UMA has received a $250,000 gift from Northeast Delta Dental to launch the Northeast Delta Dental Workforce Development Fund for Dental Hygienists, a new initiative to reduce financial barriers for students and strengthen Maine’s dental hygiene workforce at a time of critical shortage.
The fund will provide scholarships, licensure fee support and emergency microgrants to students in UMA’s Bangor-based dental hygiene program, Maine’s only public program and a vital pipeline for the state’s oral health workforce. By easing financial barriers, the initiative aims to ensure more students graduate and begin serving communities that urgently need oral health professionals.
“We are deeply grateful to Northeast Delta Dental for this generous investment in our students,” said UMA President Jenifer Cushman. “This fund will ease the financial pressures our dental hygiene students face, allowing them to stay on track, graduate and serve the communities that count on them for care. It’s a powerful example of how partnerships can strengthen Maine’s health care workforce.”
The newly established fund will support students in three primary ways:
- Retention Scholarships: covering tuition and fee gaps for juniors and seniors after all other aid is applied
- Licensure Fee Assistance: helping students pay for board examinations and licensing fees that can exceed $2,200
- Emergency Microgrants: providing small, flexible grants for unexpected expenses that might otherwise disrupt a student’s education
Tom Raffio, president and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental said, “with this fund, UMA is enabling us to realize our mission of improving access to dental care by increasing the dental hygiene workforce. We are grateful for their commitment to easing the financial burden of their students, enabling them to complete their training and ultimately serve their community.”
UMA’s dental hygiene program has a proven record of serving Maine’s needs. Between 2018–2024, the program graduated 124 hygienists, with 98% remaining in-state to practice. From 2022 to 2025, graduates achieved a 100% pass rate on their board exams, underscoring the program’s exceptional quality and rigor. This gift will help more students cross the finish line and enter the workforce more quickly, expanding access to care in communities that need it most.
“This funding ensures more students can complete their program and enter the field where they’re urgently needed,” said Nancy Foster, professor of dental health, program coordinator and director of the dental hygiene program at the University of Maine at Augusta. “Too often we lose exceptionally talented individuals to financial barriers that prevent them from finishing their education. With targeted support through scholarships, licensure assistance and microgrants, we can help students graduate and join Maine’s workforce where their skills are in high demand.”
Students agree the fund will make a difference.
“As a student in UMA’s dental hygiene program, I’ve seen firsthand how challenging it can be to balance the heavy workload, clinical hours, and costs such as tuition, textbooks, dental equipment and housing,” said Hannah Blanchette, a senior at UMA’s Bangor campus. “Knowing that this support will be available means students like me can focus more on our studies and training and graduate prepared to serve Maine communities as licensed dental hygienists.”
According to licensure data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), the number of dental hygienists practicing in Maine declined from 1,040 in 2019 to 840 in 2023. The shortage is most acute in rural areas and is expected to worsen as the workforce ages and fewer new professionals enter the field.
Student support through the Northeast Delta Dental Workforce Development Fund for Dental Hygienists will begin in the 2025–2026 academic year. UMA will track and report outcomes including retention, graduation, licensure and post-graduation employment to measure impact and inform future efforts.
For more information about UMA’s Dental Hygiene program, visit uma.edu/dentalhygiene.
About Delta Dental
Northeast Delta Dental administers dental benefits in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, offering dental insurance programs for businesses and nonprofits of all sizes. The company, comprised of the Delta Dental Plans of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, serves 1,123,037 people, with a network of 1,926 participating dentists, or 86% of the total dentists in the tri-state area. The company’s mission is to advance the dental health and overall wellness of its customers and the communities it serves. In addition to funding oral health initiatives, the company supports numerous organizations and events important to the communities through a corporate grant application process. Visit NEDelta.com for more information.