COLLINS PUSHES FOR BETTER DENTAL CARE IN RURAL AREAS

Washington, DC -- enator Susan Collins today encouraged patients and doctors to add their voices to her effort to increase funding for dental health care in rural areas. She detailed her efforts during a speech at the American Dental Association conference in Washington, DC. Senator Collins is requesting $10 million for programs under the Dental Health Improvement Act in order to improve access to oral health care in rural and underserved areas.

"A recent news article told the story of a child in Maine who was too embarrassed to smile because her teeth were rotten. That is heartbreaking, and just should not be happening in a country where we have the medical expertise to treat and prevent dental health problems," said Senator Collins. "Far too many Americans today do not have access to dental care, including adults and children rural areas of Maine that are currently facing a serious shortage of dentists."

As many as 22 percent of people living in rural areas in the U.S. have never been to a dentist. Maine has fewer than ten specialists in pediatric dentistry and most of them are located in the southern part of the state. In Aroostook County there is only one dentist for every 5,500 people, compared to one dentist for every 2,300 people in the Portland area. And of the 23 practicing dentists in Aroostook County, only six are currently accepting new patients. On top of that, about half of Maine's 450 dentists in general practice are at least 45-years-old and expected to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.

Senator Collins authored the Dental Health Improvement Act, which was signed into law in 2001. It authorizes $50 million over five years for grants to states. The grants are used to develop dental workforce development programs aimed at increasing dental services in rural and underserved communities.

"States could use the grants to fund a wide variety of programs, such as school or community-based dental facilities, mobile or portable dental clinics, loan forgiveness and repayment programs for dentists practicing in underserved areas, and grants and low or no-interest loans for dentists who establish or expand their practice in underserved areas," said Senator Collins. "States like Maine that do not have a dental school could also use the funds to establish a dental residency program."

Senator Collins and Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin plan to make a request to the Senate Appropriation Committee, asking them to provide $10 million for the Dental Health Improvement Act in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.