Whether you are a first time visitor or not, WELCOME to our NMDHA website! We are pleased to have you visit us! If you are a hygienist who has recently moved to New Mexico, please contact Glenelle@comcast.net, so she can enter you into our database.

Welcome to the New Mexico Dental Hygienists' Association-the professional organization representing the Dental Hygienists of New Mexico.

President's Message

By Joy Horn, NMDHA President

Greetings NMDHA Friends and Members,

Every transformative process starts with a wake-up call-becoming NMDHA president is mine! Serving as Vice President & President Elect for the past two years has made me acutely aware that I have much to learn about organizational leadership and have now become an avid reader of the subject (and endless related topics). The resources we have recently discovered to help us gain a thorough understanding of governance and management are most exciting as we rethink current systems while navigating the road ahead. Operating to serve our mission and purpose, your BOT is already gearing up to set the strategic direction for 2009.

Through the efforts of our Legislative Council, we have narrowed the definition of what matters as "increasing opportunities for access to care to serve the underserved by maximizing our workforce." We believe this simple statement directs our plans at what is possible in the future and aims us toward solutions. Our proposed changes in the Dental Healthcare Act to expand the dental hygiene scope of practice during the upcoming legislative session are one example of the impact NMDHA intends to make.

Although accommodating, attracting, and retaining active members will initially require retooling and investigating new technology to streamline business and coordination, it will reap huge rewards. Several officers, committed to expanding our "organizational IQ," will be attending seminars on best practices, fundraising, event management and web survey tools. The return on investment includes a reduced workload, greater convenience, better communication and coordination—matching talent, time & skills with projects, special events, and on-going tasks. Implementing new practices and technology, such as online meeting capability, will build capacity and increase satisfaction of everyone involved. Building on the principle that people will go where systems lead them and using a simplistic model, when possible, committee plan of work will actively elicit membership input to improve outcomes and avoid "mission drift." This year, thanks to President Elect, Josey Sewell, suggestions collected from the students during the Student Assembly at our past Scientific Session will be integrated into Web site enhancement and community service projects.

True transformation is a radical process, affecting thinking, acting, and feeling in every situation, usually triggered by some event or external force with a control-resistant pace. Whether we agree or not, the social and cultural circumstances of professional practice are changing rapidly due to pressures for greater access to professional services at lower costs to people and governments and the large number of unmet professional service needs of a large segment of the population. Dental hygiene is no exception. Under this pressure, NMDHA is committed to demonstrating a deep understanding of our role in health care in order to retain what is essential in the midst of change. We look forward to the challenges and opportunities before us, welcoming your insight and involvement in order to promote optimal impact on society's well-being.

"Reorganization to me is shuffling boxes, moving boxes around. Transformation means that you're really fundamentally changing the way the organization thinks, the way it responds, the way it leads. It's a lot more than just playing with boxes." Lou Gerstner

A Brief History and Facts about your Professional Association

It is because of NMDHA that the dental hygienists of NM can practice under general supervision and administer local anesthesia. New Mexico is one of the few states that has two dental hygienists sit on its Board of Dental Health Care, and it has a Dental Hygiene Committee. New Mexico is one of seventeen states that permits unsupervised practice supervision in the form of Collaborative Practice. Collaborative Practice is based on a written agreement between the dental hygienist and one or more consulting dentists. Collaborative Practice hygienists may treat patients according to a protocols described in Rules. Routine services performed are preliminary assessment, x-rays, prophylaxis and fluoride treatment. Case-by-case authorization would include such procedures as scaling and root planning and sealants. The hygienist may own or manage a dental hygiene practice in any setting. New Mexico is one of 10 states that directly reimburses the dental hygienist for services under Medicaid. We are very proud of the progress NMDHA has made with increasing access to care for the citizens of New Mexico.

Carol Hanson, RDH, BS