Dear Virginia Board Members,

I have worked as a licensed Dental Hygienist for 14 years in the Northern Virginia area.  I was a dental assistant for 5 years.  I wanted to furthur my education and the state of Virginia said I needed to be a RDH to scale teeth.  Therefore, I went back to school and paid for a college education.  I had 2 years of clinical experience to learn how to scale teeth (supragingival and subgingival) correctly.  We also studied oral anatomy, oral pathology, histology,pharmcology, periodontology and the llist goes on....Also, we must pass national and state board examinations and be licensed by our state to practice for good reason.  We dental hygienist want to provide professional-quality care and education.  I strongly believe that the quality of care would decrease if this legislation is passed.  I think any dentist that understood and valued the role of a dental hygienist would oppose this legislation.  I vote NO to Dental Assistant II Scaling!