I strongly oppose allowing the dental assistant II to scale. Not only would it compromise the integrity of our entire profession, but more importantly it would jeopardize the health of the unsuspecting patient in many ways. 

 

 

I am a recent dental hygiene graduate. I have temped in several offices and have worked with many different assistants. Though they have proven themselves time and time again to be a valuable asset to the oral healthcare team, I have yet to meet an assistant with the knowledge or skills to effectively perform tasks delegated to the trained registered dental hygienist.  In one office I was able to point out an oral candidiasis infection with which a patient was afflicted (something the dentist had completely missed) and the assistant at that time claimed she had never heard of candida, and as she put it, ‘had no idea something like that could happen in the mouth.’ A dental hygienist does not only scale.  I perform thorough and comprehensive exams on all of my patients, to include, but not limited to, oral cancer screenings, intra and extra oral exams, periodontal screenings, and high blood pressure screening. Is the dental assistant II going to be educated in any of these areas?  

 

 

If the goal is to lower cost to the patient or increase access, why not write to congress to encourage dental insurance reform? The answer is not cutting corners and allowing untrained, uneducated, and unregulated people to complete the job of a registered dental hygienist.