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Editor's note: We are resending this newsletter with a correction to the date that the first recent measles case was announced in Maine. It was Feb. 6. |
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A bill in the Maine Legislature would create a new associate dentist license, which would allow people to practice under supervision of a licensed dentist. Photo by Robert F. Bukaty of the Associated Press. |
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Should Maine allow associate dentists without doctoral degrees? Dentists don’t think so
Lawmakers are considering two bills that attempt to increase access to dental care in Maine by studying ways to establish specialist residency programs in the state and creating a new license tier with lower educational requirements, a measure that multiple dentists opposed.
L.D. 2206 would establish an associate dentist license, which would allow a dentist without the equivalent of a U.S. doctoral degree in dentistry — such as a dentist with a bachelor’s degree who trained outside of the U.S. — to practice dentistry under supervision of a licensed dentist.
Under this new license, associate dentists would have a pathway to full licensure if they were in good standing for six consecutive years. There is currently a pathway for foreign-trained dentists to work in Maine, but it requires additional education.
The bill comes as access to Maine dentists has declined. The ranks of dentists decreased from 590 in 2019 to 530 in 2023.
Most children in Maine don’t get an annual checkup and cleaning from a dentist, according to a study last year from the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service and Catherine E. Cutler Institute. |
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As measles cases increase across the country, including the first case in Maine, health care workers are struggling to treat an illness few have seen before, according to reporting from KFF News, a health care news outlet.
“Infectious disease experts and doctors said federal policies have left health care workers to lean on their own experience or guidance from their state public health systems to fight a disease that many are preparing to see for the first time and that initially may behave like the common cold,” according to the report.
A person who went to the emergency department at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor on Feb. 3 then tested positive for the measles virus. The state announced the case — the first since 2019 — on Feb. 6.
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While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. |
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Maine hospitals, health reform advocates spar over bill to regulate health care prices | Portland Press Herald
Maine among 15 states to sue the Trump administration over changes to childhood vaccine recommendations | Associated Press
Expert testifies Maine patient was billed nearly $300K for botched hip replacement surgery | Bangor Daily News
Maine lawmakers look to regulate AI use in mental health care | Portland Press Herald
A Bangor doctor operated on the wrong foot. 7 years later, he did it again. | Portland Press Herald
Maine’s first recovery high school is coming to Aroostook this year | Bangor Daily News
Trump administration to stand by tough Biden-era mandates to replace lead pipes | Associated Press
Bangor church launches pilot syringe program to address HIV outbreak in Penobscot County | News Center Maine
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Get in touch: If you have any story suggestions, feedback or corrections, please never hesitate to reach out to me. I love hearing from readers: rose@themainemonitor.org.
The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support. |
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