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ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Compared to urban areas, access to dental care in rural and small town areas is rare.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, only 10% of licensed dentists practice in these settings.
Local dentists say many patients travel long distances to see them.
“We’re kind of the only one of a few within a certain radius, so we have a lot of people from Harmony, the small towns around here, Preston, Grand Meadow, a lot of things like that.”
“We have a lot of patients from Preston, Fountain, you know that line, and Lanesboro, and kind of from all over southeast Minnesota. All the way to the Iowa border,” Stewartville Family Dentistry Dr. Angela Offord said.
On top of how clinics are serving many areas at once, staffing has been a challenge in rural and small town areas according to SOTA Family Dentist, Dr. Abheer Jayakar.
“Attracting the workforce to work I think has been a challenge. We have been looking for dental hygienists for a while now and it has been difficult. I don’t know if it’s the mindset of the younger generation who don’t want to come to a so-called small town,” he said.
“You know if ten offices are hiring in Rochester and we are, and we’re going to be an extra 15, 20 or 25 minutes of travel for somebody, that makes a difference.”
Minnesota Department of Health Chief Workforce Analyst Teri Fritsma says this is exacerbated by the way some of the workforce is retiring.
“Many of them are over 65. Of the dentists working in isolated rural areas, 26% of them are over 65,” she said.
Fritsma says one solution to the problem is the role of dental therapists.
According to the National Partnership for Dental Therapy, dental therapists are licensed providers who can perform common dental procedures. He says they can free up dentists to focus on more complex work and fill in areas of shortage.
“This can be such a great career for someone who is interested in dentistry but maybe doesn’t want to invest all the time in becoming an actual dentist, but wants to be able to do that work and really serve the public in that way. I think there are reasons to be hopeful,” said Fritsma.
The Minnesota Department of Health says dental therapists can fill positions left by the retiring workforce — however, many more are needed to meet the demand for dental care.
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