ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —  A program currently in the proposed state budget could help recent dental school graduates pay off their student loan debt, all while addressing a need for more dentists across the state.

Ten recent dental school graduates would get paid $50,000 a year, on top of their salary, to work in a low-income or rural community.

The program was left out of the past two budgets because of funding issues caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Department of Health and Human Services data indicate more than two dozen facilities across the Central Florida area are in desperate need of dentists.

“One of the main issues that the state of Florida has is access to care, meaning access for patients who live in rural or low-income neighborhoods,” said Dr. Brett Zak, a dentist for 16 years.

He said he graduated with a student loan debt of $200,000 from just grad school at the University of Florida. It will take him another 14 to 15 years to finish paying it off, he said.

Zak said he was lucky to find a provider for employment right after graduation, but not many dental school graduates are as lucky.

That’s why he said he advocated for the program and said he believes it would benefit future dentists.

“A lot of dental students graduating don’t have that immediate opportunity to land in a position where they know it’s going to work out for the long term for them,” Zak said. “[It’s a mutual benefit for all] in that it helps the student with the career path, and it helps the patient obtain the dentistry they need.”

Dentists can take part in the program up to five times to help pay off their student loan debt.

The program was debunked 20 years ago. It was reinstated in 2019 but wasn’t funded.

More than $1.77 million would go to fund the dental student loan repayment program if included in this year’s state budget.