In response to rising demand for a dental education back in the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a large increase in the number of dental students matriculating in dental schools across the nation. Some of this was due to federal funding increasing the number of slots available. After a while, this led to what some called an oversupply of practicing dentists leading to a wave of unforeseen changes in the business of dentistry, namely the introduction of managed care dental plans and increased competition.
In time the cost to the schools of providing a dental school education began to rise and some, mainly private, schools began to close; schools like Northwestern, Georgetown and Emory.
Recently there has been an increase in the number of schools opening or planing to open across the country. I do not know what long term effect this may have. It will be interesting to see what happens and how this might affect dental school admissions and graduates. One planned school at the University of Central Florida has been put on hold. I do hope these new programs will provide a great educational experience and not just become a profit center for the parent organization with little actual training or education for the students.
More information on Dental School can be found in my new book.
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