-
Bring your 2026 application questions to our open office hours with Emil Chuck, PhD, Director of Advising Services for HPSA, and get them answered live. Personal statements, secondaries, interview prep, school list strategy. Sunday, May 17 at 9 p.m. Eastern. -
Scholarship Access: Becoming a Student Doctor course
Free access to comprehensive medical school prep. Eligible students include AAMC FAP recipients and HS graduates from underserved areas. Apply today.
new dental school?
Started by sayahh
sayahh said:
I mentioned a rumor, not a fact. I'll try and find you the article.
Utes said:
Doubt it...probably just a rumor....
Keep in mind that Hawaii, currently, does not take part in any regional boards... they run their own state licensing board exam.
I remember reading this in the paper last year. I tried to Google it and came up with this blurb:
Medical School Founders Hope to Establish Dental College
Bolstered by the early successes of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, school officials have created an advisory council to examine establishing a dentistry school in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Like the osteopathic college, which enrolled its first class just three months ago, the dentistry school would be private but would share a research relationship with Virginia Tech. Officials described the dentistry school as a natural extension of the osteopathic college's mission. (Roanoke Times, November 19, 2003)
Medical School Founders Hope to Establish Dental College
Bolstered by the early successes of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, school officials have created an advisory council to examine establishing a dentistry school in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Like the osteopathic college, which enrolled its first class just three months ago, the dentistry school would be private but would share a research relationship with Virginia Tech. Officials described the dentistry school as a natural extension of the osteopathic college's mission. (Roanoke Times, November 19, 2003)
Ive heard ECU in Greenville, NC might be opening a dental school to place more dentists in eastern NC, where there is a large need for dentists.
Utes said:
Absolutely 100% rumor. Such a venture would lose money like crazy. And the last thing Utah needs is to provide easier access for pre-dental students. The state is saturated with dentists and students aren't having trouble getting into any dental school in the country.
The NC or Virginia schools have a much better chance than any Utah school.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
there was some talk a few years ago about Ohio State opening up a dental school regional branch in Toledo, but I dont think that's in the plans anymore.
As Gavin said the likelyhood that U of Utah would start a dental school is next to zero. The amount of dentists in Utah per capita is probably one of the highest in the nation, even the rurual areas have plenty. It makes no sense to start a dental school in an already saturated area. Maybe a specialty school, but it would be hard for me to believe a dental school.
Veneto said:
It is a rumor... but it's from a reliable source. He told me that they had already discussed who they wanted as dean. Gordon Christensen, I think he's just returned from a mission. Bernie Machen (Dentist and Former dean at Michigan's dental school), the president of the U that just left was really pushing for a dental school at the U. This has been discussed... so it's not completely a rumor.
jdcinza13 said:
That only allows 10 students to do their first year at the University of Utah, and then their remaining 3 years at Creighton.
10 spots/year hardly constitutes anything good when you look at the sheer number of applicants applying from Utah each year.
adamlc18 said:
That is completely true. It was denied, once again, because there isn't a need for it. BYU students especially have no trouble getting into schools across the country.
starjumper said:
Wrong. They had considered that option because the state legislature wants us to graduate 120 people a year, but UNC can only handle 80 right now. Opening a new school would drain faculty and financial resources, so UNC was able to convince those crazy people in Raleigh that any additional capacity would only be served by building a new building at the UNC SOD. However, at this point the state budget can't handle a new building, so it's going to be a loooong while before more dentists start graduating in North Carolina. Long story short, the ECU option did exist, but no longer does.
I also "heard" about a Ute dental school and don't think it is such a bad idea. According to an ADA report that I don't have anymore, utah, sl, and davis county has plenty of dentists, but the other 26 counties have shortages of dentists with some of them critical. Something needs to be done....Granted most of Utah's population lives in the 3 named counties.
DMDman said:
It would affect you if you plan to practice in Hawaii. I'm not sure how it works, but I'm guessing you would have to pass the National Dental Boards, and then pass Hawaii's boards.
Contact here for more info:
Hawaii State Board of Dental Examiners
Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI 96801
808-586-2711
FAX: 808-586-2874
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
According to this article:
http://dem.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=213072&p=54
near the end:
"Two states, Arizona and Nevada have answered by opening dental schools in the last two years. A third, this one in rural Southwestern Virginia, is expected to open in 2007. "
http://dem.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=213072&p=54
near the end:
"Two states, Arizona and Nevada have answered by opening dental schools in the last two years. A third, this one in rural Southwestern Virginia, is expected to open in 2007. "
HuyetKiem said:
NIce article Kiem!
