Spirits were high as representatives and attendees huddled into the new Delta Dental Oral Health Career Center for its ceremonial ribbon cutting. The crowd's sense of optimism comes as the newly renovated facility will hopefully increase the number of needed dental hygienists and dental assistants in the region and state.
A big boost in funding should help drill down the shortage of dental hygienists in our state. Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation is supplying four grants totaling nearly $5 million to expand dental hygiene programs across Colorado and increase diversity.
Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, one of the largest funders of oral health initiatives in the state, on Monday said it’s granting a total of nearly $5 million to four colleges to help them expand existing dental hygiene programs or start new ones from scratch — all with the goal of addressing workforce shortages and diversifying the profession.
Grants awarded to four public colleges will create new pathways for
dental hygienists to better serve patients in Colorado
Today, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation (DDCOF) announced four grants totaling nearly $5 million dedicated to expanding and diversifying dental hygiene programs across the state in partnership with Colorado's higher education system.
A 2022 bill provided the means for licensing dental therapists, a mid-level provider who could narrow the oral health equity gap. But training for them doesn’t exist in Colorado.
Raising a Reader Aspen to Parachute has received a grant from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation that will support two existing programs: Bolsitas Rojas, a parent-child education program; and 123 Let's Read, a literacy-readiness program for preschool-age children. In addition, each student will receive an age-appropriate, bilingual oral health book and a toothbrush, toothpaste, and oral health guidance for their parents.
