Confusion surrounds dentistry requirements Pair contests state’s rigorous exam standards

AUGUSTA – Two Maine women, recent graduates of the University of Connecticut dental school, had their applications for licenses to practice dentistry in Maine put on hold Friday.

The Maine Board of Dental Examiners tabled action on the applications, opting to give Hillary Caruso of Dover-Foxcroft and Shannon Gagnon of Gardiner more time to pass the state’s tests for required mastery.

The pair had appealed to the board since there is a great deal of confusion about which of several standard examinations is acceptable in Maine and what scores are required. Dentists attending the hearing said even they were not clear on the requirements.

Maine statutes require Maine licensees to pass all sections in the three-day examinations. In some states, however, an average of all sections is used to determine proficiency.

Testifying on behalf of his friend Gagnon, Maine’s Speaker of the House Pat Colwell told the board that Maine’s strict requirements are hurting the state’s ability to recruit dentists and retain its youth.

“I’m here to try to figure out a way to keep Maine’s young people here in Maine, working. We’re really here for two crises, the outmigration of Maine’s youth and the lack of practitioners,” said Colwell. He added that in central Maine, 40 dentists will retire in the next three to four years. “Your policy is a serious impediment to candidates,” he said.

Colwell said that the vast majority of state’s accept composite scores. “My concern is that we are freezing out well qualified candidates,” he said.

Speaking on her behalf, Caruso told the board, “Dr. Gagnon and I are qualified to practice dentistry in 28 states. I have lived outside Maine for eight years. I have come home to practice with my dad. I hope that our situation will move our state forward and attract and license qualified dentists. Of the 19 graduates in my class that took the exam, under Maine regulations only two would have been able to be licensed here.”

Board member Dr. Philip Higgins Jr. asked Caruso, “Aren’t you in the least bit concerned that 80 percent of your class didn’t pass all parts of the exam?”

Caruso said because there are different examinations, the difference falls in grading formulas and scales.

The board’s president, Dr. James Faulkner, told both the women and Colwell that the board was bound by state statute, which requires all sections of the test to be passed. He noted that Gagnon only missed passing one section by a half of a percent.

Faulkner said that “everything is on the table,” during summer rule-making sessions to revamp the dentistry requirements, but he gave no assurances that the grade requirement would change.

One solution is in the works, explained Dr. Joseph Rosa, an attorney from Chicago, who is past chairman of the American Dentists Association. “This past weekend we passed a resolution that calls for national examinations. I don’t think anybody here wants as a dentist someone who can clean teeth well but cannot identify tooth decay,” he said. Mastery of critical disciplines is what will be required, he said.

“A national exam would be wonderful,” said Caruso. “But when would it happen? This won’t be for years down the road. Maine needs dentists today.”

“Shannon and I have both discussed going to another state but we want to come back to our hometowns,” said Caruso.

After several hours of discussion, the board voted to table action on the women’s applications to allow them time to take the sections of the examination they failed. Both said they have scheduled a retest in Boston for July 11.

“If you get your scores, you’ll get your licenses the next day,” Faulkner promised.