While I can't find the article on the "Hawaii rumor," I did find this:
New Dental Schools: Meeting the needs in underserved areas
by Laura Gater
In the past 15 years, seven dental schools have closed their doors. The growing demand for dental care in certain areas of the country instigated the opening of three new dental schools: in 2003, the Arizona School of Health Sciences in Mesa; in 2002, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV); in 1997, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In 2007, the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) will accept students at its new dental school. Presently, there are 56 accredited U.S. dental schools.
Currently there are more than 168,550 professionally active dentists in the United States. On average, that is one dentist for every 1,685 people. Current dental workforce projections indicate a decreasing number of dentists per population. With continuing population growth and the upcoming retirement of a large group of dentists educated during the 1960s and 1970s, the need for new dentists is expected to escalate over the next decades.
Dentists tend to be unevenly distributed across the nation. Rural and inner-city communities are often seriously underserved. Consequently, practicing dentist-to-population ratios are significantly different from state to state and range from one dentist for every 1,200 people to one for every 2,500 or more (Official Guide to Dental Schools, 42nd edition, 2004).
Any decision on the opening or closing of a dental school is made on an individual basis. Many factors may be involved: the relationship between the school and its home academic institution, including that institution?s priorities; the assessed need for dentists in the state or region; and, for state (as opposed to private) universities, the support of the state legislature and/or other elected officials, according to Richard Valachovic, DMD, MPH, executive director, American Dental Education Association (ADEA), Washington, D.C.
?The seven schools that closed between 1986 and 2001 were the result of seven individual decisions, based on that school?s unique circumstances. All were private or private/state-related dental schools,? he says. ?Three new dental schools have opened in the last seven years. All of these schools were established because leaders in those geographic areas concluded that dental needs were not being adequately met with existing resources. Among the priorities of each is educating future oral health professionals who will stay in those states to practice. By producing these new graduates and by caring for large numbers of patients at the schools themselves, these new schools will help to alleviate the access to dental care problems in those areas. The impact on individual patients in Arizona, Nevada, and south Florida will be substantial.?
Dental education is making a ?comeback? today in several senses. First, the decline in applications to dental schools that occurred from 1997 to 2001 has been reversed. The number of applicants and enrollees has grown in small but steady increments for the past four years, according to Valachovic. Second, the number of graduates has grown steadily since 1996. In 2003, almost 4,500 new dentists graduated from U.S. schools, more than 600 more than graduated in 1996. Third, the demand for oral health care is increasing. Demographic trends are part of this: the U.S. population is growing, while a large number of currently practicing dentists are at or near retirement age. But the specific demand for dental services is also on the rise.
?In 2001, nearly 65 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 64 visited a dentist in the past year, up from around 50 percent for most of the 1970s. Advances in dental care, rising interest in cosmetic dentistry, and the ever-growing understanding of the relationship between oral and systemic health are contributing to this increasing demand,? explains Valachovic. ?There is no question but that the need for dentists will grow over the next decades. The real question is how can we ensure that all citizens in all areas of the country, no matter what their needs, receive the oral health care they deserve? That is a key challenge facing our dental schools today.?
New schools see need for dental care
?Most of the dental schools closed because they lost money and cost the overall university money. There are a number of factors [for the closings], including underestimating the need,? explains Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, dean and vice president, Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA. ?In 1991, there was a prediction there would be too many physicians and now we know this was false . . . We saw the same future for the dental profession, if a change was not made. This is especially true of the increasing shortage in rural areas and for patients with Medicaid or uninsured. The perception that Virginia has enough dentists because there is [already] a dental school is incorrect. There have been few dentists located west of Roanoke. We wish to recruit students from the rural areas of southwest Virginia and train them here in southwest Virginia, so they will be more likely to locate here.?
The mission of VCOM is to provide primary care physicians for southwest Virginia, North Carolina, and the Appalachian region. In southwest Virginia as well as the surrounding Appalachian counties, Tooke-Rawlins says that the doctors were told in each community they visited that there was a real need for dentists as well. Following a recent dental summit where she heard stories about children who were reported for dental neglect unable to get an appointment for six months or greater, VCOM decided to investigate the possibility of a new dental college.
?We did a study of the number of dentists for the population in southwest Virginia, and spoke with our physicians and hospitals. Few dentists take Medicaid anymore and it is a long wait by most patients to receive an appointment, even if there is an emergency. ER physicians told us they are frequently caring for repeat dental abscesses because the patient cannot get a follow up appointment. The need for dental care in this region is not cosmetic or checkups, it is to provide basic dental care,? says Tooke-Rawlins.
