Dear Board of Dentistry,

I would like to bring to your attention that allowing Dental Assistants to scale  supra-gingival calculus will only decrease level of care that our patient receive.  You have all the facts and know very well that currently Virginia has a surplus of hygienists, including SW VA. What we need is more Dentists, it looks like we should be discussing a RDH II position with extended practice abilities, but instead we are trying to fix something that is working very well not only in State of VA, but in entire US. After all, the healthcare is about quality, not quantity. If we want to make dental care more affordable and accessible, then we need to consider options like Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner or opening new dental schools in VA.  We already have people in scrubs at the malls and in supermarkets bleaching teeth, they have no education or certification of any type and now we are going to let assistants to scale with sharp instruments?  Again, how can any one provide some type of treatment without proper education and license? Are you going to let someone like that to treat member of your family?