UNE College of Dental Medicine and Delta Dental Plan of Maine announce first loan repayment grant recipients
The University of New England College of Dental Medicine (UNE CDM) is pleased to announce the first recipients of Delta Dental Plan of Maine’s generous loan repayment grant. Established for UNE CDM graduates committed to practicing in rural or underserved areas upon graduating, the grant is designed to help increase the number of dentists in these areas.
The 2017 Delta Dental Plan of Maine loan repayment recipients are Adam L’Italien, D.M.D. ’17, Dustin Nadeau, D.M.D. ’17, and Enrico Ross, D.M.D. ’17, all members of the inaugural graduating class at the College of Dental Medicine.
Adam L’Italien, D.M.D. ’17
A Maine resident of 28 years, L’Italien attended the University of Connecticut where he received a bachelor’s degree in physiology and neurobiology. Upon graduating from UNE, L’Italien returned to his hometown of Lincoln, Maine, to work with the underserved. The primary goal of the clinic where he works is to provide comprehensive care regardless of ability to pay for dental services. L’Italien is an engaged member of the community, providing fluoride varnishings and screenings at school-based clinics, as well as working with a military contractor to screen active duty troops for deployment.
Dustin Nadeau, D.M.D. ’17
Nadeau was born and raised in Brunswick, Maine. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, returning to his home state to study dental medicine in the inaugural class at UNE. During his dental studies he completed two three-month clinical externships, first working at a private dental practice in Gorham, New Hampshire, then externing at Penobscot Community Dental Center, a federally qualified health center in Bangor, Maine. This summer he joined Sebasticook Dental Center, providing dental care for patients of all ages and backgrounds, including those representing an underserved population in Newport, Maine, and its surrounding rural community.
Enrico Ross, D.M.D. ’17
A Maine native, Ross attended the University of Maine at Farmington as an undergraduate, earning a Bachelor of Arts in biology. Ross grew up in Dixfield, Maine, where his father has had a dental practice for the past 29 years. He completed two 12-week externships in his fourth year of dental school; one in Keene, New Hampshire, and one in Belfast, Maine, where he has returned to work this summer at the Waldo County Dental Clinic. He also spent time in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, providing routine dental treatment to underserved residents in these countries.
“We are very proud of Adam, Dustin and Enrico, and look forward to seeing the impact that they will have on the communities they will serve,” said Jon Ryder, D.D.S., M.S., dean of the College of Dental Medicine. “The College of Dental Medicine is grateful to Delta Dental Plan of Maine for their partnership and continued support.”
To learn more about the College of Dental Medicine, visit www.une.edu/dentalmedicine
To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions