Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for providing a forum to discuss possible changes to the current regulations governing the Dental Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs.

Under the program’s guidelines (that you must be within 5 years of dental school graduation), dentists like me who attended a 6+ year (Dual Degree in which you receive an MD degree) program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery are automatically excluded from the program, since you cannot practice in a rural area until you finish residency if you are an Oral Surgeon or another dental specialist.  I am sure that when the 5 year guideline was set, it was not meant to exclude dual-degree oral surgeons or specialists that require many years of training to obtain specialty certificates and licenses in Virginia. 

I went immediately into residency from dental school and then out into practice (after 7 years of residency training after dental school) in an underserved area and I am a Medicaid provider.  I accepted the responsibility and challenge to practice in an underserved area for less financial remuneration than many of my colleagues so I could serve the residents of Augusta County and beyond.   

Oral Surgeons, like me, with dental student loans (and with the added burden of medical school loans) should be able to apply to this scholarship/assistance program under an exception to the rule based on our residency timeline (6+ years). 

There are FEW Oral Surgeons willing to accept Medicaid and/or practice in a rural area in our state.  I see patients from all over Virginia because so many dentists are unwilling to treat patients with Medicaid who need care.

Please amend/change the requirement to include dentists who enroll in residencies that may extend for up to 6 or more years.  I finished dental school in 1999 and then finished residency in 2006 but I have only been in practice for 1 1/2 years.

Please modify the regulations to include dentists within 5 years of when he or she started to practice once they obtain dental specialty registration licenses in Virginia (excluding residency training). 

Basically, let's not start the clock on oral surgeons, periodontists, and endodontists, etc., until the dentist has finished specialty training!

Thank you for reading,

M. Todd Brandt, DDS, MD