It is a disservice to dental assistants and more importantly to the public, to have uneducated assistants that are ignorant to the dangers they are a part of each and every day as they provide care to the patient.  The Infection Control certification and Radiation Health Safety certification through DANB is a very logical approach to a solution.  I believe that if the public were truly aware of the critical nature of this issue,  they would have grave concern when seeking dental treatment.  The organisms we deal with in today’s world of healthcare in general are far more infectious and life threatening than those of the “good old days”.  I believe that our approach to this should no longer be one that was appropriate for the “good old days”.