Tennessee's $94M plan to bring more dentists to rural areas

The Tennessee Health Department is proposing a $94 million program to increase dental school class sizes and forgive tuition for dental students who work in rural communities, WPLN News reported Nov. 15.

The five-year project would boost the class sizes at the state's only two dental schools, Nashville-based Meharry Medical College and the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in Memphis. It would also pay dentists in small communities when patients can't afford care, increase access to dentures, update equipment at health department dental clinics and expand a state program to help seniors access dental care.

The department wants to incentivize students to work in rural communities to relieve workforce shortages in these areas because many dental students with tuition debt enter the workforce in areas where they can see the most patients on private insurance.

According to the Education Data Initiative, an educational research organization, the average dental school graduate owes $292,169 in student loan debt.

The state health department estimated that the state is short 700 dentists. Tennessee is one of three states that offers no dental insurance coverage for adults.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will decide whether to include the program in his budget proposal for next year.

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