U.S. hygienists are voicing their concerns on social media after the American Dental Association (ADA) passed resolutions allowing unlicensed practitioners to perform dental hygiene services.
Recently, the ADA voted on and passed Resolutions 401, 413, and 514B, which would remove faculty-to-student ratios in dental hygiene programs and allow dental students and foreign-trained dentists to practice dental hygiene in the United States without passing a state licensing exam.
“As someone who’s worked hard to overcome obstacles, including profound hearing loss, it’s disheartening to see the recent ADA proposal that would allow foreign-trained dentists to perform dental hygiene services without a licence,” wrote a hygienist from the That Deaf RDH account, which has 1,411 followers on Instagram.
Another user responded, saying, “Feeling this,” adding, “We work so hard to be licensed, and how can an RDH not even practise in all states in our own country?”
In another comment, a user named tooth_fairynyc responded to a video with proposed solutions:
“We should have more dental hygiene schools. We should lower tuition and increase the acceptance rate, even with a C grade, so we can have more hygienists.”
“We don’t need international dentists doing hygiene on patients in the U.S. Maybe we should have international dentists work in offices with lower insurance reimbursements to compensate for the dentists who expect higher pay when they’re in-network.”
‘Resolutions threaten professional integrity’
In an open letter published Nov. 5, American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) President Erin Haley-Hitz, RDH, issued a strong objection to the resolutions.
“The proposed measures outlined in these resolutions threaten professional integrity and patient outcomes, and fundamentally undermine the dental hygiene profession,” said Haley-Hitz.
“ADHA strongly believes that rather than diminishing professional standards and undermining a complementary profession, constructive efforts should be directed toward improving workplace culture, enhancing professional development opportunities, and offering competitive benefits.”
According to the ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI), the dental sector is facing a workforce shortage, with a 10% reduction in practice capacity due to declining enrollment in dental assisting and hygiene programs, a trend worsened by COVID-19.
