Virginia Dental Association Suggests Three-Pronged Approach to Address Dental Hygiene Shortage
A Sterling, Virginia-based dentist Tarek Badawy, DDS, FAGD, FICOI, recently posted a YouTube video suggesting a three-prong approach — supported by the Virginia Dental Association (VDA) — to address Virginia’s dental hygienist shortage. It is estimated that the state needs more than 1,000 additional dental hygienists while only about 150 new clinicians graduate each year.
The suggested plan, “Deliver, Develop, and Deploy,” focuses on allowing foreign-trained dentists who can pass the dental hygiene board exam to work as dental hygienists, enabling expanded function dental assistants to provide supragingival scaling, and financially supporting dental hygiene schools. Badawy notes that the VDA will be meeting with legislators in the state capitol next month to promote this agenda.
The Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association (VDHA) is opposed to such an approach, citing the fact that dental hygienists are educated, licensed, and boarded professionals with thousands of hours of education supporting their skill set. The VDHA is encouraging all Virginia dental hygienists and dental hygiene students to visit the state capitol on January 23 to educate legislators on why dental hygienists are key to safe and effective patient care. Click here to watch the video.
