(Cited from ABC.net.au on Wednesday 8th April 2009)

A consortium of Aboriginal community controlled health organisations from centres including Walgett, Bourke, Orange and Wellington will launch two oral health partnerships today.

The Bila Muuji Aboriginal Health Service will sign a memorandum of understanding with Charles Sturt University to establish a student placement program for dentistry and oral health therapy graduates.

Sandra Meihubers from the Bila Muuji Service says she hopes student placements will give undergraduates a greater understanding of the poor oral health of Indigenous people.

"Students just having that first-hand experience ... it sure beats reading about something in a newspaper or a textbook if you can actually meet people from a community and see first-hand what is actually going on," she said.

The health service has also worked in conjunction with the Greater Western Area Health Service to appoint an oral health promotion coordinator.

Ms Meihubers says many Aboriginal residents suffer from poor oral health.

"It's quite critical in the early ages, we find dental decay rates in the Aboriginal kids sadly are much higher than the rest of the population," she said.

"Generally decay rates in rural areas are higher, but then in the Aboriginal population are higher again than the state average."