People who know me will not be surprised that I am commenting a second time. I would like to address dental assistants who read these posts. We are by no means reducing who you are as a member of the dental team. In fact, you are invaluable! To be a trained expanded function dental assistant would be very exciting and give so many more elements to the job. There are so many functions you will be doing: packing and carving amalgams, making temps, taking impressions....on top of all you already do. We hygienists can't reiterate enough how easily it is to miss a pocket on a "routine, no calculus, easy" patient.

In our large, busy practice we have the most talented hard working dental assistants.They utilize all their talents for the best interest of the patient ( and the practice). Why would we add duties that might endander their professional career. Many dental assistant's, as I, choose to go back to school and are shocked at all the science we had to learn. I thought since I was a CDA that I already "knew it all". What a wake up call and how proud I am that I made that move!

A would also like to point out, with all due respect, Dr Glasgow's comment about making it legal for trained dental assistants to take an ultrasonic and use it on a ten year old. This is just one example of possible improper training. One must be very careful using an ultrasonic on teeth that are not fully developed. Will your dental assistant know when it is proper to use it and if she does isn't it going to be tempting to take it a little further? How is it possible to supragingivally scale anyway? 1-3 mm's is still subgingivally!

We as a dental team need to start really working as a team. No shortcuts, no shortchanging patients, no cheating ourselves. Work smarter, not harder.....