ECU to establish community dental centers across NC

East Carolina University (ECU) officials announced the first three locations for community service learning centers that will be part of the university’s new dental school.

The clinics will be constructed in Sylva, Ahoskie, and Elizabeth City, the university said in a press release.

ECU plans to establish 10 of these centers in rural and underserved areas throughout the state. Dental school faculty members will be based in the centers, along with advanced dental residents and senior students who will receive enhanced dental education in real practice settings. The students and faculty will offer much-needed dental care to citizens in the areas surrounding the centers.

ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard said the community service learning centers represent an important step toward increasing access to dental care in North Carolina. The state is below the national average in the ratio of dentists to population, and that ratio has declined recently as the population has increased faster than the supply of practitioners. Four North Carolina counties have no dentists at all, and five more counties could soon be without dentists because their dentists have reached retirement age, according to ECU. In addition, 39 mostly rural counties had a decrease in dentists between 1997 and 2007.

ECU's dental school plans to admit its first students for the fall semester of 2011. About 50 students will be admitted every year. The North Carolina General Assembly has provided about $90 million in funding for construction.