Action | Registration and practice of dental assistants |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 11/12/2008 |
As a dental technician trained to clean teeth in the navy and having done so for 3 and 1/2 years, I saw many, many patients who suffered from having inadequate cleanings by personnel such as myself. That wasn't our fault. We simply weren't trained adequately to treat patients with the care that hygienists are. I knew it then, and I know it even more now. I was good, but even after doing it for all that time, with all of that experience, it's no match for being a highly trained hygienist, which I became after that. The difference is that I knew it, and I told my patients that and advised them to see a hygienist when they could or when they got out.