Dentist shortage hurting Florida

Note: This is part one of the RN's three-part special report "Sunshine State Smiles: The Case for a FAMU College of Dental Medicine."

Graduates of a FAMU College of Dental Medicine would not have any problem finding employment in the Sunshine State. Florida is facing a severe dentist shortage.

According the 2008 “State of Florida’s Oral Health” report by the Florida Department of Health, there is only one dentist for every 2,024 Florida citizens. Florida ranks 29th in the nation in dentists per capita.

The report estimates that Florida needs an additional 2,104 dentists to reach the national average.

Florida’s dentist shortage will get even worst as Baby Boomer retirements kick into high gear. The state ranks #11 nationally for the number of dentists who are 55 or older.

County health departments (CHDs) across the state will be particularly eager to hire FAMU dental school grads. 90 percent of Florida's dentists are in private practice and fewer and fewer of them are accepting clients who are either underinsured, uninsured, or rely on Medicaid. That means that CHDs are taking on a greater share of Florida’s poor dental patients.

As of 2008, there were 44 vacancies at CHDs across the state.

FAMU's clinical training plan would benefit Florida's CHDs. The dental school proposal calls for students to spend two years at the Tallahassee campus completing their basic medical science requirements. After that they would undergo two years of clinical training at CHDs and other community-based clinics in underserved rural communities. Upon finishing their clinical residencies, FAMU's dental school graduates would be prime candidates for employment at CHDs.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at Florida’s dire dental Medicaid situation and what it means for FAMU's dental school ambitions.