Whoa! Schools actually send out emails to warn students that there is a faculty shortage? Why? What exactly happened to the faculty? They quit? They were fired? Is it something else?
It’s widely known that the faculty pay at dental schools is low/has been stagnant. Most faculty teach because they are older, closer to retirement and want benefits (healthcare and such), and many actually enjoy teaching. I graduated from d school nine years ago, and some of my faculty passed away in recent years and many simply moved on to practice again or teach somewhere, or in most cases retired. They have been replaced with much younger, less experienced and in some cases with international faculty - all while student loans have skyrocketed! As a result, graduation requirements have gone down, with fewer to no exposure to some critical areas of clinical dentistry, and it’s now much much easier to pass the clinical phase of dental school.
