Dentists and hygienists in Virginia are debating a pair of bills aimed at reducing workforce shortages, WHRO reported Feb. 2.
Seven notes:
1. SB178 would allow dental assistants to earn certification as a preventive dental assistant, with authorization to perform certain services and duties under dentist supervision, such as placing and finishing restoration materials, taking impressions, removing cement from crowns, adjusting removable oral appliances and performing coronal polishing.
2. SB282 would create a licensure pathway for internationally educated dentists to become hygienists.
3. While several dentists support the bills as a way for offices to see more patients and alleviate workforce pressures, hygienists are opposing the bills due to potential risks of patient harm.
4. Derik Sven, president of the Virginia Dental Hygienist Association, said allowing dental assistants to perform partial cleanings could cause inflammation to progress, leading to gum disease, saying “What they’re doing right now is literally trying to legislate malpractice.”
5. Ryan Dunn, CEO of the Virginia Dental Association, cited a study on oral preventive assistants in Missouri, which showed no adverse effects from these professionals performing limited preventive cleanings under dentist supervision.
6. Hygienists are also arguing that SB282 simplifies the role of a hygienist and that allowing licensure based largely on testing without comparable clinical training could put patients at risk.
7. Paul Logan, director of strategic initiatives for the Virginia Dental Association, said dentists in many other countries also train in preventive care and perform both dental and hygiene-related work.
