreditation documenting the process and plans for this expansion. As the program grows, ad- ditional teaching opportunities for adjunct and full-time faculty are being added.
As the only dental hygiene program in the eastern half of the state, STLCC is leading the way in graduating professionally qualified den- tal hygienists who will be on the forefront of providing preventive care to the citizens of Missouri and beyond.
This article was published on
adea.org on September 13, 2023. Courtesy of Kim K. Polk, RDH, MEd, Dental Hygiene Program Director, St. Louis Community College Center for Nursing and Health Sciences (source
bit.ly/46lrqGg). Learn more about the STLCC Dental Hygiene Program at
stlcc.edu/programs-academics/pathways/health- professions/dental-hygiene.
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