The article states that NV has 37 dentists per 100,000 people, and that the National average is 57. However, NV is a relatively small state with approximately 2,000,000 residents. This means that there is about a shortage of 400 dentists in the state. (57-37) X (2,000,000/100,000) = 400. Given the growth rate (approximately 5-6%/yr), NV will need approximately 20-25 additional dentists per year to accommodate the growth. I believe that this shortage will be quickly overcome once UNLV starts producing 74 students per year and if NV accepts the WREB. I know that not all of the UNLV grads will stay in NV, but there are probably several NV residents, like myself, attending school out of state that plan on returning upon graduation. At USC, the financial aid advisors are practically telling the graduates to practice in NV or AZ, because SoCAL is saturated with dentists. There is a lot of excitement among my classmates that NV may accept the WREB, because the Nevada State Board was seen a major hurdle that they didnt want to have to deal with. I think that a shortage of dentists on a per capita basis will be non existent in the near future, however the distribution of those dentists is another issue entirely. Once the dentist shortage disappears, there will probably be a lot more pressure to close the school.
I think that the administrators at UNLV are too dismissive, or not honest about the threat to close the school. Lets be honest here, the administrators dont control the legislature, and while there is a budget surplus this year, who knows what will happen in two years. It is completely within the power of the legislature to close the school. The administrators need to put a positive spin and outlook over the security and stability of the school. Otherwise theyll run into student and faculty recruitment problems, as well as problems obtaining money and cooperative agreement for corporate funding/donations/research etc.
I think that from all of interview experiences that we as dental students have had, we know that administrators are spin masters. I did not hear one administrator seriously acknowledge or address any negative problems that were raised by students. When I interviewed at UNLV last year, instead of saying that there were problems with the curricula, they instead said that since they were new they are able to quickly adapt to student needs. USC said the same thing about PBL. I asked the administrators at UNLV about the political opposition that wanted to close the school, they told me that it was not a threat and that the only reason why there was opposition was because there was a deficit. Well now there is a surplus and it there is still pressure close the school.
The administrators told ColSanders that, that this is just politics and sensationalism to sell newspapers. If someone wanted to sell newspapers, certainly there are more creative and interesting topics to write about. (again I think that the administrators are too dismissive in their comments).
It is my opinion that one of the main political reasons why there is a dental school in NV is because there is a big struggle between Northern Nevada and Southern Nevada for political control and the university and community college system is caught up in this fight. There is a battle between University of Nevada-Reno and UNLV for funding parity. Having a dental school at UNLV creates more prestige and parity for UNLV with UNR. UNR historically had more funding, prestige, PhD programs, and the medical school etc. ( I like to think of it as sibling rivalry). There is a lot of back scratching among the University Board of Regents and legislature, so that is why there is support for UNLV school of Dentistry. While it is not likely that the school will close, I honestly believe that it is a possibility, (especially if the dentist shortage is remedied) and was a significant consideration in for me when I applied to UNLV. However, I actually hope that it stays open!
Actually, I wouldnt be surprised if this was all just an elaborate ploy to get funding for the auto mechanics facility
Sorry this post is so long, but this is just my perspective from living in nevada for over 20 years.
