WHY SHOULD UNM

HAVE A DENTAL
SCHOOL FOR THEIR
STUDENTS?
by Mariah Barela and Courtney Harrison
Background
◦ UNM has many different graduate programs for their students. (Law, Anderson,
Medical, pharmacy)
◦ Dental Hygiene: 15-20 students per year
◦ UNM dental clinic
Bachelors in Science
◦ Chemistry/Biology
◦ Little to no background in dental
◦ Prepares you for medical school
◦ Unnecessary classes
Where do UNM students go who
want to pursue a doctor of dental
medicine degree?
◦ Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health has a yearly tuition of $68,549
◦ If you live outside of Texas the annual cost of tuition is $36,974 USD.
◦ If you live outside of Colorado the annual cost of tuition is $69,652 USD.
◦ If you live outside of Utah the annual cost of tuition is $67,675 USD.
◦ Room/boarding & meal plans are not included
◦ Are any of these schools necessarily affordable?
◦ Discourage students
 Survey Questions
1. Are you aware of UNM not having a dental school?
2. Do you know anyone currently in the dental field?
3. Have you received teeth cleaning service at the UNM dental clinic?
4. Do you think UNM will prosper from having a dental school?
5. Knowing UNM doesn't’t have a dental school, would this discourage you from
pursuing this career?
6. Are you happy with the dentistry in New Mexico?
7. How much does dental care matter to you?
 UNM Dental Program
12

11

10

0
Aware of no dental Know of anyone in the Done any dental work at Will UNM prosper from Does this discourage you Are you happy with the
prgram at UNM? dental field? the UNM clinic? creating a dental from entering this field? denistry in New Mexico?
program?

Yes No
Survey Results
◦ Due to our survey results, it was concluded that the University of
New Mexico would benefit from creating New Mexico’s first and
only dental program for students.
◦ The survey also showed that many people who did decide to
enter this field did not take into consideration of the missing
dental school. This discourages the majority of students to turn
down this major of choice. Dental care seemed to matter a lot to
all students and participants outside of school. By creating a
dental program, we would have the chance to improve our local
dentistry and create many new dentists that could help
everyone.