Savannah dentist Dr. Felix Maher and colleagues worry the state’s plan for a new dental college may cause more problems than it aims to solve.
In January 2024, Governor Brian Kemp amended the state budget to include $178 million for a new dental school at the Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus, 11935 Abercorn St., Savannah. The reason? Georgia is a “dental desert” according to a support document for the new school from the Dental College of Georgia . The document reads that Georgia only has 5,212 practicing dentists for its population of 11.3 million.
Maher and colleagues contended, in a joint letter sent to state Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) in January, that dental student indebtedness and maldistribution of dentists are the real issues with dental faculty shortages being the foremost challenge. Georgia’s only dental college currently has 22 faculty openings…