Policy Implications of Assessing the Impact of Community-Based Education on Dental School Finances

Dental schools are hard pressed to find the resources to adequately fund their mission of education, research, and service. Over the years, schools have tried to make up for the loss in public funds by increasing student tuition, increasing enrollment, and reducing the growth in faculty and staff salaries and program costs. Unfortunately, these strategies have not solved the financial problems. Declining resources are threatening the future of dental education. Data presented in this report attempt to answer the following question: will community-based dental education restore the fiscal health of dental schools and provide students an equal or better education? By reducing the number of chairs per student and developing revenue-sharing relationships with community clinics, community-based dental education offers a realistic option for putting dental schools on a solid financial footing.