Texas Tech secures $20M for El Paso dental school set to open in 2021

Texas Tech University in Lubbock has secured $20 million in state funding to open a dental school in El Paso, according to the El Paso Times.

The Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine is scheduled to open in 2021 because of the state funding. The dental school plans to feature a 130-chair, low-cost public clinic where dental students will practice treating patients with and without insurance.

Texas Tech officials hope the dental school will keep practicing dentists in the area. Of the 2,400 dentists that graduated from a Texas dental school, 22 percent opened practices in El Paso, university officials said.

In El Paso, there is on dentist for every 4,800 residents, Richard Lange, MD, president of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center said. The national average is one dentist for every 1,600 residents.

More articles on dental:
5 dentists making headlines
Straumann to pay Align $16M after terminating distribution agreement talks
25 dental service organizations to know

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.