U.S. State-supported dental schools: financial projections and implications.
This article examines the impact of financial trends in state-supported dental schools on full-time clinical faculty; the diversity of dental students and their career choices; investments in physical facilities; and the place of dentistry in research universities. The findings of our study are the following: the number of students per full-time clinical faculty member increased; the three schools with the lowest revenue increases lost a third of their full-time clinical faculty; more students are from wealthier families; most schools are not able to adequately invest in their physical plant; and more than half of schools have substantial NIH-funded research programs. If current trends continue, the term "crisis" will describe the situation faced by most dental schools. Now is the time to build the political consensus needed to develop new and more effective strategies to educate the next generation of American dentists and to keep dental education primarily based in research universities. The future of the dental profession and the oral health of the American people depend on it.
Bailit
Howard L
HL
Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, 260 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA. bailit@nso1.uchc.edu
Beazoglou
Tryfon J
TJ
Formicola
Allan J
AJ
Tedesco
Lisa
L
Brown
L Jackson
LJ
Weaver
Richard G
RG
D002202:Capital Financing / Q000191:economics; D002321:Career Choice; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D018865:Dental Research / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000191:economics*; D005179:Faculty, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.) / Q000191:economics; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013219:State Government; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States