I was a dental assistant for 3 years. At the point I decided to further my career and education to become a dental hygienist. At first I thought "I've assisted the hygienist many times, how hard can it be?" After completing my dental hygiene degree at VCU I now look back and think how stupid was I? There is a lot of edcuation both clinically and lecture that sculpt a hygienist into what they are. I strongly oppose allowing dental assistants to scale Perio I patients. We as dental professionals should have our patients' care as our first priority. First, who will be the person to decide if the patients are Perio I or less? After they are classified, then they see the assistant? So they are seeing two people on the day of their appointment. If they have only one periodontal probing that is 5mm or greater, will the hygienst come in at the end and scale that area? If so, then they will be treated by three people in a 45-60 minute appointment. This makes no sense. Also, what is to stop a dentist from falsiifying perio probings to save money by not using a hygienist? Second, patients do not like confusion, they like order and familiarity. If we want our patients to continue to return to our offices and seek treatment, then we need to build trust. This will not happen by allowing uneducated and unskilled individuals scale teeth both sub and supragingivally. We will also see the prevalence of periodontal disease increase as the standard of care will decrease.