In rural Pennsylvania, young people with disabilities like 22-year-old Daniel Craig face a difficult reality for dental care. Although Daniel has both his mother’s private dental insurance and AmeriHealth Medicaid, finding a dental clinic that accepts both is a daunting task for the family.
Daniel’s parents, Robert and Amy Craig, took him to Bright Smiles Dental Art, a 15-minute drive from their home, but the clinic doesn’t accept Medicaid, and private insurance wouldn’t cover the full cost of six root canals. Ultimately, they had to drive an hour and a half to find the right specialist.
“We’re both working people with two kids, and we’re trying to find a dentist like we’re working full-time,” Amy said. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
That dilemma is about to get better. Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry has announced that it will open Pennsylvania’s first rural dental program in Tamaqua, slated to open in 2026. The pilot program will provide low-cost or even free dental care to patients like Daniel while also alleviating the shortage of dentists in rural areas.
Dr. Ahmed Ismail, dean of the School of Dentistry, noted that the project not only provides services to local residents, but also provides dental students with the opportunity to learn in an actual clinical environment. Students will complete the first two years of courses on the main campus of Temple University, and then move to Tamaqua for the second two years, living in downtown apartments funded by the school.
“We can provide almost all dental services except for hospitalization and general anesthesia,” Ismail said. He emphasized that the clinic’s main service targets patients receiving Medicaid, rather than those who rely on self-payment or commercial insurance.
The project was strongly supported by State Senator Dave Agar, who hopes to encourage students to practice in remote areas in the future through such a rural training mechanism. “We have heard many times that as long as students receive training in a small town, they are more likely to stay and serve after graduation.”
Currently, an old department store in downtown Tamaqua will be renovated into a student accommodation apartment, and the rent will be covered by tuition. If the school decides to renovate the existing building, it will start as early as the fall of 2026; if a new building is required, the start time may be postponed to 2027.
For clinics like Bright Smiles Dental Art, local dentists are already overwhelmed. Dentist Dr. Maria Taselowski said many clinics are unable to accept new patients, and the workforce is aging. “Many dentists can’t find successors, so they have to close their clinics, and patients have nowhere to go.”
According to the Pennsylvania Rural Center, about 23% of dentists in the state are over 65 years old, and another 23% are about to retire. In rural areas, there are only about 3.75 dentists per 10,000 people, compared to 6.3 in cities, the gap is obvious.
In addition to the problem of lack of doctors, patients’ own neglect of oral health has also exacerbated the situation. “Many people delay treatment and end up going to the emergency room for temporary treatment, but there are usually no dentists there,” Taselowski said.
She also mentioned that as a rural dentist, burnout is the norm. “We want to help more people, but our energy and time are limited. Mental fatigue is also gradually accumulating.”
For this reason, she is excited about the advancement of Temple University’s project. “Our rural areas deserve high-quality health care. I hope to see students stay and serve these communities.”
Temple University’s vision is to establish a permanent clinic in Tamaqua in the future. At the same time, the school also hopes to work with local community colleges to train the dental assistants and hygienists needed to lay the foundation for long-term development.
Agar hopes that Tamaqua’s successful experience can be replicated in more rural areas and become a blueprint for improving the state’s dental care network.
“This is a major benefit to education, health care and the local economy,” Agar said. “Our restaurants, businesses, downtown, and even the entire region will benefit.”
For the Craig family, this new program represents hope. They hope that in the future they will no longer have to travel across the state for basic dental services.
“We need such services,” Amy said. “This is not just an ‘optional’ health service, but what we really need. Whoever is willing to come to our community to help us, I will support them.”