The proposed legislation is an outrage. It increases the risks to patients and the liability of the dentist.  Furthermore, it diminishes the value of the dental hygienist within the dental community.

I have practiced dental hygiene for 15 of the last 16 years and even with all that experience, I was still uncomfortable when new procedures or instruments were introduced. My uneasiness came, not from the unfamiliarity or newness but, from the knowledge of the potential for harm to the patients that were under my care.  The dental hygiene profession was developed upon a base of scientific knowledge and a meticulous honing of psychomotor skills.  Keep the profession as it is - let there continue to be a clear deliniation between dental hygiene and dental assisting.