Printable format	E-mail article:	Search news:

By Arlene Furlong

Santa Fe—It's hard to imagine a more enthusiastic group than the children in the Roundhouse of New Mexico's State Capitol building for GKAS—until you see the adults.

While children from area schools did their best to restrain their excitement while waiting for dental screenings, state and dental leaders were vocal about their exuberance.

	Tactics: Dr. Strohschein 'bribes' 2-1/2 year old Che into the dental chair for her first screening. (Photo by PRD Photography)

"The importance of dental access for children is an issue that goes straight to my heart," said Alfredo Vigil, M.D., New Mexico Secretary of Health. "We have to keep moving forward. "We can do it, put those flags in the sand."

Dr. Vigil said new federally qualified health care centers that provide dental care in impoverished regions of the state have a lot to do with his optimistic attitude.

"Each year the state votes 'yes' to put more money into the state's rural health care act," said Dr. Virgil. "The Give Kids A Smile Program here at the Capitol couldn't be happening in a better place."

With the legislature in session, Dr. Charles Schumacher, president of the New Mexico Dental Association and Mark Moores, executive director, seized the opportunity to give legislators a daily reminder of the importance of access to dental care for children by providing each a toothbrush donated by Sonicare.

"They'll think about access to dental care for children every morning when they grab that toothbrush," said Dr. Schumacher.

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, addressed by the vast majority of kids as "Mrs. Danish," said, "This is a good place for GKAS to be to keep the dental access issues in front of the legislators. They're looking at the numbers related to early intervention and oral health care more and more."

Those numbers aren't good. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tooth decay is on the rise among preschoolers. For American Indian/Native American children—a large segment of New Mexico's population—the problem is even worse. The Indian Health Service reports that nearly 8 of ten children aged 2-4 have a history of tooth decay.

Many rural areas in New Mexico have difficulty attracting and retaining dentists. The shortage can be a barrier to dental health for some New Mexicans.

Dr. James Strohschein is working hard to change that, to build what he calls a "replenishing pool" of dentists for rural areas in New Mexico.

He began a predental society program at the University of New Mexico in 2001 with just six students. This year, there are 40 students in the group at University of New Mexico and 238 students enrolled statewide. He developed course work and materials to make the students competitive when applying for dental school. Some 60 percent of the students in his group have been accepted to dental school, most as part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, which provides incentives for students from the University of New Mexico to enroll in out-of-state dental programs.

"It's the most rewarding work I've ever done," said Dr. Strohschein. "Many of the students who have graduated dental school and come back to New Mexico to provide care didn't know they wanted to be dentists when they started college."

"If it wasn't for Dr. Strohschein, I probably wouldn't of known I wanted to go into dentistry at all," said Jonah Foutz, who is now the president of the predental society. He will begin at University of Missouri Dental School next year and plans to return to New Mexico a dentist.

Dr. Strohschein, Dr. Jesús Galván and Dr. Gary Katz provided screenings. predental students Mr. Foutz, Carsen Bentley and Nikita Goyal helped with charting.