As  both a trained Dental Assistant and Hygienist I find that the two professions are uniquely different.  When I practiced as an assistant I did help to remove leftover cement; however, that did not qualify me to provide periodontal therapy.  I believe Dental Assitants are a great assett to the office by assisting chairside to the dentist.  A Hygienist on the other hand is providing another service that requires more education and training.  Not only do Hygienist have to graduate from an accredited Dental Hygiene Program, but they also must pass both National and Regional Board Examinations.  To even receive a license, a Hygienist must prove to be competent in regards to a patients overall oral health. 

I believe that the Dentists that are supporting this are doing so only to increase their profits.  An Assistants compensation is not that of a Hygienist because it does not detail the complexity of this speciality.  It is not in the best interest of the patient to have a practioner providing care without having the proper education, training, and experience. 

Please do not allow the standards of care to be compromised.  We are obligated to provide the best treatment to our patients.  This includes properly screening all patients and not only scaling what is visible to the eye.  This kind of "treatment" can leave a patient with untreated dental disease.  With all the knowledge that we, or at least Hygienist, have about the correlation between the oral cavity and the rest of the body, why would we take a short cut in providing care?  I am outraged that this is even being considered.