It has come to my attention that the Board of Dentistry has decided to not adopt regulations for this new position. Per the VDHA lobbyist, the Virginia Dental Association lobbyist said in committee, in response to VDHA's comment that the legislation bypassed the Board of Dentistry, that the BOD would absolutely adopt regulations for this new law and the VDA and VDHA would work together on those regulations. (This was said during the House of Delegates Health Professions subcommittee meeting on 2/5/26 at approximately 10:45am.) It now seems that is not happening. 

The legislation only requires certification on the job by a dentist, with no formal regulated training or schooling. This is done “under oath” per the new legislation. So it’s ok for the dentist to say “ok you’ve done the training, no test, I just say you are good to go”. There will be bo cohesiveness in training and it will vary from doctor to doctor, Would you feel comfortable having someone, with no regulated test or board taken to determine they can even perform said skill, working with sharp instruments in your mouth? Just the “ok” by the dentist. There’s zero checks and balances with this. 

Regulations and proper training must be put in place concerning this position and it was promised there would be. This is not an “on the job” skill. Hygienists go to an accredited program, which requires thousands of hours of clinical skills, evaluations, didactic classes and board exams to be able to do the same skill. But now it’s ok to have on the job training to perform hygiene procedures and “certification” from the dentist? This is mind boggling. The people who sponsored this legislation need to be held to these promises for the health and welfare of general public. An unregulated position like this will surely lead to neglect down the road. It is important that this position has proper guardrails in place to assure the public’s safety and access to proper care.