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This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Training More Dentists Makes Sense for N.M.

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    With no dental school if its own, New Mexico has come up with a creative way of fighting tooth decay: regular visits to out-of-state dental schools.
    Each year, 40 New Mexico students receive state stipends of $21,000 to attend dental school in Colorado, Oregon and other states. This is far more economical than building and staffing a school here, and it has provided a steady source of dentists.
    But New Mexico's population is booming and recently topped 2 million. From a dentist's point of view, that's roughly 64 million teeth— quite a mouthful for the state's short-staffed dental offices.
    To increase the supply, the New Mexico Dental Association is proposing several remedies to the Legislature. First, the association would like to increase the number of stipends by 20, to allow 60 dental students to attend school each year.
    That makes sense, as does an association proposal to create a loan program that would help dentists establish practices in underserved rural areas. A portion of the loan would be canceled each year the dentist maintained the rural practice.
    The Legislature probably will have more trouble with a third proposal, which would eliminate the gross receipts tax. Neighboring states don't tax dental care, the association points out— but New Mexico's state and local governments would lose $14.7 million in revenue if the tax were suspended.
    While number three is doubtful, the association's loan and stipend proposals merit serious legislative consideration.