A new dental hygiene office is open at 195 State St. near downtown Bangor.
Sunstone Dental Hygiene is an independent office providing adult and child teeth cleanings, sealants, fluoride and periodontal therapy, according to its website. The practice accepts most Northeast Delta Dental plans and MaineCare.
The new business adds another dental care option in Bangor as many Mainers, especially those on MaineCare, struggle to get appointments. Only about a third of Maine’s practicing dentists participate in the state’s Medicaid program.
Sunstone joins several other hygienist offices in the Queen City, including Figgins Dental Hygiene Care and Prevention Works on Hammond Street and a University of Maine at Augusta dental hygiene clinic on Texas Avenue.
The office’s owner, Shannon Adams, has worked as a dental hygienist in the Bangor area for more than 20 years, according to a Facebook post announcing the opening. The practice is currently offering appointments on Mondays and Fridays.
Adams declined to comment for this story.
Dental hygiene is a growing field across the country, with enrollment in related education programs growing since 2022 after a drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the American Dental Association. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association is pushing to advance hygiene as an independent profession.
As of 2025, Maine was one of five states where dental hygienists could practice without supervision by a dentist, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. It became one of the first states to allow it in 2008. Maine dental hygienists can now administer local anesthesia or nitrous oxide analgesia after legislators passed a law this spring expanding the scope of services they can provide.
Independent dental hygiene offices may be one part of the solution to provider shortages for patients on MaineCare.
The government-funded insurance for low-income residents is unpopular with dentists in part because its reimbursement rates are low compared with private insurance, the Bangor Daily News previously reported. The Maine Commission to Expand Access to Oral Healthcare has proposed offering incentives to make it easier for providers to enroll in MaineCare.
As of November 2024, about half of dental hygiene practices in the state accepted MaineCare, according to data from the Maine Dental Hygienists’ Association.
