ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you have a sweet tooth, you know just how expensive a visit to the dentist can be.

But a new dental college is hoping to change that, by adding 200 practitioners in New Mexico.

“Our costs will be significantly less than private practice. We’re still determining what that’s going to look like, but we’ll take Medicaid and most dental insurances,” said Dr. Joseph Parkinson, executive assistant dean of Touro College Dental Medicine New Mexico.  

Parkinson says he’s proud to lead New Mexico’s first-of-it’s kind, Touro College of Dental Medicine. 

“The idea is to take in patients who don’t have a dental home,” said Parkinson.  

When it comes to oral health in New Mexico, Parkinson says our state is not in a good spot.

“Because we don’t have enough dentists, underserved populations don’t get care in particular, Medicaid patients don’t get care. If things don’t get treated, they become bigger problems,” Parkinson said. “The state has the median dentist to population ratio, in New Mexico it’s below the federal standard. It’s one of the worst in the nation.”

He hopes with the addition of the dental college, they will not only help students wanting to go into the industry, but when they graduate they will stay close to home.

“The other goal for Touro is for students of New Mexico to go to our program, so that they can go back, graduate, go back to our communities and provide care in their community,” said Parkinson. 

They will start screening patients at the beginning of June.