WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins recently announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the Maine Department of Health and Human Services a three-year grant, in the amount of $280,000 a year, to help improve access to oral health care by strengthening the dental workforce in Maine’s rural and underserved communities.
“Dental care is an integral part of overall health care, and this funding will help improve the health of individuals in areas of Maine that are currently underserved,” said Collins. “In Maine, there is one general-practice dentist for every 2,300 people in the Portland area. The numbers drop off dramatically, however, in other parts of our state. In Aroostook County, for example, there is only one dentist for every 5,500 people.”
Collins, along with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), wrote the Collins-Feingold Dental Health Improvement Act, which became law in 2002 and authorizes funds to help states develop innovative dental workforce development programs tailored to their individual needs. Collins successfully secured $10 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill to fund this program.
According to the Maine Oral Health Program, this funding is intended for the Maine Oral Health Workforce Development Project. This project would expand an existing dental loan education repayment program. It would also develop a new, low-interest revolving loan program that would help providers who participate in MaineCare to establish or expand practices in designated dental health professional shortage areas by equipping dental offices or allowing them to replace and upgrade needed dental equipment.
In addition, this Project would also assist the state Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics in collecting and analyzing oral health workforce data.
