Skagit Valley College (SVC), the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (Swinomish Tribe), and students celebrate a major milestone Friday, June 13 as the first-ever graduating class from the dəxʷx̌ayəbus SVC Dental Therapy Program. In total, six students – four from Washington state, one from Oregon, and one from Michigan – are the first to complete the groundbreaking program.
SVC and the Swinomish Tribe, along with other community and health advocacy partners, worked closely together to bring this innovative program to fruition. Pronounced dahf-hi-ya-buus, the dəxʷx̌ayəbus SVC Dental Therapy Program is the first nationally accredited dental therapy program in Washington state, and its inaugural graduating class is composed entirely of Native American students.
“We are incredibly proud of this inaugural graduating class,” said Dr. Christopher Villa, SVC president. “The feedback from supervising dentists and patients has been overwhelmingly positive, with many patients seeking care from our SVC students.”
A dental therapist is a mid-level dental provider trained and authorized to perform more than 50 procedures dentists typically carried out, while a dentist is trained to provide to execute more than 500 procedures. The rigorous program, co-located at the SVC Mount Vernon campus and the Swinomish Dental Clinic, spans more than three academic years and combines intensive classroom instruction with extensive clinical experience. To graduate, students spend an average of 40 hours a week applying their evidence-based learning and research toward providing culturally appropriate patient care. In their second year, students begin training at the Swinomish Dental Clinic, performing procedures on patients.
“The SVC Dental Therapy Program represents a powerful partnership between education and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, offering essential health services while fostering economic growth and workforce development,” said Swinomish Tribal Chairman Steve Edwards. “It’s an extraordinary moment to celebrate these students’ achievements and the transformative impact this program will have across the state and beyond for years to come.”
The dəxʷx̌ayəbus Dental Therapy Program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), which is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The accreditation came after years of advocacy, collaboration, planning, and development between the Swinomish Tribe and SVC.
“The accreditation of the SVC program positions Washington state as a national training hub and model for replicable community-academic partnerships nationwide,” said Dr. Cheyanne Warren, SVC Dental Therapy Program director.
While relatively new to Washington, other states have practiced dental therapy for two decades, starting in Alaska in 2005. Prior to the SVC program, Washington students pursuing dental therapy education had to relocate to Alaska or Minnesota to attend an accredited program – often incurring significant relocation and living costs on top of tuition.
In Washington, the state authorized dental therapists to serve the state’s tribal communities for almost a decade. Legislation in 2023 supported by the Swinomish Tribe expanded this authority to include nontribal public health settings, allowing more communities to benefit from this care.
These milestones mark an important step forward in addressing oral health workforce shortages throughout Washington state, particularly in historically underinvested communities, which include tribal nations. Far too many in the state experience barriers to accessing preventive oral health care and restorative dental care, with the federal government determining that 1.9 million Washingtonians reside in areas where there are not enough oral health care professionals available to meet the population’s needs.
SVC is accepting applications for its next cohort of dental therapy students in September 2025. SVC hopes to work with other Washington institutions and communities to establish satellite programs that address broader dental needs.
Many of this year’s graduates also will be licensed by the Swinomish Tribe, which has exercised its sovereignty by developing the Swinomish Division of Licensing and Tribal Dental Health Provider Licensing Code to license and regulate dentists, hygienists, dental therapists, and dental therapy education programs.
The graduation celebration will commence with opening remarks from Swinomish Tribal Chairman Edwards, Swinomish Dental Director Rachael Hogan, dəxʷx̌ayəbus SVC Dental Therapy Program Director Warren, and a number of supporters. The ceremony is June 13 from 4-7 p.m. at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, 12885 Casino Drive, Anacortes, WA 98221.
For more information about the SVC Dental Therapy program, visit skagit.edu/dentaltherapy.
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