Closing the Workforce Gap: Three Alums Operate Dental Assisting Schools
At each UCLA School of Dentistry commencement ceremony, graduates recite the Dentist’s Oath, which in part reads: I further commit myself to the betterment of my community for the benefit of all society.
A trio of alums have truly taken that pledge to heart, bettering not only their immediate communities but dentistry as a whole. According to an October 2022 report from the American Dental Association, U.S. dental practices are operating at 10% below capacity due to a dearth of dental hygienists and assistants. Furthermore, a third of those in each field plan to retire within the next five years.
A confluence of factors has led to this critical workforce shortage, from a perceived lack of advancement opportunities to office closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation in California is particularly acute, with rising cost of living and inflation prompting workers to seek higher-paying employment.
Eric Cheung, D.D.S. ‘08, Kami Hoss, D.D.S. ’93, and Cristen Whitmer, D.D.S. ‘08, have each founded dental assistant (DA) training academies to address this alarming trend in their industry. Utilizing three different business models, spread across three different regions of the Golden State, these Bruins have built the infrastructure to cultivate California’s next generation of dental assistants, including pathways for career growth.
Why take on this additional responsibility on top of running – and ideally growing – their private practices?
“As they say, necessity is the mother of invention,” said Dr. Hoss. “Dentists can’t simply focus on themselves; we have a responsibility to ensure the entire oral healthcare ecosystem is functioning optimally.”
An Ocean in the Central Valley
After graduating from the School of Dentistry, Dr. Eric Cheung worked in several San Joaquin Valley practices before opening his own In Atwater, Calif., near Merced. While this region is agriculturally rich, many communities are economically disadvantaged.
A desire to provide career opportunities as well as contribute meaningfully to dental education were two of the motivators that led Dr. Cheung to partner with Ocean Pointe Dental Assisting Schools and open its Merced County location in 2021. There are more than 85 Ocean Point academies nationwide, under parent company Medical Curriculum Partners.
“This school is how I gave back to the profession; I am at least two hours away from any dental school, so it is not easy to serve on a faculty,” he explained. “While agricultural wages have increased in recent years, it usually hits triple-digits in the summer. Dental offices are set at 72 degrees, and some practices offer three-day weekends.”
Beyond creature comforts, Dr. Cheung has taken note of the ambition shown by those who complete Ocean Pointe’s 10-week course, which starts with online didactic learning and and continues with night or weekend chairside training comprising 85% of the curriculum.
“One of my graduates is a full-time student at UC Merced, and he became a dental assistant not only to earn some income while in school, but because it will be good for his dental school admission later on,” Dr. Cheung said. “Another was so inspired by shadowing one of my hygienists that she enrolled in hygienist school.”
Much like it’s a team effort to operate his Atwater Family Dental practice, the same holds true for Ocean Pointe.
“I want to credit my hygienists and assistants who are the main instructors,” said Dr. Cheung, who remains active in the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Apollonian Society “We do what we teach every day, and class takes place in our operatories. I will go in to share the dentist’s perspective, but believe me, my assistants take way better alginate impressions than me!”
With Ocean Pointe firmly established as a pathway for dental professionals in the San Joaquin Valley, Dr. Cheung is currently applying for permits to support contained growth opportunities for DAs, including radiation safety training.
Preparing the Finest DAs in America’s Finest City
Talk to Dr. Kami Hoss for any length of time, you can’t help but feel his passion for oral health care… And for business. The longtime member of the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Board of Counselors has built a veritable dental empire in San Diego, Calif., with The Super Dentists, his overarching brand for pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. He’s also a best-selling author and in-demand speaker.
However, one area of Dr. Hass’ diverse portfolio came about serendipitously. 2014 he was interviewing an administrator from a leading local dental assistant training school for an open position. Long critical of these institutions for their outdated equipment, curriculum, and low priority among a host of other trade programs being offered, Dr. Hoss and his candidate quickly realized they were on the same page.
“He knew so much about education. I knew about business. I said: ‘Let's build a dental assisting school!’,” Dr. Hoss recalled.
That conversation laid the foundation for Howard Healthcare Academy – an amalgamation of Hoss and his founding partner Edward Rey – which sits on a state-of-the-art campus in the Kearney Mesa area of San Diego. Now enrolling an average of more than 130 dental assistant trainees per year, Dr. Hoss is confident Howard’s graduates are among the most qualified in Southern California.
“There’s advantages to students actually getting hands-on training. They can talk to real doctors, real assistants … See all the different specialties,” he said. “Over the years I’ve been very careful to keep Super Dentists and Howard as special entities. I would never just hire the top 20 graduates in our offices; we train them to go out and interview with our competitors, and everyone goes through the same application process.”
After getting started as a DA, Dr. Hoss notes there are more than a dozen extended functional degrees – registered dental assistant, orthodontic assistant, etc. – which can increase earning potential significantly. But at the end of the day, he hopes Howard Healthcare Academy graduates are fulfilled in their work.
“It's pretty amazing what dentists and dental assistants and hygienists do for society,” said Dr. Hoss, who credits Dr. Patrick Turley as his School of Dentistry mentor. “We are truly changing people's lives to look better to feel better, to be more confident, to do better in school, to have a healthier life, to be happier. So, it's really rewarding.”
A South Coast Startup
Coastal Academy for Dental Careers is the youngest of the three DA training schools started by UCLA School of Dentistry alumni and is a direct byproduct of COVID-19.
“The DA shortage seemed to have begun just before COVID and has been exacerbated by changes prompted by the pandemic such as availability of more remote job options, fewer hands-on training programs to graduate new assistants, and rising cost of living that has caused assistants to search for higher paying jobs,” explained its founder Dr. Cristen Whitmer.
Having already established a thriving family and cosmetic dentistry practice in Camarillo, Calif., Dr. Whitmer took up the charge to narrow the dental assistant gap in 2022. Obtaining an LLC, adopting and modifying a curriculum, hiring auxiliary staff, and devising a marketing plan were just some of her unseen efforts before launch, not to mention obtaining licensure through the State of California’s Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.
After getting the business side of the academy in order, Dr. Whitmer began enrolling students in a 10-week lecture and lab program that prepares DAs for the full scope of what their role entails.
“We teach our students skills that are valuable to their dentist’s business, such as understanding the costs to run a dental practice, the importance of hygiene and how it affects production goals, good customer service, and advanced techniques such as hand-held X-ray devices, 3D printing, intraoral scanning, and laser dentistry assisting,” she explained.
While Dr. Whitmer has high expectations of her pupils, she has similarly high expectations to deliver a return on their tuition investment.
“My goal is to be able to graduate 6-8 students from three courses offered each year, and to be able to place 100% of my graduates into employment in a practice,” she said. “With the knowledge of how they can improve the practice’s bottom line and how to provide excellent customer service, our students can negotiate better hourly compensation and benefits as well as commission-based income.”
From providing excellent oral health care themselves to ensuring practices across California will be adequately staffed with dental assistants for years to come, Dr. Whitmer and her School of Dentistry classmate Dr. Cheung, along with Dr. Hoss, fully embody the lofty principles of the Dentist’s Oath.