As a solo practioner of 13 years, I am concerned with the current attempt to change the regulations in the veterinary practice act that will take away the ability for assistants to descale teeth as per 18VAC150-20-172 line 8. This procedure has been in place for many years and can be taught and supervised quite easily. I feel that the current regulations in place which prohibit the below the gum line descaling are quite adequate and don’t need to be changed. These changes will place a strain on the veterinarian community which is suffering from a shortage of veterinarians and LVT’s as it is. Many of our surrounding states do not have these regulations in place and I believe it is arrogant to believe that this state is practicing veterinarian medicine in a superior manner. I believe that these changes are an attempt to place more constraints on an already well (and possible over) regulated profession. At the end of the day the full responsibility rests on the shoulder of the veterinarian any way. Why would this regulatory body feel the need to put in place more restraints? Have there been complaints about this procedure being done wrong? If so, how many? This is a procedure that is performed correctly on possibly thousands of dogs and cats every day. I do feel the need to protect the place of the LVT’s but isn’t that already being done with the restriction of subgingival root planing and extractions of single rooted teeth? I believe that this restriction will restrict access of many animals that are in desperate need of professional dental care. Dental disease is one of the leading problems affecting pets. The unforeseen consequences of this change will result in reducing access to professional dental cleanings from the public, and ultimately negatively impact the health of our animals. This goes against our mandate of do no harm!
