summary 2 3/3/09

Tarek Edelbi
3/3/09
Summary

I choose this article because it is related to my field. It’s about the shortages of dentists in the state of Maine. In many cases doctors in Maine now have to perform routine procedures such as pulling teeth and gum care on their patients. Maine has one dentist for every 2,300 people, compared with one doctor for every 640, and the gap is expected to widen as both dentists and doctors retire over the next decade, compared to the national ratio of one dentist to 1,600 patients. The reason Maine has trouble recruiting dentists is because many young graduates do not want to work in rural areas, also because Maine doesn’t have a dental school. The closest dental schools are in Boston, about 50 miles from the state’s southernmost town. Many residents of Maine rarely visit dentists which cause growing dental problems which often turn up in the ER. The plus side to this is doctors are expanding their knowledge.