Hygienists are williing but UNABLE to address various issued related to access to care, due to restrictive dental practice acts.  If this is meant to answer that issue, then more work needs to be done at the state levels to allow treating the populations most in need by Hygienists.  Dental Assistants receiving "minimal additional training" have no idea of the detail in patient treatment nor of the responsibility.  Dental Hygienists are the professionals that are fully educated in this regard.  What would be the purpose of lowering the standards for patient treatment?  Aren't we supposed to protect the public from untrained practitioners?  "Minimal training" just does not suffice.  To erode one profession for the gain of another is criminal, IMHO.  Would the Dental community be pleased to allow the erosion of their profession by allowing others with "minimal additional training" to place restorations or perform various other procedures?  And manpower shortages certainly cannot be at the heart of this proposal as the number of graduating Hygienist's far exceed the number of dental school graduates every year.