Update: MDA Rural Ad Hoc Committee
by LISA BOSCH, DMD, MPH & AMANDA FITZPATRICK, DDS
T
he MDA Board of Trustees established a Rural Ad Hoc Committee to explore the issues surrounding recruitment
and retention of dentists to rural Missouri. This committee held several meetings to discuss priority items. We created a presenta- tion and met with each of the Deans of the three dental schools in Missouri. During these meetings, we spoke about the challenges rural dentistry is facing and opportunities for collaboration between rural dentists and Missouri’s dental students. After these meet- ings, we regrouped and put a list of priorities together as a result of these three separate discussions.
Two issues kept coming to the forefront of discussions: The lack of options for student loan repayment for rural areas in a private practice setting and inaccurate workforce data. One of the main issues that surfaced was Missouri doesn’t have accurate data on what dentists are actively practicing, where they are practicing and to what extent. Are they full-time, part-time or faculty at a dental school?
The Rural Ad Hoc Committee met with Missouri Dental Board Executive Director, Brian Barnett to ask questions about licensure and the data collection the state does. With the state moving to an online-only licensure renewal process for the Fall 2026, there are opportunities to get more accurate data of the current dental workforce in the state.
We are going to be working with the Offi ce of Dental Health and State Dental Consul- tant, Dr. Megan Krohn, to discuss how the MDA and ODH can collaborate to access better data, to help recruit more dentists into rural areas and address access to care for our patients. Stay tuned for more updates!
Dr. Bosch serves as the Northeast Trustee on the MDA Board and practices in Edina. Contact her at lmbosch@atsu. edu. Dr. Fitzpatrick is the MDA Speaker and practices in LaPlata. Contact her at amandafi
tzpatrick613@gmail.com.
ISSUE 3 | FALL 2025 | focus 23
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