Bay Mills Community College and Northwestern Michigan College have a partnership which aims to increase the number of registered dental assistants serving northern Michigan and, in particular, Native American patients. Bay Mills CC students can transfer to NMC's dental assistant program after their first year. NMC's yearlong dental assistant program prepares students to sit for the state exam to become a registered dental assistant. The purpose of the program is to bolster the dental workforce in the targeted areas because registered dental assistants can help a dentist see more patients and they can do clinical procedures under a dentist's supervision.