Solutionreach Introduces Cutting-Edge Dental Insurance Verification Technology |

Solutionreach, a prominent patient engagement and communication platform, just unveiled its advanced dental insurance management capabilities, including Insurance Verification. This key addition to the Solutionreach platform is designed to empower dental practices by automating a manual insurance-related process, enhancing efficiency and accuracy, leading to faster collections and an improved patient experience.

Insurance verification stands out as one of the most crucial yet time-consuming and costly priorities in a dental provider's revenue cycle. The average manual verification transaction takes 13 minutes, time often spent by staff on calls with insurance payers or navigating their portals to verify patient insurance coverage and decipher data. These inefficiencies can contribute to costly errors resulting in claim denials and resubmissions, high administrative costs, and uncollected payments.

"We recognize the current challenges that dental practices face in managing insurance information, and we are thrilled to introduce our dental Insurance Verification product as a solution to simplify these processes," says Ken Ernsting, CEO of Solutionreach, in a press release. "By incorporating an automated verification process, we aim to empower dental teams to focus on what matters most – delivering exceptional patient care."

With the new dental insurance management features, Solutionreach offers dental practices a comprehensive solution to optimize their revenue cycle and improve operational efficiency at every step. The key highlights of this release include:

 Streamline administrative tasks with automated insurance verification workflows that reduce manual effort, minimize errors, and expedite the insurance verification process.

 The solution includes patient communication features that enable practices to request insurance information and communicate with patients regarding their eligibility status, reducing confusion and enhancing transparency.

 Insurance Verification seamlessly integrates into the Solutionreach platform, allowing dental practitioners and staff to view, request, and verify patient insurance coverage and status in seconds, ensuring a user-friendly experience.

This innovation aligns with Solutionreach's commitment to enabling practices with tools that enhance patient engagement, improve operational efficiency, and contribute to their overall financial success. This technology is designed to eliminate the need to scour insurance payor websites and prevent wasting hours on calls to verify patient insurance coverage, or dealing with countless claim denials due to inaccurate insurance information on file. With Solutionreach, dental professionals know if the insurance they have on file is active, what’s covered, and how to help patients make the best use of their benefits.

Solutionreach has been a pioneer in patient engagement for 23 years. The company's easy-to-use communications solution empowers healthcare practices to save time and generate more revenue while transforming the patient experience. The platform pays for itself tenfold by reducing no-shows, increasing appointment volume, and optimizing the value of every patient visit.

Solutionreach serves customers of all sizes in every healthcare sector, from single to multi-location dental, vision, and medical practices and organizations. Its solution has more than 400 PM/EHR integrations, with nearly 2 million SMS messages sent daily. The company has supported over 50,000 customer installations, directly helping 1 in 4 Americans experience next-level service and care.

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The company’s dental Insurance Verification product is designed to improve efficiency and accuracy in the insurance management process.

Solutionreach Introduces Cutting-Edge Dental Insurance Verification Technology

Centrix Announces New Silver Diamine Fluoride Solution SilverSense SDF™. Image credit: © Centrix

Centrix has announced its newest product offering–SilverSense SDF™ silver diamine fluoride solution. This desensitizer is designed to reduce hypersensitivity and provide more comfort for the patient as they await restorative treatment, according to a press release from Centrix.

It’s formulated with 38% silver diamine fluoride, acting fast to harden softened dentin. This enables the clinician to place the restoration on top without being concerned about sensitivity. Because it is designed to be antimicrobial, clinicians can be confident in its placement prior to the finished restoration. It is also said to have remineralization properties. The material itself is tinted blue to ensure easy visibility.

SilverSense SDF comes in 2 different package sizes–the Standard Kit which contains a single bottle and a Clinic Kit which contains 3 bottles–and the material itself comes in a 5 mL dropper bottle. This dropper bottle is said to dispense a single 30 μL drop, for easy application.

To learn more about SilverSense SDF, visit 

A new desensitizer from Centrix is said to provide an effective and efficient hypersensitivity solution for clinicians to incorporate in their restorative workflow. 

Centrix Announces New Silver Diamine Fluoride Solution SilverSense SDF™

American Heart Association and Delta Dental Team Up for Integrated Care. Image credit: © The American Heart Association

As dental and medical expand their knowledge of the link between heart health and dental health, Delta Dental and The American Heart Association have partnered to launch the Health Smiles, Healthy Hearts™ initiative. The initiative has two hopes–to accomplish expanded access to integrated, equitable care and to educate patients on this link, according to a press release from the companies.

Healthy Smiles, Healthy Hearts will call on dental clinicians to incorporate heart health screening at regular appointments. This screening includes blood pressure screenings which can be a significant indicator for any cardiac concerns, per the press release. Through these screenings, dentists and hygienists can refer patients to primary care physicians depending on the results.