UNLV also saw a need in the state for dental services. One of the new dental school?s strategies is to provide oral health care services to those who have limited access to care. The school now operates three full-service dental clinics under the supervision of experienced faculty and professionals that serve Medicaid-eligible patients and provide care to those who otherwise might not be able to afford any dental care. The School of Dental Medicine at UNLV collaborates with a county school district to visit 56 at-risk elementary schools annually; visits assisted-living centers to provide oral health education; and participates in the sealant program sponsored by the state, an endeavor that includes 68 elementary schools, according to Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr., dean of the School of Dental Medicine, UNLV. The dental students also educate students in Nevada focus (high-risk) schools about brushing and flossing, as well as nutritional education, in English and Spanish.
In addition, the School of Dental Medicine has received more than 1,500 requests for screening appointments from people wishing to become patients at its campus clinic, showing the need for low-cost dental care in Nevada. More than 80,000 Medicaid patients have been treated in its clinics already.
?The UNLV School of Dental Medicine is providing more dentists, discovering more methodologies, and offering more community programs. Together, these approaches lead to one important result: quality accessible oral health care for all Nevadans,? says Ferrillo.
Laura Gater is a freelance writer based in Columbia City, IN.
New Dental Schools: Meeting the needs in underserved areas
by Laura Gater
In the past 15 years, seven dental schools have closed their doors. The growing demand for dental care in certain areas of the country instigated the opening of three new dental schools: in 2003, the Arizona School of Health Sciences in Mesa; in 2002, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV); in 1997, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In 2007, the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) will accept students at its new dental school. Presently, there are 56 accredited U.S. dental schools.
Currently there are more than 168,550 professionally active dentists in the United States. On average, that is one dentist for every 1,685 people. Current dental workforce projections indicate a decreasing number of dentists per population. With continuing population growth and the upcoming retirement of a large group of dentists educated during the 1960s and 1970s, the need for new dentists is expected to escalate over the next decades.
Dentists tend to be unevenly distributed across the nation. Rural and inner-city communities are often seriously underserved. Consequently, practicing dentist-to-population ratios are significantly different from state to state and range from one dentist for every 1,200 people to one for every 2,500 or more (Official Guide to Dental Schools, 42nd edition, 2004).
Any decision on the opening or closing of a dental school is made on an individual basis. Many factors may be involved: the relationship between the school and its home academic institution, including that institution?s priorities; the assessed need for dentists in the state or region; and, for state (as opposed to private) universities, the support of the state legislature and/or other elected officials, according to Richard Valachovic, DMD, MPH, executive director, American Dental Education Association (ADEA), Washington, D.C.
?The seven schools that closed between 1986 and 2001 were the result of seven individual decisions, based on that school?s unique circumstances. All were private or private/state-related dental schools,? he says. ?Three new dental schools have opened in the last seven years. All of these schools were established because leaders in those geographic areas concluded that dental needs were not being adequately met with existing resources. Among the priorities of each is educating future oral health professionals who will stay in those states to practice. By producing these new graduates and by caring for large numbers of patients at the schools themselves, these new schools will help to alleviate the access to dental care problems in those areas. The impact on individual patients in Arizona, Nevada, and south Florida will be substantial.?
Dental education is making a ?comeback? today in several senses. First, the decline in applications to dental schools that occurred from 1997 to 2001 has been reversed. The number of applicants and enrollees has grown in small but steady increments for the past four years, according to Valachovic. Second, the number of graduates has grown steadily since 1996. In 2003, almost 4,500 new dentists graduated from U.S. schools, more than 600 more than graduated in 1996. Third, the demand for oral health care is increasing. Demographic trends are part of this: the U.S. population is growing, while a large number of currently practicing dentists are at or near retirement age. But the specific demand for dental services is also on the rise.
?In 2001, nearly 65 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 64 visited a dentist in the past year, up from around 50 percent for most of the 1970s. Advances in dental care, rising interest in cosmetic dentistry, and the ever-growing understanding of the relationship between oral and systemic health are contributing to this increasing demand,? explains Valachovic. ?There is no question but that the need for dentists will grow over the next decades. The real question is how can we ensure that all citizens in all areas of the country, no matter what their needs, receive the oral health care they deserve? That is a key challenge facing our dental schools today.?
