The American Dental Hygienists’ Association has published a white paper arguing that dental hygienists should have self-governance, not just self-regulation.
The profession’s current model allows for partial oversight but not enough authority to ensure access to preventive care, according to an Aug. 18 news release from the ADHA.
According to the white paper, scope-of-practice restrictions on hygienists raise the price of basic preventive services by about 12%, and greater hygienist autonomy is associated with more preventive visits and fewer restorative needs.
Recommendations to improve and modernize dental hygiene governance include establishing independent dental hygiene regulatory bodies; separating the dental and dental hygiene practice acts to reflect two distinct professions; aligning scope of practice with education and demonstrated competence; expanding direct reimbursement pathways in Medicaid and commercial payer systems; and replacing mandatory supervision frameworks with collaborative practice models.
The white paper compared dental hygiene to nursing, pointing to how full practice authority for nurse practitioners has been associated with improved access to care in underserved and rural areas.
The white paper was written by Derik Sven, an ADHA fellow and president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association. Read it here.
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