Rural Minnesota dental crisis: U of M pushes for $100M solution

UMN asking for $100M to combat rural dentist shortage

The University of Minnesota is asking state lawmakers for a $100 million investment to renovate and expand its dental school, which was originally built in the 1970s. However, this big ask is about much more than just upgrading a building—it's about meeting a critical demand for dentists, particularly in rural Minnesota.

(FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota is working to tackle a growing shortage of dentists in the state, particularly in rural areas, and it's requesting a substantial investment into its dental school from Minnesota lawmakers to help meet the demand.

Dentist shortage in Minnesota

What we know:

The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry graduates 73% of the state's dentists, in addition to the majority of dentists in some of Minnesota's neighboring states, but it's not enough to meet demand.

"In Minnesota, 160 dentists are retiring annually, and we’re graduating about 120 dentists. Not all of them stay in Minnesota," said Dr. Angela Hastings, the school's director of community outreach and engagement.

A report from the federal government's Health Resources and Services Administration highlights a current shortage of 440 general dentists in Minnesota, which could increase to 680 in the next 12 years. The HRSA measures the need by a ratio of one dentist for 5,000 people. Any ratio above that becomes a designated health professional shortage area, for which there are 200 such areas in Minnesota.

"There are deserts in the Twin Cities as well, but it's more of a function of a disproportionate volume of dentists in one city versus another," said Dr. Hastings. "And usually in urban areas, what we're seeing is there's not as many dentists that are accepting Medicaid."

Across the nation, the HRSA reports 67-million people live in a dental health professional shortage area with more than 11,100 practitioners needed.

Meeting demands:

According to Dr. Hastings, meeting the demand is a multi-layered challenge. One of those challenges is image. "If a young person has never been able to visit the dentist, how can they ever see themselves as a dentist," asked Hastings.

Another challenge is capacity. In the upper Midwest, The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry is the only school between Wisconsin (Marquette University) and the Pacific Northwest. To train more dentists, the school needs to expand.

Bonding bill request:

The University of Minnesota is requesting $100 million from the state legislature to renovate the dental school, with plans to match $50 million of its own. The request is part of the university's submission to what lawmakers call the bonding bill. This is the bill that borrows money to fund infrastructure projects around the state.

"If we were able to obtain the funding to renovate more than four of our floors, we would be able to increase capacity, you know, add more chairs," said Dr. Hastings.

Rebekah Muhlenkamp's journey:

One of the U of M students hoping to fill the need in greater Minnesota is Rebekah Muhlenkamp who is in her first year of dental school and referred to as a D-1.

"Growing up in a small town, a dental appointment is like, the nearest one to me was about 35 minutes," said Muhlenkamp, who admits dentistry would not have been on the list of a grade school report on what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"I was terrified of the dentist growing up," said Muhlenkamp with a laugh. "I just never had a good dental experience."

But it all changed at seventeen years old when her family found a new dentist, Dr. Heather Holt, a recent U of M grad. "She was young and tall, blonde, not exactly the same as my elderly, not so caring dentist that I had seen before her," recalled Muhlenkamp. " And she kind of changed it all for me. She really made me realize there’s a lot of trust that goes into dentistry, and it's a lot more than just someone to look at your teeth and say, 'Oh yeah, you're good.'"

Training more rural dentists:

To meet the needs of greater Minnesota, the School of Dentistry has a rural track that Muhlenkamp has applied for.

"We already have 15 students enrolled," said Dr. Hastings. "And those 15 students will be paired with a rural dentist that's practicing in rural Minnesota, or across the country in rural areas."

Muhlenkamp completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth and would like to eventually practice somewhere in northeastern Minnesota. "I want to go to Duluth, Grand Marais, or Hibbing," she said.

"Having students like Beka is really exciting, and it provides hope for continued access to care for all communities," said Dr. Hastings. Muhlenkamp is three years away from graduation and has already received a scholarship from the U.S. Navy to join the Naval Dental Corps upon graduation. However, she remains committed to returning to Minnesota. "Growing up in rural Minnesota made me really appreciate the hard-working people of rural Minnesota," she said.

What we don't know:

The timeline for when the state legislature will decide on the funding request for the dental school expansion remains unclear.