In Tom Raffio’s My Turn “Oral health access for all,” he alludes to a workforce shortage which contributes significantly to the access to dental care those covered by the now one year old NH Adult Medicaid Dental Program. It also limits access and raises the cost of dental care for all of our citizens. In the latter part of the 1980s, NH suffered from a severe shortage of dental hygienists. After multiple unfilled promises by the governor and NH Legislature, the dentist members of the NH Dental Society raised and donated $300,000 to expand and equip the dental hygiene facility at NHTI with the promise that the entering classes of 24 (graduating 18-19 per year) would be increased to 40 with the expectation thereby graduating classes of 36 or more. This was the very first public-private partnership in our state’s history.

What happened? If the photos on the walls of the graduating classed of NHTI School of Dental Hygiene are correct, there were 16 graduates in the Class of 2021, 17 in the Class of 2022 and 12 in the Class of 2023. Those graduating with a Certificate of Dental Hygiene have, over the past 3-4 decades, enjoyed the highest starting salaries of any NHTI graduates. Something went wrong and the dentists of NH and all of our citizens are owed an explanation.

Richard Berryman

Concord