Dental assistants in Virginia already have a severely limited education and training because dentists cut and gutted their education and training around 2012-2013. Heck, they can already be on-the-job trained.. I was a dental assistant for six years, I even worked alongside dental hygienists, assisting them, and never once dreamed of picking up a sharp tool I hadn’t been properly trained or educated on bow to use, in ANYONES mouth. Also, isn’t there a shortage of dental assistants, too? How do they plan to fill a shortage, with another role that is also in short supply? And how about we start looking into why they seem to want to cut and gut the education and training of other oral healthcare professionals, when it suits their needs to do so, no matter what the risks to the public are?! Because it really seems to me, that some are not upholding their Code of Ethics that they vowed to uphold before ever being handed their license to practice! This is absolutely repulsive and dental assistants should heed the warning of the decades of control and dictating ways hygienists have been stuck under the thumb of.. because that’s exactly what they are trying to do, trap them into being dictated and controlled and no other options for change or growth, unless of course it benefits and suits their ”needs”. This has GOT TO STOP, because our communities and population of people are the ones suffering from restricted QUALITY prevention care and education. And how DARE they offer “less than” care to a population of people that have already not received access to routine oral healthcare services and education, those are the ones that need QUALITY care, the most! Makes me truly DISGUSTED to be a part of such a TERRIBLE and NONCARING system. Do better, or allow others to do it better, bc I promise, that wouldn’t be a hard feat to accomplish..