State financing of dental education: impact on supply of dentists

In 2000, the thirty-six states with public dental schools provided an average subsidy of 49,347 dollars per dental student. In contrast, nineteen states provided little or no subsidy. Since states invest in dental education, in part, to ensure an adequate supply of dentists, we examined the factors that explain dentist variation among states. We found that population size, per capita income, and the number of students from the state enrolled in dental school had a significant and positive impact. The level of state support for dental education and the presence of a dental school had a negative or nonsignificant effect, respectively. Apparently, dentists locate based primarily on the demand for their services and, to a lesser extent, on where they were raised. The states' investment in dental education had little impact on number of dentists because some states had many dentists but invested little in dental education. We identified two states that collectively account for 15 percent of enrolled students even though they provide minimal subsidy for dental education. We discuss the implications of these findings for states that do not have dental schools and need more dentists. This research was supported in part by grants from the Connecticut Health Foundation (Dental Workforce in Connecticut: Issues and Options), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the California Endowment (Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. L. Bailit, T. J. Beazoglou, A. J. Formicola, L. A. Tedesco, L. J. Brown, and R. G. Weaver U.S. State-Supported Dental Schools: Financial Projections and Implications J Dent Educ., February 1, 2008; 72(2_suppl): 98 - 109. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. L. Bailit, T. J. Beazoglou, A. J. Formicola, and L. A. Tedesco Financing Clinical Dental Education J Dent Educ., February 1, 2008; 72(2_suppl): 128 - 136. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. L. Bailit, T. J. Beazoglou, A. J. Formicola, and L. Tedesco Financing Clinical Dental Education J Dent Educ., March 1, 2007; 71(3): 322 - 330. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. W. Botto Addressing the Marketplace Mentality and Improving Professionalism in Dental Education: Response to Richard Masella's "Renewing Professionalism in Dental Education" J Dent Educ., February 1, 2007; 71(2): 217 - 221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. L. Lin, M. L. Rowland, and H. W. Fields In-State Graduate Retention for U.S. Dental Schools J Dent Educ., December 1, 2006; 70(12): 1320 - 1327. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. R. Byck, L. M. Kaste, J. A. Cooksey, and C.-F. Chou Dental student enrollment and graduation: a report by state, census division, and region. J Dent Educ., October 1, 2006; 70(10): 1023 - 1037. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. L. Bailit, T. J. Beazoglou, A. J. Formicola, L. Tedesco, L. J. Brown, and R. G. Weaver U.s. State-supported dental schools: financial projections and implications. J Dent Educ., March 1, 2006; 70(3): 246 - 257. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]