2006 Media Releases
Monday, 6 November 2006
La Trobe University welcomes commitment to support dental program
La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian Stoddart, has welcomed today’s election announcement by the State ALP that it will support La Trobe’s proposed rural and regional dental school with more than $14 million.
La Trobe University proposes to establish a program to graduate 50 dentists per year based in Bendigo, with additional clinical sites at Wodonga, Mildura and Melton.
Acting Dean of Health Sciences, Professor Hal Swerissen, said there was a significant shortage of dental professionals in rural and regional Victoria and that rural Australians have poorer oral health than residents of metropolitan areas.
The program will have a strong focus on public oral health in rural and regional Victoria. Students will be able to gain all their clinical experience in regional and rural Victoria. La Trobe has regional campuses at Bendigo, Albury Wodonga, Shepparton and Mildura.
Professor Swerissen said: “The new program will have a major impact on oral health services in rural and remote Victoria and provide additional public dental services for rural and regional settings.
“We have strong demand for our existing oral health program to train dental therapists and hygienists in Bendigo. I think there will be strong demand for dentistry as well.”
Degree education for dental hygienists and therapists began at the Bendigo campus this year after a new state-of-the-art facility was commissioned in February.
“The new dentistry program will provide an economic boost to Bendigo and wider rural and regional Victoria and will be a real demonstration of government commitment to those areas,” Professor Swerissen said.
The program will build on the partnership with Dental Health Services Victoria which already runs professional training for dental therapists and hygienists.
Professor Swerissen said La Trobe will work with government to establish a Public Dentistry Traineeship to significantly increase the public sector dental workforce in rural and regional Victoria.
For further information:
Professor Hal Swerissen, Tel: (03) 9479 1930 / 32 or Sally Routledge Tel: 03 5444 7374.