ECU plans to open a dental school
The Associated Press
Anyone looking for justification for a new dental school at East Carolina University can find it in Edward Scammon's appointment book.
When he noticed how many patients at his Fayetteville office were from out of town, he opened a new clinic in Raeford.
"While we were trying to set up the computers, set up a schedule, people were walking in the door," Scammon said.
Two years later, the office has to book some procedures months in advance.
Scammon's experience is representative of the fact that North Carolina ranks near the bottom nationally in the number of dentists it has to serve its residents. With dentists able to pick the best spots for a practice, less attractive areas are left wanting.
"We're 46th in the ratio of dentists to population," said John Durham, an administrator at East Carolina University. "There's a clear need for more dentists in North Carolina - in particular, rural and poor areas."
The university wants to open an $80 million school of dentistry, which would be only the second public dental college in the state. The one existing school is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Only 12 states currently have more than one public dentistry college.
The board of governors of the University of North Carolina, which will meet next month, must approve ECU's proposal. The legislature would consider approving the money to build the school.
The university's plan would be geared toward North Carolina's underserved communities, establishing clinics in areas where access to dental care is scarce.
Dr. John Williams, the dean of the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, said that only eight counties in the state have more than the national average of 5.8 dentists per 10,000 residents.
The N.C. Board of Dental Examiners said that five counties - all in Eastern North Carolina - have no dentists at all. Several, including Hoke and Bladen, have five or fewer dentists.
"Dentists tend to locate where the market is," Williams said. "Several counties in the eastern part of the state have had no dentists for 30 years."
Scammon said that a graduating dental student could earn $90,000 to $100,000 his first year out of school in Charlotte or Raleigh - far more than he could make in a small town.
Cosmetic dentistry - which usually is not covered by insurance - provides dentists an all-cash business, but most of those customers are in urban areas, Scammon said.
Since dental-insurance coverage is less common and less generous than standard medical insurance in most employee plans, it is not financially attractive to put an office in an area where patients can't afford to pay for dental care themselves.
"There's not an oral surgeon taking Medicaid between Sanford and Wilmington," Scammon said. "And the specialties are real tight. No one wants to handle tooth decay and extractions."
Bobby White, the chief operating officer of the N.C. State Board of Dental Examiners, said that the state has made it easier in recent years for out-of-state dentists to become licensed here.
Since a change in requirements three years ago, 184 dentists have moved to the state, he said.
The Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC said that North Carolina had 2,979 dentists in 1996 and 3,628 in 2004 - but even with the increase, that's still only 4.2 dentists per 10,000 people.
UNC plans to increase enrollment at its school from 81 annually to 120. But a growing population and a dwindling number of people entering the profession mean that that is only a small step.
"Twenty years ago, 6,100 dental-school students a year graduated nationally," he said. "There were some concerns about an oversupply, and several dental schools closed. It's about 4,300 today. That's a 30 percent reduction."
