It all boils down to cheap labor. As far as comments by dentists that they cannot find a dental hygienist, this is such an obvious smoke screen. I have practiced dental hygiene for 40 yrs, most of which was spent in periodontal practices. Many times i have heard this statement by rural dentists that simply do not want to pay a dental hygienist. Then they show up at various meetings whining that they want their assistants to scale teeth.They are  GREEDY. They are simply unwilling to pay a living wage to a trained professional.

Dental assistants scaling teeth is an obvious disservice to the patient, who thinks they are having a dental procedure done by a licensed professional who knows how to diagnose decay and periodontal disease (face it dentists, the majority of you rely on your RDH to point out decay and perio problems because you do not have time to do but a cursory exam at the end of the hygiene appointment).

It is a disservice to the dental assistant because of their reduced qualifications and limited abilities they are chained to low paying jobs. Take a look at the Alabama Dental Hygiene Program. It is a training program that includes on the job training by individual dentists and includes 20 days of class room training on weekends. These preceptorship trained hygienists are receiving low pay and cannot practice outside of the state of Alabama, which is just what the dentists intended when they established ADHP in 1959. This information was obtained from the 2008-2009 dentist-instructor manual for the ADHP. What a shame! Some of these dental hygienists may be very good at what they do, but can never practice out of the state of Alabama.   

It is also a disservice to the dentist that allows the dental assistant to scale teeth in his practice. How so? Let me explain: The dentist does not have time to scale teeth and the majority I know do not want to scale teeth. Therefore the patient will receive some semblance of a hygiene appointment ( most will recognize they are not getting a thorough cleaning if they have had a dental hygienist perform the procedure in the past). As the patient returns for subsequent hygiene appointments and their periodontal condition progresses because they have not had thorough cleanings, then either the dentist must make time in his busy productive schedule to subscale these neglected patients or send them on to the periodontist or just continue his or her supervised neglect of the patient.  At some point the patient may decide to go elsewhere for quality dental care.

It is an obvious disservice to dental hygienists in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And by the way, if dental assistants are allowed to scale teeth in Virginia, will it be required that the patients are told that they are not having their hygiene visit with a dental hygienist or will the dentist be allowed to keep that as his or her secret from the patients? I forsee many legal issues that the dental community may face if dental assistants are allowed to scale teeth.The board of dentistry in Virginia should think long and hard about the consequences if this is allowed.  

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Giovanna A. Becker, RDH