A Major Step Forward for
Dental Care in Vermont

Dear Fellow Vermonter,

Today, Senator Welch and I announced a major step forward in making dental care in Vermont more affordable and accessible. We celebrated the construction of what will be the largest dental clinic in the state and the first ever designed to train dentists here. When completed, the clinic will have 49 dental chairs. The first class of students will arrive from Detroit in September of 2027 and begin treating thousands of Vermonters. People of all income levels will be welcome. 

This project is a joint effort on the part of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and the Vermont Dental Society. Dr. Mert Aksu, the Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and Patrick Gallivan, Executive Director of the Vermont Dental Society, deserve enormous credit for making this project possible. Senator Welch and I were able to secure $4.6 million in congressionally directed spending to provide financial support for the clinic.

Thanks to this program, 30 dental students will be coming to Vermont in the first year and 62 students every year following. This partnership is especially important because Vermont is one of only 13 states in the country without its own dental school.

Dr. Mert Aksu, Senator Peter Welch and I discuss the new dental clinic

When we talk about the health care crisis in Vermont and throughout this county, we often ignore a very important aspect of that crisis. And that is that tens of millions of Americans are either unable to afford, or unable to access, the kind of dental care that they need. The sad truth is that over 70 million adults — including 187,000 Vermonters — have no dental insurance.

Further, we have a very serious shortage of dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists in Vermont and throughout the country. In fact, some 64 million Americans live in areas where it is difficult if not impossible to access dental care.

And because traditional Medicare doesn’t offer dental benefits, something I am trying to rectify, 26 million seniors and people with disabilities have no dental insurance and no idea how they will be able to pay for the very expensive dental procedures that they may need.

As a result, nearly one out of five seniors have lost all of their natural teeth and far more have untreated gum disease, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Aksu shows Senator Welch and I the construction and renovations being done inside the new clinic

It’s not just seniors we are talking about. Here in Vermont, 48% of children have tooth decay before entering third grade, often because their parents either cannot afford, or cannot find, a dentist. Meanwhile, there are fewer than 400 practicing dentists in Vermont, a full 15% of whom are 65 or over. 

Clearly, we have an enormous amount of work in front of us to address the health care crisis in Vermont and throughout the country. The development of this clinic is an important step forward.

Sincerely,