CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Throughout Virginia, and especially the Charlottesville area, a significant shortage of dental hygienists has developed.

In response, the new Virginia budget includes an additional $20 million for the expansion of career and technical education programs, including dental hygiene, in the Virginia Community College System. The budget also allocates $1 million for a dedicated fund supporting the expansion of dental hygiene program in the Commonwealth.

Among the first planned new programs is expected to be a joint partnership between the existing program at Germanna Community College and newly launched programs at Piedmont Virginia Community College and Eastern Shore Community College. The programs, pending approval from accrediting bodies, intend to begin their first cohorts in January.

“There’s great potential to partner with institutions within our Virginia Community College System that have done this well, done it successfully, and are giving us the opportunity to satisfy the workforce need in our local community,” Nicole Winkler, PVCC Dean of Health and Life Sciences, told Cville Right Now. “If you were to ratio out how much the need is everywhere, it’s probably very concentrated in the central part of the state where there is a lack of programming.”

Though the actual clinical course is not slated to start until January, Winkler said the school is taking applications for potential students now for the fall semester.

Right now, they’re looking to enroll five students in the first hygienist courses with the goal of expanding to 10 by the next year.

A new report by the Virginia Department of Health Professions’ Healthcare Workforce Data Center and analyzed by the Virginia Dental Association finds the state has 6,515 dentists in the workforce compared to 5,372 dental hygienists, a ratio that can delay patient care. 

“Many practices are short-staffed and booked out months in advance,” said Virginia Dental Association CEO Ryan Dunn to Cville Right Now. “For patients who haven’t yet scheduled their dental visit for 2026, we strongly encourage you to make your appointment now.”

Complex accreditation requirements and comparatively high operating costs, cited in a 2025 state report from the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission, contribute to a limited number of dental hygiene education programs in Virginia.

“It is an expensive program to administer,” Dunn said. “You have the clinical side of things you have to provide for, so the cost at the community college level is really costly, then you have a shortage of faculty because the median salary in Virginia is over $98,000 for a dental hygienist, so it’s tough to ask someone to leave that position to come teach for half and give up their evenings to the classroom.”

There are other regulatory hurdles on the federal level, for instance one restricting class size, have an effect.

“And, to be quite frank, we have not had a good investment in Virginia into the programs in our community college system, and I’m happy to report we’re at least turning that tide a little bit though there’s a long ways still to go,” Dunn said.

Federal Health Resources and Services Administration projections rank Virginia second to last among states in meeting the demand for hygienists at 66% adequacy.

Winkler said she and her team responded to a call from the Virginia Dental Association as well as Delta Dental, UVA Health, several dentists in this local community and a state task force.

Winkler said it’s an expensive program to start up as they have to hire faculty, outfit a lab, and make sure they have clinical placements for students.

“When we first started, we weren’t sure how we would do it, and things kind of came together,” Winkler said. “We reached out to the Charlottesville Free Clinic and we were very lucky that they had a vacated space on Rose Hill Drive where they had their free dental clinic for years before moving to a new space on Preston Ave, and they were happy to donate some equipment to us.

“The Blue Ridge Health District, which is the building that houses the old dental clinic space, allowed us to use the space in-kind. We reached out to Germanna Community College where has a successful program and they were very willing to partner with us.”

The PVCC program will be a satellite program of Germanna’s.

The program is a 70-credit hour Associate of Applied Science degree. Students will complete labs and clinical experiences, and participate virtual, cohort-based lectures from Germanna

In addition to the budget aspect passed by the General Assembly last winter, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed into law two dental workforce bills supported by the Virginia Dental Association in April  to help meet patient demand for preventive dental services while maintaining patient safety. 

HB 970 and SB 178 allow dental assistants with a minimum of 1,800 hours of clinical experience to obtain training and a certification for limited dental scaling and polishing to support preventative care appointments for patients, under the direction and supervision of a licensed dentist. The legislation also allows dental assistants who have been educated to perform those services in the military to do so in a civilian setting.

Virginia lawmakers also passed HB 1036 and SB 282, permitting the Board of Dentistry to grant a dental hygiene license to internationally educated dentists who have passed Virginia’s licensure exam and met other requirements from the Board.

“Patient safety and access to essential dental care are our No. 1 priority throughout the process,” said Dunn. “Expanding opportunities for Virginians to pursue rewarding careers in dental hygiene and allowing existing members of the dental team new opportunities for career growth and patient care will support more patient access and healthier communities.”

The VDA expects these measures to help address the shortage of dental hygienists, especially in rural and underserved areas.