I strongly oppose allowing dental assistants to perform any scaling duties.  Allowing this would seriously compromise the safety of patients in the state of Virginia.  Dental hygienists are trained not only to scale teeth, but also to perform assessments including an oral cancer examination and periodontal evaluation.  Hygienists are trained to review the patient's medical history to ensure safe treatment.

As a dental hygiene educator, I have worked with several dental assistants who have returned to school to train as hygienists.  They overwhelmingly report that they would not have been qualified to perform any scaling duties before their dental hygiene education.  I truly do not believe that it is in the best interest of patients to allow this to happen.