Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association Position Paper

RDH’s go through multiple years of school and training to do what they do. We should not allow someone who has not had the same level of training to do their job! It is a disgrace to even consider it!

I support this as President of VDHA

As a licensed dental hygienist in Virginia, I strongly oppose any proposal that would allow dental assistants to perform scaling procedures traditionally reserved for licensed hygienists. This change poses serious risks to patient safety and quality of care. Scaling is not a simple or routine task—it involves the removal of hard and soft deposits below the gumline, often in areas where disease and infection are present. This requires extensive knowledge of oral anatomy, pathology, and infection control, all of which are central components of a dental hygiene education and licensure process. Allowing individuals without this specialized training to perform such procedures could lead to misdiagnosis, incomplete removal of deposits, trauma to oral tissues, and worsening of periodontal conditions. This proposed change undermines the professional standards we’ve worked so hard to uphold and puts the public at unnecessary risk. If the goal is to increase access to care, the focus should be on expanding support for dental hygiene education and allowing hygienists to practice to the full extent of our licenses—not diluting the standards of care by assigning complex procedures to underqualified personnel. As someone who has had the unique opportunity to work in both roles—first as a dental assistant with no formal dental education, and now as a licensed dental hygienist with a bachelor’s degree—I can confidently attest that allowing assistants to scale would be a grave disservice to the citizens of Virginia. The difference in training, critical thinking, and clinical competency is profound. If the Commonwealth moves forward with this proposal, it will be lowering the standard of care and putting patient health at risk.

VA RDH

Please keep our profession and patients safe!

Make my voice count

Was ALL our hard work and schooling in vein? IF SO CAN WE GET ALL OUR TUITIONS AND CES REINBURST. Since it's so simple now !!!

Ontario, Canada RDH signing in solidarity with my American colleagues.

This will be a huge disservice to patients and cause further periodontal issues!!

I STRONGLY support the ADHA on their views. The ADA proposals are not good as far as oral and systemic disease goes for our population!

The ADA policies do not address workforce shortages. They undermine the established profession of dental hygiene and risk patient safety by failing to ensure appropriate training evaluation.

Our patients deserve better care than this

This proposal disrespects students of dental hygiene programs that have worked so hard to get a degree. This is not something u can teach in a 10 week program or on the job training. Dents patients deserve better.

I strongly oppose

Strongly oppose!

As we are connecting the health of the mouth to the health of the body overall, now is not the time to lower standards. Allow hygienists to work to the highest level of their licensure to prevent and treat disease.