A whole-body approach was the inspiration for this initiative, according to American Heart Association Volunteer president, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and Simon H. Stertzer Professor of Medicine & Radiology at the Stanford School of Medicine Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, FAHA.

“Oral health care professionals can play a pivotal role as part of a whole-body care team to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Wu said in the press release from the company. “When dentists and primary care physicians work together, we can create many more access points for quality, integrated health care and educate our patients on the impact of good oral hygiene on total health and well-being.”

Per a study cited in the press release, many patients see their dentists twice a year but are less likely to visit their primary care provider as much.1 This can cause certain issues and concerns to slip through the cracks, but dental clinicians who see their patients more often can rise to serve that need, per the press release.

“Oral diseases can significantly impact systemic health, and preventive oral care routines are critical to reducing associated health risks, including cardiovascular conditions,” Chief Dental Officer for Delta Dental, Daniel Croley, DMD, said in the press release. “Our collaboration with the American Heart Association marks a pivotal step towards strengthening access to quality, integrated care and emphasizes the role of dental visits as part of a holistic health check which can offer early detection and cardiovascular disease and other conditions.”

To learn more about this initiative, visit the 

Fleming E, Singhal A. Chronic Disease Counseling and Screening by Dental Professionals: Results From NHANES, 2011–2016. 

 2020;17:200152. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5888

A new initiative from Delta Dental and The American Heart Association aims to deliver integrated care and education on heart and oral health. 

American Heart Association and Delta Dental Team Up for Integrated Care

Stan Goff is a Managing Editor with MJH Life Sciences, which includes Dental Products Report, Dental Practice Management, Dental Lab Products, Modern Hygienist, and Dentist's Money Digest. He has covered the dental industry since 1999 and can be reached at sgoff@mjhlifesciences.com.  

Rodin™ Sculpture 2.0 Ceramic Nanohybrid 3D Resin

Rodin™ Sculpture 2.0 Ceramic Nanohybrid 3D Resin | Image Credit: © Pac-dent, Inc

All dental practices and labs looking for strength and esthetics in digitally printed restorations.

The Zirconia-infused ceramic nanohybrid resin’s applications include single crowns, inlays, onlays, and veneers.

Rodin Sculpture 2.0 is described as a next-generation zirconia-infused nanohybrid resin that achieves previously unseen flexural strength and ceramic filler content values, allowing the material to provide superior wear and fracture resistance and set new benchmarks in the ceramic nanohybrid industry. With a selection of 16 VITA classical shades and 2 additional bleach shades, clinicians gain unprecedented customization options.

The resin features a large increase in ceramic filler content to more than 60% and an exceptional biaxial flexural strength of more than 200 MPa, according to third-party validation data. These values reportedly indicate an impressive increase over those from other permanent crown and bridge resins.

Additionally, the material offers optimal resistance to wear and fracture, providing patients with enduring long-term solutions. For further esthetic enhancements, Rodin Sculpture 2.0 seamlessly pairs with acrylic-based light-curable stain and glaze systems, such as Rodin™ Palette.

Rodin™ Sculpture 2.0 next-generation zirconia-infused nanohybrid resin from Pac-Dent, Inc, is formulated to deliver high strength and esthetics.

5Ws* Rodin™ Sculpture 2.0

Brandi Hooker Evans is a registered dental hygienist and consultant. 

She acquired her formal education from Idaho State University, most recently earning a master's degree in health education. Hooker Evans has served the Idaho Dental Hygienists' Association as President, as well as her local Portneuf Valley Dental Hygiene Society. With nearly 2 decades of experience as a clinician in private practice, she has treasured her time as clinical dental hygiene faculty at Idaho State University and served on the ISU Dental Hygiene Advisory Board. Currently, Hooker Evans owns and operates Stellar Outcomes and Evans Dental with her husband, Dr. Eron Evans. Furthermore, she is an American Academy of Dental Hygiene accredited continuing education provider.

Image Credit: © stock.adobe.com / wladimir1804

Do you ever Feel like we're trapped in a box? Does that box look like 50-minute prophies back-to-back to back-to-back?

Have you ever pondered what it could be like outside of that box? Have you ever wondered who even made the box?

While I can’t blame anyone in particular for the box or even say that it is a bad box, I can say there is so much more if we are willing to imagine life and dental hygiene outside of the prophy box.

Let's look at the traditional role of a dental hygienist in a private practice dental office. What would it be like if we took all our education, continuing education, and experience to transform the typical dental recare appointment into a wellness visit unparalleled by any other provider?

