According to the American Dental Association, the dental industry is facing a serious workforce shortage. A 2022 survey found nearly 40 percent of dentists are looking to hire dental assistants.
Dr. Jimmy Forester is a pediatric dentist at Coastal Pediatric Dentistry in San Luis Obispo. He says he has struggled with finding dental assistants.
“We’ve noticed that there’s a lack of really good, qualified dental assistants in our field,” he said. “We have some really great ones, and we just didn't find there's as many coming through the pipeline.”
He explains why dental assistants are so important to dentists.
“Dentists can only do so much. I am nothing without my dental assistants,” Dr. Forester said. “I know how to fix teeth, I know how to look for cavities and different things like that, but I can't do it by myself.”
There are 31 current openings for dental assistants in San Luis Obispo County and a big gap in local educational programs, according to SLO Partners, a local organization that provides career upskilling and apprenticeship programs.
To help address the urgent need, SLO Partners is taking action, starting by hosting a bootcamp for anyone interested in becoming a dental assistant.
“We specialize in doing accelerated trainings to try to get the workforce up to speed so they can enter the workplace on day one and already know a lot of what to do,” explained Paul Piette, SLO Partners Director of Business Relations.
The Dental Assistant Bootcamp will be held in February 2024 and take place over three weeks. There will be space for 25 people.
The program will include some in-person training at the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education and some online training.
After finishing the bootcamp, the participants could be hired to become dental assistants.
“There is a high need for healthcare workers in our community and that includes the dental industry as well,” Piette said. “We’re trying to support our local healthcare and community by addressing those needs and partnering with those businesses and our local community.”
Dr. Forester thinks the bootcamp will be beneficial for the county.
“The nice thing about the bootcamp is that this is a new pathway we haven't really explored much. We haven't explored it at all in our area yet,” he said. “In some other areas in California, they started doing this and they found it’s a lot easier to get people into those positions and then provide them all the different courses they need to take.”
The bootcamp is tailored to the specific needs identified by local dentists. Courses will include Welcome to Dentistry, Customer Service, Dental Practice Act, CPR/Basic Life Support, and Infection Control.
To register for the program, click here.
Early registration is $99 until January 15, 2024. After that, registration will cost $149.
Scholarships are available.
