SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — To help meet the demand for health care professionals in southwest Missouri, Ozarks Tech will expand its dental hygiene program by 40% through a new partnership with Jordan Valley Health and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The partnership includes $100,000 in state funding to support the expansion through the purchase of new equipment, instructor training and instructional support at Jordan Valley facilities. The investment will increase student access to hands-on clinical training while strengthening the region’s dental health care workforce.
“Dental professionals are in high demand, and this partnership allows us to train more students to fill those roles,” said Ozarks Tech Chancellor Dr. Hal Higdon. “Training more graduates helps increase access to quality dental care in our communities.”
“At Jordan Valley Health, our mission is to improve our community’s health through access and relationships,” said Jordan Valley Health Chief Dental Officer Dr. Ashley Popejoy. “This collaboration with OTC is a testament to the advancement of our mission. Through this relationship we will not only increase opportunities to educate and train dental hygienists but simultaneously increase access to high-quality dental care in our communities.”
”Oral health is overall health. A sustainable, well-trained oral health workforce is vital to providing Missourians with the resources they need to achieve optimal oral health,” said Office of Dental Health Chief Dental Consultant Dr. Megan Krohn. “The Office of Dental Health team is thrilled to support the expansion of innovation in dental hygiene training.”
With approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation, Ozarks Tech plans to add eight student seats to the dental hygiene program, increasing annual capacity from 20 to 28 students, starting in fall 2027.
The expansion will begin with four additional slots at the Ozarks Tech Table Rock Campus in Hollister. Students in that cohort will complete laboratory and clinical training at Jordan Valley Health’s Hollister location. An additional four seats will be added in Springfield, with students completing laboratory and clinical instruction at Jordan Valley Health facilities there.
Expanded access to training is in direct response to an ongoing nationwide shortage of dental hygienists. According to the ADA Health Policy Institute, staffing remains a top concern for dentists, with only about 60% reporting adequate hygienist staffing.
Ozarks Tech dental hygiene graduates leave ready to work, and according to the college’s Office of Institutional Research, they are choosing to remain in the region to work for local employers.
In the 2024–25 academic year, all Ozarks Tech dental hygiene graduates reported staying in Missouri, stepping straight into jobs with an average starting salary of $86,210. All graduates also passed their national, state and clinical board exams, including the ADEX Dental Hygiene Clinical Board Examination and the National Board of Dental Hygiene Examination.
Ozarks Tech’s highly competitive two-year program leads to an associate degree and prepares students for licensure through classroom, lab and clinical training. The program was recognized in 2018 for its excellence in education as one of the first recipients of the Siemens-Aspen Community College STEM Award.