All healthcare professionals should be required to have formal training on infection control to protect patients and themselves.  Infection control is the most basic and important part of a dental assistant’s role in a dental office due to their direct access to patients and potentially infectious materials.  As someone with 28 years of experience as a dental assistant, hygienist, and educator, I have worked throughout the country and have seen egregious and frequent infection control breaches. 

These infection control breaches are not done with malice, but due to a lack of education.  The standards required to keep both staff and patients safe are not intuitive and must be taught.  On-the-job training is often an uneducated team member teaching another uneducated team member and is not sufficient to protect patients or themselves.  A thorough understanding of infectious diseases by dental assistants could prevent serious or even life-threatening cross-contamination.

Careers that require certification to work include: cosmetologists, nail care and eyebrow technicians, tattooists, cemetery salespersons, HVAC technicians, etc., why would dental assistants be different?  

The public assumes a standard of care will be provided when having treatment in a dental office.  If offices do not want to require their staff to be formally educated, they should be required to disclose that to patients.  Patient and provider health should be the number one priority of all dental offices, proper education of the entire dental team is an essential component of creating a safe environment.