Rural parts of Wisconsin have struggled to find enough dental professionals, with many dentists reaching retirement age and Marquette University operating the only dental school in the state. State lawmakers responded with 2023 Wisconsin Act 89, which let the 16 technical colleges expand dental education and created a $20 million oral healthcare workforce program in the 2023-25 state budget.
Mid-State Technical College marked a major step on Oct. 19 with the opening of its new oral health lab at the Wisconsin Rapids Campus. The roughly $3.5 million project turned about 4,500 square feet of former offices, a classroom and a student lounge into a hands-on training space built to resemble a professional dental setting.
The lab supports Mid-State's Dental Assistant program, which began in Marshfield in spring 2023 and started its first Wisconsin Rapids cohort this fall. A new Dental Hygienist program is set to begin its first core classes next fall, taking 10 students a year, with the first hygienists expected to graduate in spring 2029. Beginning in spring 2028, the college also expects students to offer supervised, low-cost hygiene services to the public from the lab.
About an hour north, Northcentral Technical College in Wausau has launched a Dental Therapy program at its Community Dental Clinic. NTC says it received $2 million in state funding to start the program and is currently the only technical college in Wisconsin offering it. The first cohort has six students, with a goal of 12 students in each future cohort.
Dental therapy is a two-year associate degree taken after a Dental Hygienist degree. Therapists work under a dentist and can handle more advanced work than a hygienist, including in-depth oral exams, minor restorative procedures and routine extractions. College leaders say the role is meant to expand access to care in rural communities that struggle to attract enough dentists.
