President's Message

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I came across this quote from Robert Schuller while preparing for my term as president of the NMDHA. It really made me think of why we hold ourselves back from attempting to be the person we have the potential to be. What is holding us back from becoming this incredible person? There are honestly a lot of things that do and should take precedence over other responsibilities such as family, friends, and our profession that help us to provide for our families. We create excuses that hold us back. We think we do not have enough time or talent to step out of our comfort zone. What we don’t realize is that each and every one of us has something to offer, a talent to give.

The NMDHA is a voluntary organization for the representation and progression of our profession. We rely on the volunteerism of our members. We also realize that even being a dues paying member is the only way some of us are able to be involved depending on the current situations in our lives. Each and every member we have is representing our organization and the NMDHA strives to represent EVERY hygienist well, no matter membership status. We are all hygienists, therefore all connected. The installation pin for the Board of Trustees for my term is president is the infinity symbol, to represent this connection we share.

This is a very important time to be a member and representative of the NMDHA. Change is on the horizon with the potential legislation of a dental therapist here in NM. We have the chance to change the future of dental hygiene and really impact access to care across the nation. We can either be involved in the conversation or not. Imagine what our profession could be, the practice acts and self regulation we could have already developed if each and every hygienist took a step beyond his or her comfort zone. Imagine the world we could create. So I ask, now that you know you cannot fail, what are you going to do?

Valoree Althoff, RDH, BS
NMDHA President, ADHA Council on Member Services, ADHA NM Institute for Oral Health Liaison, Tres Rios Immediate-Past President

HB187 Signed BY Governor!

On April 7, 2011, Governor Martinez signed into law House Bill 187, “Expanded- Function Dental Auxiliaries”. The bill does not go into effect until late June (ninety days after the close of the session). However, rules to support the new statute language also need to be written by the New Mexico Board of Dentistry. This process includes a public hearing on the proposed rules, which may occur at its meeting on July 29, 2011.

Thank-you to everyone who helped in any way, big or small, during the legislative session! A special thanks to our lobbyist team Randy and Debbie Maestas-Traynor for all their hard work and persistence in getting it done!

Read more about HB187.

New Mexico's Inaugural Mission of Mercy (MOM) the Largest in MOM History and Largest Non-profit Community Event EVER in NM

The New Mexico Mission of Mercy is a large-scale dental clinic in which dental services are provided free of charge to adults and children who cannot afford dental care. On the weekend of October 15-16, well over 1,000 volunteers donated their services to MOM. Here's what they accomplished:

• 2,169 patients seen
• 8,719 procedures completed
• The hygiene division saw over 566 patients who received either a prophy or a debridement.
• A dollar value of $1,126,534.20 for services completed.

A big "thank you" to volunteers came from as far away as Kansas and to all the volunteers who happily worked long hours so that others could receive dental care.

A special thanks to a few hygienists who worked for months preparing for MOM: Tina Locke, Marylin Kleymann, Diana Chapman, and Cindy Vigil were inspirational in their commitment to making MOM a success. Mary Muller-Griego took on the roll of "Dental Hygiene Lead." This position demanded MANY volunteer hours, but Mary served in a way that we can all be proud of! Ginny Berger donated 10 dental mobile units which made it possible for MOM to help more people.

NM MOM plans a 2nd event in Las Cruces March 2 & 3, 2012, so stay tuned as we continue to help those in need.

Site designed by Outshine Web Design

© 2007 NMDHA/All Rights Reservered. View Sitemap.