Mounds View, Minn.-based Apple Tree Dental is launching a program to help increase diversity in the dental workforce.
The nonprofit practice's Career Equity Project aims to raise awareness of oral healthcare opportunities among high school students to encourage them to seek dental professional roles, including dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists and dental therapists, according to a May 26 news release. Students will also be able to shadow or partake in one-on-one mentorship with a dental professional.
The practice is piloting the program at Osseo (Minn.) High School and Kennedy Secondary School in Fergus Falls, Minn. These schools were chosen because of their racial, ethnic and geographical diversity, as well as their proximity to Apple Tree's largest locations.
The practice said the program is the only one of its kind created and implemented by a nonprofit dental health organization.