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Ontario colleges revive dental assisting program to address workforce shortage

SourceOral Health GroupTier 1Hard News

Originally at oralhealthgroup.com

Summary & scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol (Drill-Down Score) — not the original publisher.

Why it matters for dental

Ontario dental practices face ongoing assistant shortages; the revival of three college programs means a pipeline of new graduates will be available in 2025–2026, easing hiring pressure for owners and staff managers in Northern Ontario.

Key points

  • Cambrian, Confederation, and Sault colleges are restarting their dental assisting programs in partnership to expand training capacity in underserved Northern Ontario regions.
  • The first cohort of graduates is expected to enter the workforce in 2025, giving local practices a predictable hiring window.
  • Program revival directly targets the province’s documented dental-assisting shortage, which has delayed chairside procedures and increased overtime costs.
  • Practice owners and DSOs operating in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Sault Ste. Marie can contact the colleges now to establish clinical placement or recruitment pipelines.

Who should care

OwnerStaffDSO

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