Allow dental hygienists to provide preventative care

By Kristina Compton
GUEST COMMENTARY

THIS IS regarding your Jan. 3 article "Dental hygienists fight to work on seniors."

I am perplexed that the California Dental Association (CDA) is so resistant to a state law designed to benefit the millions of Californians who don't have access to dental care.

Furthermore, it is appalling that the dentists' special interest group would stoop so low as to suggest the work of dental hygienists actually poses a more serious risk to patients than letting them go untreated.

What a ridiculously cynical smokescreen!

California's dental hygienists are highly trained according to standards set by the American Dental Association. Our skills allow us to slow the progression of oral diseases.

While dental hygienists are sincerely promoting a solution, CDA chooses to pay only lip service, preferring instead to expend its energy and political capital in the pursuit of its own selfish interests.

We in oral health care already know that untreated periodontal disease leads to organ disease, also that many seniors and the disabled are systemically compromised with disease already, often dependent upon taking medications for survival.

Why not let alternative practice hygienists help provide preventive services to the home-bound and persons with limited mobility at their place of residence, their familiar environment?

If not, should a law be proposed to make all dental offices wheelchair and handicapped accessible, including the restrooms and enforcing guidelines just like a hospital must follow? After all, are all dental offices providing oral health care services offered for all types of patients, from all demographics?

Is this nonaccessibility issue really a mere form of discrimination against the aging and severely handicapped?

I urge families, loved ones of seniors, and the handicapped to join dental hygienists in Contra Costa County and in California as a whole to set standards.

As a standard is set in the future, we will be saving vacation days, comp time and lost wages from calling in sick to provide the needed transportation for our aging and handicapped family members and friends because we will not be taking them to and from their often nonaccessible dental office appointments.

When in the future will there be enough dentists in California to serve the current and future underserved populations?

There can be no argument that this large and growing underserved population needs, deserves and expects high-quality, readily available oral health care preventive services for all in Contra Costa County and across California.

There are plenty of hygienists willing to provide these teeth-cleaning services immediately.

Meeting dental needs

Thank you for your article in which you give a clearer picture of the barriers that affect the dentally under-served populations of the elderly and disabled. There are an enormous and growing amount of people who the traditional dental community is not treating.

A registered dental hygienist who has a bachelor's degree, has been in practice for a minimum of three years (usually much longer) and has had additional education is uniquely qualified to treat special needs patients with dental hygiene needs.

These patients are living a medically compromised life due to the fact that they have not had access to dental care for many years, in most cases, until now.

Many members of the dental association are now becoming aware that the RDHAP's are treating a segment of the population that have not had access to dental care and therefore are not going to encroach on the traditional segment of the population that make up main stream dental patients.

There is still a lot of work to be done in order to make the RDHAP's services available to this growing segment of under-served people, our family members and friends.

RDHAP's are here to help!

Debra Hughes
Moraga

Kudos for covering the role dental hygienists play in optimal oral health and access to care. Ms. Holm hit the nail on the head with respect to the audacity of organized dentistry's comments regarding the Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice (RDHP). I find it even more interesting that the CDA representative claimed dentists were not aware of the RDHAP legislation when in fact they are mandated by state law to complete continuing education on the topic of the Dental Practice Act and governing laws at least once every 2 years... and this legislation was passed YEARS ago. The dental turf war is an ongoing battle between what is right for the consumers of California and the special interests of a very few. One only need attend a Dental Board meeting to assess the reality of conflicts of interest and pressure by the California Dental Association. The solution - establish a Board of Dental Hygiene. This board will not only assure competency within the profession, but continue to expand access to care and prevent dental diseases. Prevention is the key...treatment can be avoided for a lifetime of healthy smiles!

Kristy Menage Bernie, RDH, BS, San Ramon, CA