In her prior career, Carrie Cuellar assisted people with disabilities. Part of her job was to take clients to the dentist and sit with them during their procedures. What seemed like a boring task became fascinating to Cuellar as she observed dentists working. This led her to pursue a degree in dental assisting at Front Range Community College.
The year-long program is just the beginning of the dental programs soon to be offered at FRCC.
The community college received an $835,000 grant from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation that will enable it to build a new two-year associate degree program in dental hygiene.
As with many other professions, a shortage in dental hygienists exists across the country. Dentists report these shortages have reduced the capacity of dentists to serve their patients’ needs by 11%, according to the American Dental Association.
For students like Cuellar, who wish to pursue a career as a dental hygienist and who live in northern Colorado, the options for learning are limited to expensive schools or traveling long distances, she said.
Since FRCC is the only dental assistant program north of the Denver Metro with a Commission on Dental Accreditation, it was a perfect fit for the grant.
“This expansion will provide us the space to develop a comprehensive dental clinic where dental assisting and dental hygiene students work alongside dentists in a collaborative environment to provide low-cost dental care to the community,” said Angie Peach, FRCC’s dean of Health Sciences & Wellness. “We plan to create an environment that is focused on hands-on learning—giving students a chance to practice the skills they learn in the classroom—and where they’ll have opportunities to bolster their career through education.”
The funding will not only create the new program but will expand the college’s dental clinic by adding 10 dental chairs for a total of 16 chairs.
The dental clinic is open to anyone in the community but is limited on the procedures that can be performed. Students are able to examine teeth, provide hygiene recommendations and even assist in filling cavities, said Karen Ramos, program manager for the dental assisting program at FRCC.
Ramos and others are currently working on developing the program. There is not yet a date when it will be offered to students. However, it will be housed at FRCC’s Larimer Campus, along with the dental assistant program.
Cuellar plans to spend the time between graduating from the dental assisting program and the opportunity to enroll in the dental hygiene program working on prerequisite classes for the new program. The prerequisites for the program are listed online.
Ramos said students interested in the new program are encouraged to work the prerequisites while the program is in development. The dental hygiene program does not require previous dental study or experience, she said.
“Increasing capacity in this career pathway will help ensure that more Coloradans are able to prioritize their oral health, ultimately lessening overall health inequities that persist for different communities and demographics in rural and urban areas in the state,” the news release stated.
