I do not agree with the dental assistants scaling.  They do not get the schooling needed for this.  Dental Hygienists are very critical to patients, they get the infromation needed to continue home care that they need.  This is something that takes more knowledge than we think to do.  Scaling is important to the patients health, especially if they have other health issues, and hygienists are trained to know all about these issues and how to deal with them.  Paitent care is critical to the hygiene profession and should be left to hygienists and not assistants.