New schools see need for dental care
?Most of the dental schools closed because they lost money and cost the overall university money. There are a number of factors [for the closings], including underestimating the need,? explains Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, dean and vice president, Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA. ?In 1991, there was a prediction there would be too many physicians and now we know this was false . . . We saw the same future for the dental profession, if a change was not made. This is especially true of the increasing shortage in rural areas and for patients with Medicaid or uninsured. The perception that Virginia has enough dentists because there is [already] a dental school is incorrect. There have been few dentists located west of Roanoke. We wish to recruit students from the rural areas of southwest Virginia and train them here in southwest Virginia, so they will be more likely to locate here.?
The mission of VCOM is to provide primary care physicians for southwest Virginia, North Carolina, and the Appalachian region. In southwest Virginia as well as the surrounding Appalachian counties, Tooke-Rawlins says that the doctors were told in each community they visited that there was a real need for dentists as well. Following a recent dental summit where she heard stories about children who were reported for dental neglect unable to get an appointment for six months or greater, VCOM decided to investigate the possibility of a new dental college.
?We did a study of the number of dentists for the population in southwest Virginia, and spoke with our physicians and hospitals. Few dentists take Medicaid anymore and it is a long wait by most patients to receive an appointment, even if there is an emergency. ER physicians told us they are frequently caring for repeat dental abscesses because the patient cannot get a follow up appointment. The need for dental care in this region is not cosmetic or checkups, it is to provide basic dental care,? says Tooke-Rawlins.
UNLV also saw a need in the state for dental services. One of the new dental school?s strategies is to provide oral health care services to those who have limited access to care. The school now operates three full-service dental clinics under the supervision of experienced faculty and professionals that serve Medicaid-eligible patients and provide care to those who otherwise might not be able to afford any dental care. The School of Dental Medicine at UNLV collaborates with a county school district to visit 56 at-risk elementary schools annually; visits assisted-living centers to provide oral health education; and participates in the sealant program sponsored by the state, an endeavor that includes 68 elementary schools, according to Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr., dean of the School of Dental Medicine, UNLV. The dental students also educate students in Nevada focus (high-risk) schools about brushing and flossing, as well as nutritional education, in English and Spanish.
In addition, the School of Dental Medicine has received more than 1,500 requests for screening appointments from people wishing to become patients at its campus clinic, showing the need for low-cost dental care in Nevada. More than 80,000 Medicaid patients have been treated in its clinics already.
?The UNLV School of Dental Medicine is providing more dentists, discovering more methodologies, and offering more community programs. Together, these approaches lead to one important result: quality accessible oral health care for all Nevadans,? says Ferrillo.
Laura Gater is a freelance writer based in Columbia City, IN.
So in summary, HuyetKiem's article mentioned a new dental school in Virginia in 2007. The article I found reinforced this statement by stating that VCOM (an Osteopathic Medical School) is interested in opening a new dental college.
Dr. Mom told me that VCOM is a private school, so it's safe to assume the new dental college will be private too.
Dr. Mom told me that VCOM is a private school, so it's safe to assume the new dental college will be private too.
a dentist up here mentioned it to me
busupshot83 said:
This is not a private school. It is the medical college at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg VA which is a public University.
Wolfpackgrl said:
i dunno... ok, then it's a public school
Trookie said:
... I'm always right damnit! jk 😱
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
busupshot83 said:
It also means that since they have a seperate exam, Hawaii allows foreign dental grads immediate licensure after they pass their national boards and the state exam. This is also possible in California and Minnisota I believe. Although California is changing this soon. (minus the one Mexical dental school California states as equivilent for accreditation) Most other states require foreign dentists to do 'at least' a 1yr GPR or AEGD first.
More info on the new dental school which accepts applications in 2007 for the 2008 entering class:
http://www.adea.org/CPPA_Materials/2004_Dental_Ed_At_A_Glance.pdf
Scroll down to the 2nd page, and under the "Dentistry Growth" section, and you will see it states that "planning for a new dental school at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine is underway."
http://www.adea.org/CPPA_Materials/2004_Dental_Ed_At_A_Glance.pdf
Scroll down to the 2nd page, and under the "Dentistry Growth" section, and you will see it states that "planning for a new dental school at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine is underway."
busupshot83 said:
Good info, but not much of it. "Planning is underway" can sometimes translate to "nothing ever happened".
When the school accepts applications then I'll believe it. I only say this because Arizona was rumored to be accepting applications several years prior to when it actually opened.
ItsGavinC said:
I'll let it be, because you know more than me (yes, it is true that I have mad rhyme skills 😎 ).
toothcaries said:
Details... we want details damnit! 😛
