Expanding dental education programs, specifically in the dental hygiene and dental assisting areas, are crucial to resolving workforce shortages.
By having an adequate number of dental hygienists and assistants, dental practices can operate more efficiently and increase access to oral healthcare.
Heartland Dental and Concorde Career Colleges teamed up last year to broaden dental hygiene and dental assisting programs to alleviate workforce shortages.
The two organizations are on track to open their first co-branded campus in Fort Meyers, Fla., and welcome the inaugural class in fall 2025.
Kevin Prehn, president of Concorde Career Colleges, and Travis Franklin, CFO of Heartland Dental, recently connected with Becker's to share progress about the campus and the initial impact of the partnership.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What have the results of the Heartland Dental/Concorde Career Colleges been in the first few months?
Kevin Prehn: It's been a truly remarkable process to witness. We have working groups that meet regularly. These special teams from both organizations are dedicated to this partnership and are working closely together so we stay on track and meet our timelines. They're thinking through strategic questions, processes and procedures to ensure we develop a co-branded campus model that is repeatable and scalable.
It's exciting to see the progress unfold, because it's not just me, Travis and other executives, it's our teams on the ground that are intertwined – working together to make this campus a reality.
We're grateful for the ongoing support from Heartland. For years, they've provided scholarships for our students, sponsored events and hired our graduates. The Fort Myers, Fla., co-branded campus marks the next phase of our successful workforce solutions partnership.
Travis Franklin: The results of our partnership with Concorde Career Colleges have been very positive. We are seeing wonderful collaboration between the Concorde and Heartland teams, which has set the stage for an exciting groundbreaking ceremony in early 2025 for the new school.
Q: Why is expanding dental hygiene and assisting programs important?
KP: The first reason to expand programming is to address workforce needs. Demand for skilled dental professionals is growing nationwide, and even more so in the states where Concorde has campuses.
Population growth in states like Florida, where we see an influx of retirees also impacts demand for dental services. Dental practices rely heavily on skilled dental hygienists and assistants for effective operations. Program expansion ensures an adequate workforce to meet that demand.
The other key factor is the importance of improving access to oral healthcare. Our understanding of the connection between oral health with overall health is growing. We're finding that poor oral care exacerbates several health conditions, which can decrease life span. Yet, more than 59.5 million Americans live in Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. To address this crisis of care, we need to grow a skilled workforce.
TF: Expanding dental hygiene and assisting programs is crucial, particularly in states with positive net migration. Despite strong demand for services, the supply of hygienists and dental assistants per population has declined over the past five years. This gap is exacerbated by ongoing population growth trends.
In 2023, there were 14,876 hygienists compared to 11,432 dentists, resulting in a ratio of 1.3 hygienists per dentist. Specifically, in Florida, the hygienist-to-population ratio has been trending downward from 2019 to 2023, highlighting the need for more professionals in the field.