Southeast, MSSU join forces to train dental hygienists

Southeast Missouri State University and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin are forming a partnership to train more dental hygienists.

A program that hopes to attract 10 to 12 students will begin in the fall of 2007 if Missouri lawmakers and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education approve, said Dr. Tia Strait, dean of the School of Technology at Missouri Southern.

Strait already landed a federal grant of $920,000 to purchase equipment for the program and the Missouri Department of Economic Development is providing $250,000 more to hire faculty and staff. The program will be taught at the Sikeston Higher Education Center, with Southeast Missouri State providing general education classes for the students.

Strait developed the program after studying data on dental hygienists for the Missouri Dental Board and discovering that Southeast Missouri has the fewest hygienists per 2,500 residents. Missouri Southern is also starting a similar program in Rolla, she said, because that area is also lacking in dental hygienists.

Those completing the three-year course will receive an associate degree in dental hygiene.

"This provides Southeast the opportunity to help serve our region, meet the needs of students and dentists in the area without the very expensive purchase of equipment," said Jane Stephens, provost of Southeast Missouri State.

In addition to state approval, the program must also win acceptance from the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Students enrolled in the program will receive training on the Internet, through interactive television programming and through hands-on clinical experience.

Dental hygienists can earn as much as $50,000 a year, according to a news release from Southeast Missouri State.

And the numbers show those who take the training won't have any difficulty finding a job, Strait said. "I know they will be employed," she said.