I have been a dental assistant for 43 years.  I have taken DANB approved courses to improve my skills and give  the patients the best care possible.  I am in favor of the DA I & DA II proposal.  My main concern is for patient care.  I have seen assistants hired with no formal training from an accredited  program that seriously put patient care in jeopardy.  I am however not in favor of scaling done by assistants.  That is best left to the hygienist who specialize in that treatment.  My feeling and many of my assistant friends is that if you want to scale, go to school and become a hygienist.  Every team member has a place in the dental office and according to their formal training should be able to do what they are qualified for.  When I moved here 20 years ago, I was shocked that Virginia only required an assistant to be x-ray certified.   As with the dentist and hygienist, there should be regulations for assistants to follow.  How many would be comfortable having someone work in their mouth with no training?  I am a strong advocate of education and training.   Having DANB a part of the process would add the best monitoring that could be implemented.  Think of the patients and the best care they deserve to have by the best trained team.  It is time to set guidelines for assistants and bring them to the different levels according to their education training.