Dear Honorable Members of the Board of Dentistry,

I write to you on behalf of Virginia Health Catalyst (Catalyst) staff, board, and partners. Catalyst is a statewide advocacy nonprofit committed to ensuring all Virginians have equitable access to affordable, comprehensive health care that includes oral health.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the Virginia Board of Dentistry’s public petition for rulemaking to amend requirements for Dental Assistant IIs (DAIIs). Catalyst does not support the petition as written.

Catalyst staff and partners are committed to promoting programs and initiatives to increase the number of DAIIs in the commonwealth; we understand the immense value they bring to oral health care teams by supporting dentists and expanding patient capacity. Standardized training and certification is vital to develop both a robust network of DAIIs and an appropriate workforce pipeline in the commonwealth.

Catalyst is currently convening a taskforce (Future of Public Oral Health) comprised of oral health stakeholders from across the commonwealth to develop recommendations to improve public oral health systems and care in the wake of COVID and the inequities it amplified. While the recommendations are not final, the taskforce members recognize the tremendous value DAIIs bring to oral health teams and are considering opportunities to increase access to education and certification to ensure more DAIIs are practicing in the commonwealth. This will include a practical and standardized DAII pipeline of education-to-certification-to-employment. We welcome new partners to join us in this important work.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at sholland@vahealthcatalyst.org.

Thank you,

Sarah Holland

Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Health Catalyst