Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association Position Paper

We have to be on top of all this or our profession will become obsolete! When we provide sooo much more than a production mule!

So would be like a medical assistant trained to do what a RN does.

Registered Dental Hygienist go through just as much schooling and training as Registered Nurses. We are both highly trained professionals. Unfortunately the term “Shortage” is being used out of context. Acrossed the board in the dental and medical fields professionals are being over worked and underpaid. But we all strive to achieve the quality of care for our patients and are fighting for them to still acquire that care with working in our line of work. Instead of narrowing it down to just Dental Hygienist people need to open their eyes and realize it’s not only our profession having staffing issues it’s a wide range of professions, but we are getting targeted which is unfortunate.

Against!!

I am supporting the ADHA position paper on Opposition to ADA Policies 524H-2024,513H-2024 and 401H-2024 and resulting legislation introduction around the United States.

We must not reduce educational standards in any field. On the job training is not a replacement for the years of college education hygienists undergo. The public will be hurt by unqualified assistants attempting to provide care.

I strongly oppose this bill because it undermines the education, training, and licensing standards that dental hygienists work hard to achieve. Dental hygienists undergo rigorous academic preparation and must pass multiple examinations to ensure they can provide safe, high-quality care to the public. This bill threatens to devalue their professional qualifications and could compromise patient safety. The dental hygiene community deserves respect and recognition for its expertise—not legislation that diminishes its role in healthcare.

Let’s keep the public safe , I don’t want an unlicensed person without a degree performing tasks only a hygienist should be doing.

Please protect our scope of practice and the patients/community we serve.

would you want a pilot “trained on the job” by one person or attend pilot school first with thousands of hours under their belt by qualified professionals? same with nursing! There is a 2 year program for radiology just like dental hygiene programs, and you want to take the education away?! this is not the solution for the public.

Foreign trained dentist do not have the education to replace CODA educated dental hygienists. The safety and health of the patients would be gravely jeopardize if Foreign trained dentist would be their hygiene providers!

As a CODA certified Registered hygienist i strongly oppose this bill. Lessening the qualifications and quality of professional healthcare provider is never a viable option to for trying to improve the workforce. Consider adding more CODA accredited programs. Deal with the poor insurance rates that is driving a divide between doctors and hygienists by pushing poor work environments. A written and clinical board should always be a practice: we wouldn’t want dentists, doctors, nurses , surgeons unlicensed or not taking a board exam to practice today. A dental hygienist is a viable healthcare professional that requires education, clinical training and should always require taking a board exam and clinical exam to ensure that they are qualified to treat patients.

Opposed!!!

This is irresponsible and short sighted. I strongly oppose.

Please protect patients by providing COMPLETE hygiene services and continuing to requireme science based degrees. Hygienists are more than tooth scrapers!

CODA accredited licensed dental hygienist are necessary for quality care. Shortcuts in education and compressive training will only lead to lack of care to patients and liability. These efforts do not solve a "shortage" of hygiene care. Working together with licensed hygienists and working with insurance companies to pay reimbursement rates that are reflective of today's cost, is the only method to not only solve this problem, but improve the dental industry, workplace environment, and patient care.

I have worked in Sarasota, FL for one year last year and took over a practice that had a foreign trained dentist as their hygienist. The result was more than 70% of patients were under-diagnosed and had periodontal disease. And guess who had to let the patients know and course correct them in the right direction... Me. A CODA accredited RDH. This is proof from first hand experience that this does not work at all. Secondly, OPA's are a worse idea. Not to mention unethical. If foreign trained dentists can't do our job at all, then what makes you think assistants can? This is downright unethical, below the standard of care, and infringes the health of the general public and our communities. Please keep that in mind.

Proud ODU graduate! We need to protect patient safety!

1 year ago Featured

Passing this bill is nothing short of compromising the care of the community. How will you ensure that the minimally trained assistant will be seeing only "healthy" patients. Answer: YOU CAN'T AND YOU WON'T.

This policy is a threat to the quality of care patients receive as well as their safety. It is based in greed and pointing blame at a profession they wish to control at any cost. The shortage is multifaceted in reason. How about blaming the ever-increasing cuts dental insurances take out of what we produce as clinicians?