Colorado Mesa University announced it received a $65,000 grant from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation to support oral health career awareness on the Western Slope.

Deemed a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (DHPSA) by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Grand Junction and its neighboring counties are what is considered a dental-health desert, meaning recruitment and retention of trained oral-hygiene professionals is below state and national averages.

CMU Tech, through the Community Education Center (CEC), will be using these grant funds to support several initiatives and community-learning opportunities, focusing specifically on serving underserved populations, including low-income, first-generation college students and rural communities.

The newly funded project will focus on increasing awareness of oral-health careers among youth and adult learners in Delta, Mesa, Montrose and Gunnison counties – communities that face ongoing shortages in dental-health care training opportunities. The region’s nearest dental-hygienist-training program is located more than 90 miles from Grand Junction, which has created significant barriers for residents seeking training while they are in school or looking for additional training outside their standard work hours.

CMU Tech was selected as a recipient of grant funding from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation due to its ability to meet the community where it’s at, providing services that are most relevant to its community members.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with regional education and community partners, including Mesa County Valley School District 51, Montrose County School District RE-1J, Gunnison Watershed School District, Juntos por Gunnison, Prime Health+ and Early Learning Ventures.

“We are excited that the new program at CMU Tech will provide access to more individuals seeking a career in the oral health care field. Early Learning Ventures supports that families have accessibility to oral-health care for all families,” said Karen Melott, Mesa/Garfield coordinator for Early Learning Ventures.

The grant will support programming throughout 2026.