Longtime dentist is critical of bill

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 | 10:02 a.m.

The Legislature is considering a bill that defines rules for dentists based on the demographic makeup of the area in which they practice.

Dentists with at least three years' experience and no record of discipline problems would be granted temporary licenses in Nevada, but they would have to practice in rural areas, where the need for their services is the greatest, according to Senate Bill 133, which is being considered by the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor. Dozens of dentists attended a hearing May 9 to protest the bill.

Dentists who want to open practices in more lucrative, urban parts of the state could, according to the bill, skip the clinical exam if they have at least five years of experience with no record of discipline problems. The clinical exams, because there is no dental school in Nevada, are done in California.

Dr. Dwight Meierhenry, a dentist for 37 years in Las Vegas, said he was troubled by proposals to ease restrictions for rural practitioners.

"I would think that everyone should be entitled to the same level of care and service, regardless of where they live," said Meierhenry, a former examiner for the Nevada State Dental Board.

Meierhenry appeared Monday on the Las Vegas Sun's news discussion show, "Face to Face with Jon Ralston."

Bobbette Bond, spokeswoman for the Culinary Health Fund, which administers the Culinary Union's health care plan, supported SB133.

Bond said members of the union struggle to find affordable dental care for themselves and their families. She said passage of the bill would increase the number of dentists in the state.

Asking dentists to take a clinical exam in California, which requires them to spend several days and bring in their own patients, is an unreasonable burden, Bond said.

Sen. Ray Shaffer, D-North Las Vegas, said he authored the bill to help constituents who can't find dental care. He said he doesn't believe the standard of care will drop if the bill passes.

Shaffer suggested the dentists already practicing in Nevada prefer a "closed shop," where they can work fewer days and have more control over prices.