Action | Registration and practice of dental assistants |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 11/12/2008 |
I have read numerous responses to the issue in hand and several have stood out and when you combine all of them the answer it is very clear----no. I have been in private practice and as a contractor in a military dental clinic and I have seen the result of the DA/DT performances. My patients have told me their teeth never felt clean, 10 minutes in and out. Since they have RDH's now they appreciate having a professional who cares enough to not only perform the periodontal therapy (whether it was preventive or treatment) but also educate them on the disease etiology and how they can prevent it. Every patient is differnent in not only the oral cavity but also their health, the whole body, that is where the RDH is proactive, even in the perio class I or we will have every adult and teen needing periodontal treatment and be on perio maintenance for ever.
Before I could hold a scaler and actually scale a tooth whether it was sub or supragingival I had to have a VA state license and be governed under the Dental Board. So now we will have psuedo hygienist acting as hygienist without the license, not in the best interest of dentistry---think of the risk of litigation.
Even a periodontist and many other dentist in prior listings oppose this because they know they can't properly control the DA II in every patient's care. We also know that the fee would stay the same regardless of who performs the service or the insurance companies would be investigating.
We have laws for a reason---patient safety.