CONCORD, NH, August 14, 2023 – In its most recent awards cycle, Northeast Delta Dental made six awards totaling $300,000 to support dental loan repayment in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In 2022, to attract more dentists to Northern New England, Northeast Delta Dental provided $6M in funding over three years to be used for dental student loan repayments. The program is administered by the Recruitment Center at Bi-State Primary Care Association (Bi-State) and is governed by a Steering Committee with representatives from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Workforce vacancies across all healthcare specialties have been rising in recent years, and there is an acute shortage in Northern New England for dentists across all specialties. The demand for additional dentists is due to a combination of factors including retiring dentists, increased population with dental benefits, and rural or underserved areas across the region who have had difficulty with recruitment.

“We are pleased to announce that dental loan repayment award funding has been provided to six additional dentists across the three states, in addition to three awards made earlier this year. All dental practices receiving awards see a high percentage of Medicaid patients and are often located in communities with recruitment challenges,” said Tom Raffio, President & CEO, Northeast Delta Dental. “With all three states now offering dental health benefits to adults with Medicaid coverage, the need is even greater.” 

Awards in this cycle were made to dentists in the following practices:

·        Maine - Community Dental

·        New Hampshire - Core Pediatric Dentistry and Montshire Pediatric Dentistry

·        Vermont - Community Kids Dental and Just Kids Pediatric Dentistry.

By providing another avenue to help dentists with student loan debt through loan repayment, the program expects to be able to attract more dentists to Northern New England. Each qualifying dentist can receive up to $150,000 reimbursed over a three-year period. General dentists, dentists in other specialties, dental students, and residents in training without a concurrent service obligation for loan repayment or debt forgiveness may apply.

The next application cycle opens on September 18^th. For more information on how to apply for an award, please visit: https://bistaterecruitmentcenter.org/dentists or call 603.228.2830 to speak with a Recruitment Specialist.

ABOUT NORTHEAST DELTA DENTAL

Northeast Delta Dental administers dental benefits in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, offering dental insurance programs for businesses and nonprofits of all sizes, and individuals and families with no access to employer-sponsored dental benefits. The company continues to help address the shortage of dentists practicing in northern New England by providing scholarships and loan repayment programs to encourage more dental students to remain in the region following graduation and to practice in rural and underserved areas.

Since 1995, the philanthropic arm of Northeast Delta Dental, the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation, has supported organizations and initiatives in the tri-state area that provide oral health education and dental care to uninsured and underserved people. The mission of the Foundation is to advance the importance of good oral health and its role in overall wellness, underscoring the belief that everyone deserves a healthy smile. In addition, it supports numerous organizations, events and initiatives important to the communities through a corporate grant application process. For more information visit www.nedelta.com.

ABOUT BI-STATE PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION

Bi-State Primary Care Association is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that represents New Hampshire and Vermont’s 28 Community Health Centers serving over 315,400 patients at 143 locations across every county in New Hampshire and Vermont. Bi-State works to promote access to quality, affordable primary health care with an emphasis on reaching underserved populations. Bi-State Primary Care Association was founded as a 501(c)3 charitable organization.