NE KY AHEC receives another dental pipeline grant

The Northeast Kentucky Area Health Education Center (NE KY AHEC) was recently selected to receive one year of funding focused on increasing awareness of oral health careers and supporting early career exploration among students ages 14-18.

NE KY AHEC is one of 26 sites that will collaborate with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) on its Bridging Pathways to Oral Health Careers Program, which emphasizes the critical connection between oral and overall health and provides participants with a clear academic pathway into the oral health professions.  

"Our team is excited to expand our dental pipeline programming through the ADEA Bridging Pathways to Oral Health Careers Program and create more opportunities for students to learn about careers in this area,” said NE KY AHEC Assistant Director Kellie Jones, who will oversee local activities.

ADEA says its Bridging Pathways to Oral Health Careers Program comes at a critical time for the oral health workforce. Dental health professions shortage areas (HPSAs) continue to increase nationwide. According to current data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, 64 million Americans live in dental HPSAs, with an estimated 10,759 additional oral health professionals needed to meet current demand.

"Expanding our dental pipeline to reach more students across the region is very exciting for our team and so important for the future oral health workforce in our rural area,” said Hannah Little, an NE KY AHEC health careers coordinator. “We're grateful to have received this award through ADEA's Bridging Pathways to Oral Health Careers Program, and we can't wait to get started.”

Jones and Little attended an ADEA training session Feb. 17-19 in Washington, D.C. NE KY AHEC’s program activities will include a two-day oral health camp in fall 2026 for up to 30 high school students.

This ADEA dental pipeline funding builds upon a three-year grant the NE KY AHEC received in fall 2025 from the Sisters of Notre Dame Eastern Kentucky Foundation. That initiative established the Appalachian ROOTS (Rural Opportunities for Oral Training and Service) program in eight target counties (Bath, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Lewis, Menifee, Morgan, and Rowan). The ADEA-supported camp and other program activities will be open to students from across the NE KY AHEC’s 17-county service region.

For more information, interested parents or students may contact Jones (kellie.jones@uky.edu) or Little (hannah.little@uky.edu) directly, may call the NE KY AHEC at (606) 784-2432, or may visit www.neahec.org.