“Are you hygienist inspired?” asks a woman holding a mic at the front of a hotel conference room.
A seated crowd of dental hygienists cheers.
Part pep rally, part leadership workshop, this seminar is a training event for the first cohort of Hygienist Inspired program ambassadors.
“Hygienist Inspired is designed to recruit patients from the dental chair into the profession,” says Holli Seabury, EdD, executive director of the Delta Dental Foundation, which launched Hygienist Inspired with the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. “The goal is to increase diversity and address workforce shortages in dental hygiene—all of which will help improve access to oral health care.”
Each ambassador was chosen from a pool of applicants to represent their state. Right now, nine states—Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin—are participating in the pilot phase, and each state has three ambassadors.
How it worked
The training was led by Marlyce James, MEd, RDH, CDA, FADHA, project manager for Hygienist Inspired and the current president of the New York Dental Hygienists’ Association, and Belangie Perez-Torres, RDH, president-elect of the New York Dental Hygienists’ Association.
| From left to right: Belangie Perez-Torres, RDH; Jen Anderson, Delta Dental Foundation; Holli Seabury, Delta Dental Foundation; Marlyce James, RDH. (Photo by Leah Johnson, ADHA) |
When it comes to dental hygiene, James has done it all—she’s worked in clinical practice, managed public health initiatives, served as a professor and even represents Crest and Oral-B in New York. Her experience, especially as an educator, is key to helping the ambassadors learn how to appeal to the program’s four main audiences: other hygienists (who could become program allies), high school students and their parents, and potential career changers.
“I joined the Hygienist Inspired program because, as a hygienist and educator, I’m passionate about inspiring the next generation and empowering my peers to advance oral health,” James says. “This program provides the platform and resources to make a lasting impact, ensuring our voices are heard and our profession grows.”
During the two-day training, James and Perez-Torres guided the ambassadors through a series of discussions and role-playing sessions designed to build confidence, help them “sell” careers in dental hygiene and get to “yes” by working through common questions and concerns.
“After this training, ambassadors will coordinate outreach efforts in their respective states, becoming local leaders who not only conduct chairside recruitment but also encourage other hygienists to become allies,” James says.
Allies pledge to promote dental hygiene careers by sharing program resources, advocating for the profession’s impact on oral health, and mentoring future hygienists. Allies can participate without the additional commitments required of ambassadors, making it accessible for anyone to be a part of the program and contribute to the mission.
The plan is to use the ambassadors as liaisons for allies in their states, growing a grassroots movement that multiplies the impact of the program. Ambassadors will also collect and report data on their efforts, helping the ADHA and the Delta Dental Foundation learn more about what is and what isn’t working.
| Belangie Perez-Torres leads the ambassadors in a group exercise. (Photo by Jen Anderson) |
Understanding the why
Many of the hygienists in the room are already outspoken oral health advocates who are active in their local oral health coalitions or state associations. What unites them is their passion for good oral health.
“I like to say that careers in health care are recession proof,” says Tamara Baca, an affiliated practice dental hygienist at Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health, a community health center in Arizona. “Becoming a dental hygienist is a path to financial stability and economic opportunity.”
Baca decided to become an ambassador primarily to help diversify the field.
“Coming from Arizona, I was the only person in my graduating class with brown skin,” she says. “And since then, I’ve only seen a handful of Black and Brown hygienists, and we need to change that. I feel like I have the type of personality to reach those people and make this career feel like a possibility.”
Baca’s deceptively easygoing demeanor is undergirded with powerful convictions. When she speaks, you can’t help but listen, which bodes well for the patients she’ll be speaking with in her operatory.
Baca is also correct when it comes to the demographics of dental hygiene: it’s overwhelmingly represented by white (72%) women (98%). Recruiting new people to the profession, especially those historically underrepresented in the field, could add new life and depth to the industry.
“That’s one way we can come at these shortages,” Baca says.
| Tamara Baca (left) and fellow ambassadors lead the group through a mock presentation. (Photo by Jen Anderson) |
According to federal data, the United States needs nearly 21,000 more dental hygienists to meet current needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic more than 3,000 dental hygienists permanently retired, and there just aren’t enough new hygienists graduating to fill the gaps.
At the same time a recent survey from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute reported that 31.7% of dentists have been trying to hire dental hygienists during the last three months, and 77.8% say that it’s been “extremely challenging” to recruit them. Further, that same survey reports that more than 62% of respondents say staffing is the top challenge facing their practices in 2025.
The messaging matters here, too.
“Most of the people we’ll talk to won’t care about workforce shortages,” James says. “What they care about is that dental hygiene is an in-demand career.”
To learn more about how you can be a part of the Hygienist Inspired movement, visit www.adha.org/hygienistinspired.