Dental College of Georgia breaks ground on second campus

Facility to educate additional 50 dental students, 20 hygiene students each year

The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University — the state’s only dental school — broke ground April 29 on a second campus with the goal of addressing Georgia’s dental provider shortage and improving access to oral healthcare in the state.

The Dental College of Georgia Savannah is slated to open in summer 2028 on the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University. The 185,000-square-foot facility will include classrooms, laboratories, clinical exam rooms and other spaces, and it will have the capacity to educate 50 dental students and 20 dental hygiene students each year, according to a news release from Augusta University. Those numbers are in addition to the roughly 400 dental students, 60 dental hygiene students and 60 residents educated and trained annually at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Leaders, faculty, staff, students and alumni from Augusta University, the Dental College of Georgia and Georgia Southern University were joined at the groundbreaking by state elected officials, community members and other leaders, including ADA Executive Director Nader Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., and Georgia Dental Association President Peter Shatz, D.D.S., M.B.A.

“The new four-year campus represents a critical expansion of Georgia’s dental education infrastructure at a time when the state’s only existing dental school, the Dental College of Georgia in Augusta, is operating at full capacity,” Dr. Shatz said. “With Georgia experiencing rapid population growth, access to dental care is under increasing strain as demand for services outpaces the current supply of trained dentists.”

Georgia ranks 46th nationally in dentists per capita and 18 of its counties do not have a single practicing dentist, limiting residents’ access to oral healthcare, according to the release. Studies show that most dentists who graduate from public dental schools practice in the same state or region where they trained, so this second campus could lead to more dentists staying and practicing in Georgia, including in the state’s coastal region, which is experiencing steady population growth, the release stated.

To learn more about the Dental College of Georgia Savannah and its groundbreaking, visit jagwire.augusta.edu.