Building a Local Solution to Hawai‘i’s Dental Shortage
Through its Smile Makers initiative, the HDS Foundation is helping local students pursue dental careers and serve their island communities.
Many are familiar with the basic tenets of good oral health: brush, floss and see your dentist for regular checkups. But in Hawai‘i, not everyone can make a dental appointment so easily, especially those who live in rural communities with fewer dental providers.
Access to oral health care can be especially challenging on the Neighbor Islands, and even certain areas of O‘ahu. These areas are designated as Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (Dental HPSA). This classification helps prioritize federal and state resources to address healthcare and workforce needs in the areas facing the most significant shortages.
To help close this gap, the HDS Foundation launched Smile Makers, a workforce development initiative that supports local students pursuing careers in dentistry, dental hygiene and dental assisting. The goal: to build a strong pipeline of homegrown professionals who can live, work and serve in their own communities.
“Smile Makers was developed to address the need for more dental professionals in Hawai‘i,” said Shere Saneishi-Kim, director of the HDS Foundation. “We’re creating new programs to encourage and support local students to pursue careers in the dental industry, strengthen our dental workforce and help increase access to oral health care in Hawai‘i.”
Smile Makers provides education on the various career pathways in the dental industry, connects students with hands-on learning opportunities and supports them throughout their journey by offering scholarships, loan repayment assistance and opportunities to build connections within the dental community.
A recent recipient of the HDS Foundation scholarship has successfully graduated from the University of Hawai‘i’s dental hygiene program and is now working as a dental hygienist in her home community of Waipahu. Since the HDS Foundation launched its scholarship programs in 2018, the goal has been to encourage more students to return to or remain in Hawai‘i after completing their education, strengthening the state’s dental workforce and serving communities in need.
Hawai‘i currently has fewer than 2,000 dentists, and with many dentists retiring or nearing retirement, the need to train and support the next generation has never been greater. For more information about the HDS Foundation’s Smile Makers initiative, visit hawaiidentalservice.com/foundation/smilemakers.
