On average, there are about 60 dentists per 100,000 people in the U.S. But with just 48 per 100,000, New Mexicois at the bottom of the list. And the number of dental health professionals in New Mexico is declining, meaning less care for Indigenous people in rural areas,unhoused people and low-income families.
The HRSA reports there are four primary causes for this shortage: the lack of practitioners in rural communities and in the inner-city; the aging and retirement of dentists, particularly in rural areas; the impact of COVID-19 such as offices closing and patients not going to the dentist; and staffing challenges since the pandemic.
Despite an overall increase in the total oral health workforce, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data shows the US needs over 10,000 more dental practitioners to fill gaps.
The new Touro College of Dental Medicine New Mexico opened its doors this school year with a ribbon cutting ceremony on its Albuquerque campus in September. It joins university dental schools in Nevada, Colorado and Utah that serve at-risk communities.
Touro College of Dental Medicine first started in New York where it was the state’s first dental school, said Dr. Joseph Parkinson, Touro’s Executive Assistant Dean. For the past 50-years, the school’s mission has been to train competent, skilled and compassionate dentists who want to serve in diverse communities.
Students study on the New York campus for their first two years and then come to New Mexico for their third and fourth years of study, said Parkinson.
“Right now we have 100 third-year dental students. The goal is when they graduate, is to go out to practice in underserved parts of the state. There's a statistic that 60% of the students who train in the site will stay in that area.”
Next year, Parkinson added, the college will accept another 100 third-year students and enrollment should be at 200 students in Albuquerque.
“Last year, we only had two students apply to Touro from New Mexico. This year, we already have 14 applications from students in the state.”.
Dr. Parkinson explained that the college has access in-house to every specialty dental intervention a patient might need.
“You don't need to go anywhere else to get anything done. If you need orthodontics, Oral Surgery, endodontics, Periodontics, it can happen in this building.”
The school also has external rotations established in collaboration with Indian Health Services.
“We've already had two outreach events with the students in Shiprock and Farmington,” said Parkinson. “Locally, rotations have been set-up with Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless to serve those populations.”
Parkinson said oral health disparities are concerning because of the links to other problems like diabetes and heart disease. Touro believes community education and awareness can help prevent other health issues. Plans for mobile dental clinics are also underway.
