My career in dentistry has spanned numerous states and has been both in private practice and as a dental hygiene educator. I am NOT in favor of the approval of a Dental Assistant II. I know from personal experience that dentists cannot or will not identify the specific class of patients who have supragingival calculus, i.e., those who the proposed auxiliary will be treating. Repeatedly I have seen general dentists mis-identify periodontal classes, so how can we expect them to legitimately define the "appropriate" patient? In addition, dental hygiene treatment has always been rendered by licensed practitioners who make judgements during treatment on how to best treat the patient. The judgement to do this comes after at least a minimum of 2 years preparation and with multiple patients. A Dental Assistant II who receives minimum training (several weeks? several months?) cannot be expected to have the judgement needed to serve our patients who should be our main focus.