MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – In response to the critical shortage of dentists in rural areas of Michigan, the Delta Dental Foundation is offering incentives for dentists to practice in places like the Upper Peninsula.
According to Holli Seabury, CEO of the Delta Dental Foundation, the foundation is offering dentists who are still paying off student debt a loan repayment plan up to a certain amount. The foundation will also offer scholarship money to incentivize people to enroll in dental hygiene courses because the ranks of dental hygienists have dwindled to alarmingly low levels. The Delta Dental Foundation is also at the forefront of making dental care affordable to American veterans with free clinics throughout the area.
“We are offering loan repayment to private practice dentists who accept at least fifteen percent of their patient load that is Medicaid, and that is up to forty thousand dollars a year in loan repayment for up to five years. so up to two hundred thousand dollars in loan repayment for those dentists,” said Seabury.
Northern Michigan University is also doing its part in filling vacant dental hygienist positions. The university recently announced it will be adding a new major and degree program training dental hygienists right here in the UP. The new curriculum will be offered through NMU’s School of Nursing.
