$835K grant to fund new FRCC dental program, community clinic

Olivia Doak, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·3 min read

Jun. 21—Front Range Community College announced the development of a new dental hygiene associate degree and expansion of its existing dental clinic with the help of an $835,000 grant at its Fort Collins campus.

The grant money, provided by the Dental of Colorado Foundation, is meant to help address an ongoing shortage of registered dental hygienists in Colorado. Part of the shortage is due to a lack of programs, and FRCC has the only accredited dental assistant program in Colorado north of the Denver area.

"Front Range Community College is working to expand our programming in this area so that we can meet the changing needs of our students and communities," FRCC President Colleen Simpson said in a news release. "With such significant support from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, we are eager to start growing — and diversifying — the pool of dental hygienists in Colorado."

Dental hygienists can earn a salary upwards of $90,000 a year, which Simpson said is an exceptional return on their educational investment.

FRCC already offers a one-year certificate in dental assisting, which is the program student Carrie Cuellar is pursuing. Once the associate degree program is developed, she plans to enroll and work in dental hygiene when she graduates.

Because Cuellar lives in Longmont, she said she is excited about the development of a degree program a bit closer to home.

"Right now, the closest hygiene programs are in Wyoming and Denver, so it's a bit of a drive either way," Cuellar said. "So to have something in northern Colorado is fantastic."

Cuellar said the new program will improve educational access and create more available spots for people to apply for a program.

"It means that more people in our community can access that type of education," Cuellar said, later adding, "It's a way to get more educated people into jobs that are needed."

Karen Ramos, program director for the dental assisting program, said a lack of dental assisting programs is part of the reason for a state-wide shortage of dental hygienists. Ramos was a leader in creating the associate's program from the beginning, and she said it's something the community has requested for a long time.

"It's just being able to offer another program for the community that is going to better individuals to have a better life situation and help those within the community as far as dental offices and facilities," Ramos said.

Staffing shortages in dental offices have decreased practice capacity by 11% nationally, according to the American Dental Association. The grant funding will help FRCC add 10 dental chairs to its existing six-chair dental clinic to help provide more access to care within the community for those who may struggle to access it.

"Seeing a dentist improves people's overall health," Simpson said in a news release. "By training more people to join this workforce, we're reducing the barriers Coloradans face in accessing the care they need."