Dental assistant scaling is a gross neglect of patient care. Our patients expect and deserve the best care that we can provide. The dentists that are generally for this see it as a way to reduce overhead costs. This can in no way increase quality of care. It will confuse patients. Only doing a supragingival scale is not beneficial (look at the research!), patients can accomplish that kind of plaque removal at home without our help. Dental hygienists go to school for fours years to become trained in all facets of dental hygiene care. How will the dental assistant aproach issues such as medical history, or the "healthy mouth" that now is showing early signs of perio disease? This is outrageous.