If DA II's are allowed to scale the only door this would open for access to patient care is dentists running "prophy mills" by less than paid/trained personnel. The public would suffer. As for the rural areas suggesting a shortage of hygienists, start a hygiene program in your locality. If  assistants want to scale they need to go to hygiene school to complete the intense/rigorous training that all hygienists undertake with compassion and expertise. Are the employing dentists ready to deal with cumulative trauma, ergonomics and disability claims from their possible future DA II's?

Furthermore, even proposing dental expenses being less expensive to the public is ridiculous. That is a cover up for the crunch in which your dental insurance companies that dentists have contracts with have put you in. Your gripe should be with the insurance companies, not with lowering your overhead.

I am insulted and appalled at the very thought that a "lesser"  trained person would care for my patients or any member of my family or friends. We as hygienists take our careers very seriously. We pay our own malpractice insurance, buy our own loupes, pay for our own CE, and have very little benefits to begin with. We do it all with a smile day in and day out.

If you want  more balance in your practice, try hiring your hygienist a full time assisstant! We are providers, just like the dentists whether they like it or not. Hygiene should not be an income booster, it should be a practice keeper!

In many cases, but not all, dental assistants do more than allowed under the law anyway. Why let this undermining practice prosper ? It's sad, but the reality is the patients do not know the difference. Why propose to deceive the public further?Please do not allow DA II's to provide scaling, It's bad enough that they could polish and cause irreversible pulpitis resulting in RCTx for a patiient's tooth.

MCV/VCU Grad 2001