A Victory in Vermont is a Victory for All
Vermont establishes the practice of dental therapists, increases access to dental care for all Vermonters.

 

It took nine hundred community members and forty state organizations. It took the stories of the people and the facts that backed up their experience. It took the hard work of activists like Voices for Vermont Children. But it happened! 

We are so pleased to announce that this week, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a law that establishes the practice of dental therapists in Vermont. Vermont’s decision to authorize dental therapists is monumental step forward in this mission to make dental care more accessible. 

As we rally New Mexico residents and we urge our lawmakers to consider dental therapy as a cost-effective, scalable approach to making the dental care system work better for patients, we are thrilled to be able to point to this recent victory in Vermont. 

This innovative, team-based approach enables dental practices to increase the number of people they can serve, is cost-efficient and patient-focused. 

In the past year alone, close to a dozen states and tribes, including New Mexico, have pursued establishing these health care professionals as a way to solve deep oral health disparities and severe unmet dental needs. Dental therapists currently practice in Minnesota and on tribal land in Alaska and Washington. They are authorized to practice in Maine and will soon be practicing in Oregon under a statewide pilot program.  

And this is just the beginning! The momentum is building, and the need in New Mexico is real. Over half of all New Mexicans have advanced dental disease. One-in-three 3rd graders sit in class with untreated dental disease. And 1.3 million people live in counties that are recognized as having insufficient access to dental care. It’s time to work together to find a way to end this epidemic. It’s time to make dental therapists part of the dental care team.

We know that the victory in Vermont is a step in the right direction for our nation, and this victory provides an opportunity to continue to push for increased access to high-quality dental care in New Mexico. Just last year, the NM Dental Hygienists Association Health Action NM and the reached an agreement with the NM Dental Association to advance common ground legislation to make dental therapists part of the New Mexico dental care team. The legislation will be filed during the 2017 legislative session. We hope state leaders will rise to the occasion and make New Mexico the next state to bring high quality dental care to more of our people.

Join Health Action New Mexico as we applaud Vermont’s progress and join us as we make access to dental care a priority in New Mexico.