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PORTLAND, Maine

Dental Care for ME - Yes on 2! Kick-off is planned for Oct. 6th

A Dental Care for ME - Yes on 2! Kick-off is planned for Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 at 1 p.m.at the Grace Coleman Building on the University of New England's Portland Campus.

Dental Care for ME is a statewide coalition of patients, dentists, health care providers, business organizations and others who have planned the event to kick-off their support for Question 2 on the fall ballot.

The Maine Legislature in April 2010 approved a $5 million bond package that goes to voters Nov. 2nd for the purpose of increasing access to dental care in Maine.

Of that $5 million, $3.5 million is to be used for a community-based teaching dental clinic affiliated with or operated by a college of dental medicine to be matched by $3.5 million in other funds; and $1.5 million is to be used to create or upgrade community-based health and dental care clinics across the state to increase their capacity as teaching and dental clinics.

If voters approve the referendum, UNE will be in a strong position to compete for the $3.5 million to be used for a college of dental medicine clinic.

The Legislature's overwhelming approval of the dental access bond was acknowledgement of the state's impending oral health care crisis and the need to begin to address the state's dental medicine education needs. 

A yes vote on Question 2 is a vote for:

  • Dental clinics to serve all Maine citizens throughout Maine.
  • 60,000 new low cost dental visits per year.  
  • A permanent Maine-based dental school where Maine students will learn.

Major endorsers include:

  • Maine Dental Association
  • Maine Dental Access Coalition
  • Maine Medical Association
  • Maine Osteopathic Association
  • Maine Hospital Association
  • Maine Dental Hygienists' Association
  • Maine Primary Care Association
  • Maine Chamber of Commerce
  • Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • MaineHealth
  • Associated General Contractors
  • HealthReach Community Health Centers
  • Homeless Voices for Justice
  • Community Dental
  • Patterson Dental
  • Catholic Diocese
  • Preble Street
  • Maine Equal Justice
  • Maine Chapter of AARP
  • University of New England
  • UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • University Health Care
  • University of New England Dental Hygiene Program
  • Penobscot Community Health Care
  • DFD Russell Medical Center
  • Islands Community Medical Services
  • Katahdin Valley Health Center
  • Sacopee Valley Health Center
  • Regional Medical Center at Lubec
  • Fish River Rural Health
  • Sebasticook Family Doctors
  • Maine Migrant Health Program
  • Henry Schein Dental
  • Health Access Network
  • Eliot Cutler
  • Paul LePage
  • Libby Mitchell 

For more information, visit the Dental Care for ME website.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.