PORTLAND – The University of New England is exploring the prospect of starting the first dental school in Maine and northern New England.

School officials said Thursday it would cost an estimated $17 million for the Biddeford-based university to build a dental school on its Portland campus, but that it needs investors and foundations to be partners before it can move forward.

University president Danielle Ripich said the school could turn out as many as 50 dentists a year, helping alleviate the region’s shortage of dentists. Maine had one dentist for every 2,165 patients in 2002, far below the national average of one dentist for every 1,656 patients.

“I think people know that oral health is a huge health care issue in Maine, so we’re hoping we find some support for this idea,” Ripich said.

Dr. Mark Zajkowski, an oral surgeon in South Portland and president of the Maine Dental Association, said he welcomes UNE’s interest in starting a dental school, but he questioned whether there is a need.

There are four dental schools in New England, he said, as well as one at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, which sets aside as many as six slots for Maine students, which he said aren’t always filled.

A new school also may face a challenge in finding teachers and the money it takes to buy and operate equipment, Zajkowski said. He questioned whether graduates would want to practice in rural locations if the Medicaid reimbursement rate stays the same.

For about a year and a half the university has studied the idea of a dental school. It recently sent letters of intent to the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Higher Education Council.