Access to care is definitely a concern, but access to quality care should also be part of the equation. Exactly what time and instructional quality, and standards set to oversee that the law is being applied, are you truly considering when changing the law to allow assistants to scale, supra and sub-gingivally? (Subgingivally to 3mm is significant. Is the already too busy dentist going to watch over this care?)

Technically you could train someone in a relatively short time to scale the teeth, but it is the knowledge of dental anatomy, dental materials used, dental equipment and its correct usage, the dental disease processes of gingival and bone disease, assessment of tissue health, ability to instruct the patient to learn to adequately care for their own mouth on a daily basis, knowledge of total health, oral complications of medications a patient may be taking, or oral complications of systemic or immune deficiency diseases that require more education, more knowledge and practice, that ultimately result in quality care to all.

I fail to see how lowering standards of care is better for the public and its access to care. To me, this law you are considering is opening a Pandora's Box of problems in regards to liability and quality of care.

I am not seeing my hygienist and dentist to scrape and scale my teeth, but rather to maintain my oral health which is definitely related to my overall health; and allowing someone to utilize a sharp blade (instrument) into my gingival tissue is not something I want to turn over to someone who does not have the background knowledge, practice, and care to totally understand the what and why of the procedure.

Mary Boyle, RDH, MEd