LIFE SAVING ADVICEPreceptorship is a term used to describe on-the-job training, teaching dental assistants to perform dental hygiene services without the assistant ever having to attend an accredited dental hygiene program (formal education and clinical supervision by credentialed faculty). Allowing unlicensed personnel, like assistants, to perform dental hygiene services without first assessing the status of oral health, determining the need for specific services, and formulating a dental hygiene treatment plan is poor oral health care.
Dental groups who favor shifting dental hygiene services to dental assistants say they are doing so due to a shortage of licensed dental hygienists. However, there is no valid evidence to substantiate this claim. In fact, the number of dental hygiene program graduates has exceeded the number of dental school graduates for many years.
Only 50 percent of all Americans receive regular oral health care, according to the Institute of Medicine. Many segments of the population, such as the elderly, disabled, and those in rural areas do not have access to regular oral health care. Restrictive supervision laws for dental hygienists are the number one barrier to access to regular oral care. Laws that require dental hygienists to practice in the presence of the dentist make access to care more difficult. Since dental hygienists are restricted, they are forced to go where the jobs are, instead of where patients need them. This is the case because dental hygienists, unlike most health care professionals, are not allowed to regulate their own profession. In fact, dental hygiene is virtually the only licensed health profession that does not regulate itself.
Dental Hygienists are the experts on dental hygiene education and practice, while dentists are oral health specialists, with additional concentrated training in restorative skills. Dental hygienists spend from two to four years almost exclusively learning dental hygiene theory and practice. Registered dental hygienists are the experts in preventive oral health.
Preventive oral health care is necessary to keep people healthy. Registered dental hygienists are the professionals best suited to guarantee prevention because they are licensed and educated to provide safe, quality care to all persons.
Your Registered Dental Hygienist... “The Best Friend Your Teeth Can Have...” ...a Licensed Professional
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© 1999 Paula Harris