A commission researching ways to improve access to dental care in Wisconsin is considering the idea of a new dental school in Marshfield, WI, according to the Marshfield News Herald.
The 2009-2011 state budget included a provision for constructing the school, and State Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, thinks the new school could help solve the problem by putting an emphasis on rural practice, the news paper reported.
"That's where they'll get their practicum; that's where they'll more than likely go to practice," he said, according to the Herald.
The newspaper quoted a 2009 study that found 43% of adults in the northern region of the state had lost permanent teeth, compare to 38% in the state as a whole.
But it said the Wisconsin Dental Association is skeptical that graduating more dentists will solve the problem and is on track to complete its own $87,000 study in November.
