Maine dental clinic, school district to launch dental assistant program to improve workforce shortage

A nonprofit dental clinic in Maine and the adult education department of the local school district are partnering on a new dental assistant program to alleviate the local workforce shortage, Bangor Daily News reported May 1. 

St. Apollonia Dental Clinic, a nonprofit dental clinic in Presque Isle, Maine, will launch a 10-week dental assistant education program in collaboration with Maine School Administrative District 1's adult and community education department. Students will partake in weekly Zoom sessions and live training sessions at MSAD 1's dental lab and St. Apollonia.

The partnership aims to address the shortage of dental assistants in Aroostook County. Dental practices relied on a small group of dental assistants prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but fewer dental assistants returned to the workforce after offices reopened in May 2020.

The state is also facing a dentist shortage, but a lack of dental assistants has caused more widespread consequences, the news organization reported. Insufficient funding for training programs and a lack of available trainers are also preventing residents from accessing healthcare training.

The program will run as a pilot, but both groups hope to offer two or three sessions per year and expand to other clinical sites.

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