(a) As a condition of approval by the board of a loan or loans under the Alabama Dental Service Program, each applicant shall enter into a written contract with the board, whereby the applicant shall agree to repay each annual loan received under the program by working, in full-time clinical practice as a licensed dentist in an area of critical need approved by the board, for five years. Each dentist repaying loans from the program by working in an area of critical need shall participate in the state Medicaid program.

Terms Used In Alabama Code 16-47-79

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • year: means a calendar year; but, whenever the word "year" is used in reference to any appropriations for the payment of money out of the treasury, it shall mean fiscal year. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) If the participant can demonstrate to the board’s satisfaction that at least 30 percent of the participant’s active patients were indigent or covered by Medicaid during the previous year, the participant shall receive an additional three months of service credit.
(c) Subject to approval by the board, a participant in the program may change the area of critical need where he or she will work to repay loans under the program, but in no case shall the participant work in full-time practice for less than four years in the new area of critical need.
(d)

(1) An area of critical need shall be an area in Alabama with a rate above 49 percent under the most recent Dental Shortage Index. The board may also consider the percentage of practicing dentists in a geographic area that are over the age of 65 in determining an area of critical need.
(2) In no event shall a shortage area be considered an area of critical need unless it is determined to be a shortage area pursuant to the most recent Dental Shortage Index or is one of the top 40 percent of geographic areas most in need of a dentist as determined by the board.
(e) The board may allow a participant in the Alabama Dental Service Program to serve part time in an area of critical need that is one of the top eight percent of areas most in need of a dentist under the most recent Dental Shortage Index. The participant must spend an average of 20 hours a week on an annual basis practicing direct patient care in the designated county for a minimum of five years to qualify for full forgiveness of the loan.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Division 2 Contents