Dental bond assists dental school and community-based clinics

The University of New England’s new College of Dental Medicine held its formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 2. Gov. Paul LePage spoke and helped cut the ribbon, as one of the supporters of this program.

The inaugural class of 64 students includes 24 from Maine. As they proceed through their professional training, the students will spend up to a year as externs in community-based dental clinics throughout Northern New England, including a number in Maine.

Funds from a bond approved by Maine voters in November 2010 contributed to UNE’s state-of –the-art Oral Health Center and teaching clinic in Portland. Bond-related grants will now assist nine organizations in 11 locations throughout the state, from Sanford to Presque Isle, to upgrade their dental clinics to meet standards for hosting students, with the more immediate impact of improving access to dental services by allowing more efficient and cost-effective care. Contracts are in process for those projects, most of which will be completed within three to six months. All will be completed by the end of 2014.