A graduate of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Julian Kuffler serves as the Director of Care Coordination for Mount Desert Island Hospital and has been a practicing family physician at Mount Desert Island Hospital for more than 30 years. He previously served as the Medical Director of the Community Health Center. Dr. Kuffler believes in providing medical services that treat the whole person.

In 2011, the Community Health Center became a Patient-Centered Medical Home where primary care, behavior health, and social services are accessible and integrated under one roof. This model inspired him to go one step further—to seek to provide for his patients’ oral health needs. “One of the major shortcomings of practicing in Maine has been the lack of access to dental services. Most of the babies I deliver start out healthy. Due to a combination of factors—including poor nutritional choices and lack of preventive dental care—cavities are one of the most common serious problems I see, says Dr. Kuffler, “Poor oral health is so preventable and treatment so expensive.”

The Community Dental Center, established in 2014 as MDI’s first-ever nonprofit dental clinic, grew directly out of this need. “I thought that it would be wonderful to work in an environment where all children born or living on MDI would get oral care from day one. If we could continue preventive services thru age 20—most of the chronic dental problems I see would be minimized,” says Dr. Kuffler.