♪♪♪ Instructor: You're going to work on the lower right, and the upper right.

Narr: These students at West L.A. College have a lot to smile about.

Thanks to a rare opportunity from one of the most respected dental hygiene programs in the country where the soon to be dental hygienists will earn a bachelor's degree and be prepared to enter the workforce, all from a community college.

Susan: Very unique to West Los Angeles College.

We get hands-on experience, different variety of patients we see from children, um, to patients in convalescence centers.

It allows us to be well-rounded once we enter the work field.

Narr: Susan Mendoza is in her last semester at West L.A. College.

This is final exam day inside West L.A.s state of the art training lab for soon to be dental hygienists, located on one of the nine campuses within the Los Angeles Community College District.

LACCD is a massive academic institution, the largest community college district in California, among the biggest in the nation, more than 200,000 students.

And enrollment is on the rise.

Impressive, no doubt, especially when you consider the challenges of going to college in L.A. Half of all LACCD students live near or below the poverty line, something these students and their leaders are determined to change.

West L.A. College is renowned for its dental hygiene program and has been since 1971, when the first class of dental hygienists graduated with an Associate of Science degree.

But in 2017, leaders here successfully lobbied the state to offer a baccalaureate program, a four-year full-time Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene.

Dr. Dones: For me, it means the world to me.

Dr. Carmen Dones is the dean of Academic Affairs at West L.A. College and is a graduate of the same dental hygiene program she now leads.

As administrator, shes on a mission to get all California community colleges on board with the dental hygiene baccalaureate progression.

As a student, she learned the reasons why.

Dr. Dones: It means the world to me because I see myself in a lot of the students that are here today, and I see them having opportunities, having lifelong opportunities, building communities, and then being role models for their children, for their family members, and letting them know that it's possible.

This is possible.

You can do this.

If I can do this, you can do this.

And it's going to change everything for them, you know, on a financial level, on an educational level, just in so many different ways.

It changes society.

Narr: One of the many perks to the program - student savings and cutting college costs.

Dr. Rodriguez: Imagine receiving a four year baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene that will cost you a total of just over $10,000 and earning an interim salary of about $70,000.

That's a wonderful return on investment that we want to make sure that our public knows about.

That's why we have a waiting list and more students apply than we can accommodate.

That's why we're very interested statewide as well as here to expand the number of opportunities and slots for students to take advantage of this wonderful degree program at their local community college.

Narr: It's already happening.

At LACCD, students can now earn a bachelor's degree in aviation and respiratory therapy.

Dr. Rodriguez: It's California.

Diversity is our secret sauce.

If we embrace this beautiful richness of language and culture and identity, that's what makes us stronger.

That's what makes California strong and the ability we choose to live, work, teach, study in California for very specific reasons.

Narr: Which takes us back to Susan Mendoza and the very reason she wanted to do this in the first place.

Susan: Seeing a disparity in the Latin American community, especially amongst children, um, it really hit home because I was raised by my grandparents and I would be their translator at dental offices.

And I would see that there is a disconnect between the providers and the information they're receiving.

So, I wanted to be that link between the dentist and the patient to help them realize what effects we can make as preventative, um, health care providers.

I will graduate, not in debt.

It's an amazing feeling.

I feel like I'm already ahead.

Narr: The dental hygienists graduating from this and other training programs can likely expect quick job offers.

Experts say there's a nationwide shortage of hygienists, a trend that started around the pandemic and continues today.

A 2022 survey by the American Dental Association found that 40% of all dentists were looking to fill hygienist positions, and more than 80% of dentists say they'll increase salaries and offer more flexible work schedules to attract and retain them.