A dental practice in western Maine, comprised almost entirely of UNE graduates, leads the future of rural care
The close ties Nasson Health Care has formed with UNE are allowing students of dentistry to improve the lives of underserved populations in the state’s far reaches after they graduate
SPRINGVALE, Maine — Tom Guerrette didn’t know he wanted to work in public health when he attended the University of New England College of Dental Medicine, the only dental school in Maine and all of Northern New England. Then UNE introduced Guerrette to community clinics that allowed him to help dental patients of all ages and all economic backgrounds.
And Guerrette was hooked.
By the time Guerrette graduated from UNE in 2019, he wanted to champion public health clinics. Today at Nasson Health Care in Springvale, Maine, Guerrette is doing that — and showing his school pride, having compiled a dental team of like-minded UNE graduates, all of whom are public health advocates.
All four of the Nasson Health Care dentists and all four dental hygienists at the community health center are UNE alumni. Guerrette, Nasson Health Care’s dental director, recruited five of them.
“I was looking for a more rewarding career than working in private practice,” Guerrette said. “And we do that here. At Nasson Health Care, we see the entire community. We see kids all the way up to geriatrics. We have a huge impact on the community here. And it makes you a better overall dentist.”
Left: Recent UNE graduate Elise Grabowski, D.M.D, ’24, examines Michael Froning’s teeth while dental assistant Kristianna Libby looks on. Right: Grabowski talks with Froning in the Nasson Health Center exam room.
Guerrette said he specifically hired UNE graduates because they share a similar work ethic, the same level of expertise, and what Guerrette called an “ethical approach to dentistry,” meaning they take the patient-first approach they all learned at UNE.
“I feel we have a bond. We collaborate more with each other because we feel more comfortable with each other,” Guerrette said. “There are no egos, because we all came from the same place. That’s pretty unique.”
Many on the UNE team at Nasson Health Care said the work is rewarding because they help people from all economic backgrounds and different marginalized communities, including those who are unhoused. Current and former patients send them cards and even bring in jams or jellies for the health care they provide that has visibility changed lives, said dentist Jacqueline Auger, D.M.D. ’22.
“People come in thinking they have to have all their teeth out, and maybe that’s what they've been told … (but) we let the patient decide. We give them the options and let them choose,” Auger said. “I have a lot of experience with loved ones being in the underserved populations, so it was something I really wanted to get into.”
Left: Jacqueline Auger, D.M.D. ’22, and Chauna Oak, B.S. ’20 relax together before starting the workday. Right: Grabowski, Libby, and Froning talk together.
Dental hygienist Chauna Oak, B.S.’20, came to Nasson Health Care specifically because she wanted to help underserved populations. Oak said their alma mater is a point of pride that binds the dental team. They share stories of UNE professors and clinicals at UNE’s Dental Hygiene Clinic, where members of the public can get free cleanings, often reminiscing in front of patients.
“I like to tell people we all went to UNE,” Oak said. “I was a professor for a little while at UNE in the clinical setting, so we love to talk about that. And the patients love hearing about it.”
Nasson Health Care is a busy place. And the UNE alumni like it that way.
Going to UNE definitely opened my mind to working in public health … They taught us about it and had us go into public schools and do screenings with students. It was life changing.” — Tom Guerrette, D.M.D. ’19
As one of 19 Community Health Centers in Maine, Nasson Health Care sees close to 4,000 dental patients a year out of nearly 8,000 total patients, 20% of whom were homeless patients in 2024.
Its connection to UNE goes beyond the dental team — it’s in direct alignment with the College of Dental Medicine’s mission: to improve community health, particularly in rural and underserved areas, while shaping the future of dentistry through excellence in education, discovery, and service.
And the University’s impact on these communities is ever growing. In partnership with UNE, Nasson Health Care also recently began providing preceptorship opportunities for students from the UNE’s College of Osteopathic Medicine — Maine’s only medical school — and UNE’s Master of Science Physician Assistant program, also the only program of its kind in Maine.
Guerrette said the preceptorship programs are one way to give back and thank his alma mater for opening his eyes to the value and rewards of public health.
“Going to UNE definitely opened my mind to working in public health,” Guerrette said. “I actually was not even aware of it, to be honest. But I went to UNE and they taught us about it and had us go into public schools and do screenings with students. It was life changing.”