November 16, 2007
UNE mulling dental school
The University of New England is considering opening the first dentistry school in Maine, which could help alleviate the shortage of dentists here.
University officials told the Portland Press Herald that the school would likely spend $17 million to build a dental school on UNE's Portland campus. But the private university still needs investors and foundations to support the project.
The poorest in the state currently struggle to find dentists who accept Medicaid, because the state reimburses dentists for less than half their fee, according to the Press Herald. If UNE opened a dentistry school, it could train 50 dentists a year. But some dentists question whether graduates would leave coastal and southern Maine where most of the state's 590 dentists now practice.
University officials told the Portland Press Herald that the school would likely spend $17 million to build a dental school on UNE's Portland campus. But the private university still needs investors and foundations to support the project.
The poorest in the state currently struggle to find dentists who accept Medicaid, because the state reimburses dentists for less than half their fee, according to the Press Herald. If UNE opened a dentistry school, it could train 50 dentists a year. But some dentists question whether graduates would leave coastal and southern Maine where most of the state's 590 dentists now practice.
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