I strongly oppose the proposal to allow Dental Assistants to perform scaling procedures. As a practiciing Dental Hygienist for over 30 years, I know, as we all know, that there are very few patients who need only supragingival scaling and polishing.

In a generally healthy periodontium, there is almost always some pocketing, and therefore, calculus and biofilm present in the mouth, and the only way to know this is to probe every tooth. It is appalling that a minimally trained DA II would be allowed to do any scaling, and worse, for that minimally trained DA II to cause more harm than good by leaving behind the hidden subgingival deposits and biofilm that we, as hygienists, are trained to address.

The requirements for a Dental Hygiene license are strict, are regulated by the Board, and require continuing education each year to maintain. We have studied Human and Oral Anatomy, Head and Neck Anatomy, Oral Pathology, Histology and Embriology, Radiology, Nutrition... and we continue to keep abreast of new research and the whole body approach to Dental Health.

If there is a shortage of Dental Hygienists, then the answer is to educate more of us, not allow minimally trained personnel to provide substandard care.