Americans see their dentist more than any other medical provider. That puts us in the prime position to make a revolutionary change to the health care system in America. Because we are trained to be health screeners for the entire body, why not give it a whirl? Recently, I have seen dental hygienists integrate total body health into their assessment and treatment plan with outstanding results. The referrals for cardiovascular and endocrine (thyroid & diabetes) evaluations are prolific. These diseases are top killers in our country. How great is it that some of our colleagues are catching them early? When I speak to “whole body” RDHs, they report feeling valuable and fulfilled in their work. Who doesn’t want that?

What about the work that we perform in that dental office? After an amazing assessment and appropriate referral (if necessary) is completed, what else can we provide for them in our office that we currently are not?

Certainly, incredible periodontal therapy is at the top of my list. In addition, there is also an insatiable market for cosmetic procedures that we are already trained and licensed to do. This will have a wide range of appeal within specific geographic markets and consumer demographics. Rural farm towns may not be a hot spot for these services but a bustling city like Phoenix might.

The caveat to the “licensed” part of that claim will vary state to state. Which is another area of potential for dental hygienists that is often overlooked. There is endless work to be done for dentistry at the legislative level in our government. With everything from hygiene scope of practice to the abysmal state of dental insurance in need of attention, our entire profession needs great men and women with our background to lobby for appropriate laws. There are states in the union that still don’t allow local anesthesia and nitrous oxide to be administered by RDHs. That is especially alarming when other professions can do all kinds of procedures without a license. For example, in Idaho, medical assistants can administer local anesthesia and there are no requirements for training and licensure for phlebotomy. I do not know what the correct answers are in all these situations are but surely there is a large measure of logic and reason we could add to the current set of laws.

Might we also challenge working in the dental office only? What if it were commonplace to consult with a dental hygienist at the pediatrician’s office? Parents all over the country seek special care for their children to offer them the best chance of living a healthy life. We know that oral health is critical from the beginning of life. Sadly, many parents have no idea how to care for those cute gummy grins and are devastated when their child is in oral pain or has dark spots across all their front teeth.

The pediatrician’s dental hygienist could have profound nutrition and hygiene discussions with the parents. They could apply fluoride varnish, place sealants such as my product of choice in any setting—GC Fuji TRIAGE®—and make sure the family had a great dentist to visit for their regular dental appointments.

Imagine if children and their parents were equipped with the knowledge and skill to avoid that first round of dental decay? How great would it be to know that the full body infections of caries and gingivitis were vastly reduced because of the support we provided at the earliest stages of life? I know you know parents who believe that apple juice in the bottle is fabulous for a little one’s health. Such a great easy way to get fruit!..... Friends, we are soooo needed in this realm. And to be clear, that was a joke. Apple juice does not count as a serving of fruit.

Expanding upon the children and their parents needing our knowledge and assistance, what about the schools? Many schools have a nurse available regularly, if not daily. I see this position as a territorial position where a dental hygienist would be hired by the school district to rotate through the buildings within the district. It seems like an oral wellness program with classes for children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grades would further help eradicate the oral health calamity of our nation.

The Oral Health in America report from 2022 shows that dental caries is still the most prevalent disease in Americans even though it is largely preventable. We are seeing that the oral disease is directly connected to gut health and the rest of the systems in our bodies which means that if we can improve oral health and dental IQ in children, we can effectively promote overall wellness in our entire future population.

This career sounds particularly fun to me. Imagine creating classes for the little babes and having candid conversations with the teenagers. The collection of experiences from that large age range would be ongoingly entertaining. This also seems like a great program to have the potential for varnish and sealant placement as well as emergency screenings for toothaches. It would be similar to going to the school nurse for a headache, but the student would be able to have a professional evaluate their ailment and refer them to the appropriate place for treatment.

In the last few decades there has been a major push for dental hygiene care in nursing homes. This idea is brilliant and, if given more attention, it has the potential to improve the quality of life for our treasured elderly population on a large scale.

Often oral health is the battle that does not get fought in facilities where people are unable to care independently for themselves. I have a patient who comes in every month for a prophy (in this case it’s my best effort with the ultrasonic as fast as possible until I can see that her tolerance is spent) to help ward off pain associated with dental neglect. The nursing home she lives in takes great care of the rest of her body but because oral health has been overlooked, her daughter seeks treatment outside the facility. She does not want her mom to end up with a mouth full of cavities and gum disease. It is not a perfect scenario but a monthly visit to our office is better than the “nothing” that happens at her residence.

It seems that if this area of care was given more interest and support, the difference we could make would be profound. There is a cost associated with having a hygienist on staff at these facilities that I believe we could build into the cost of attendance, acquire grants for, or utilize the money otherwise needed for dental emergencies that would be avoided if there was regular care present. If you would like to see how big of a difference we can make and how rewarding the work can be, check out the Geriatric Toothfairy, Sonya Dunbar on 

. The joy and help she delivers to her patients and the fulfillment her career brings is priceless.

One of the largest needs I see in our nation is for dental hygienists to become myofunctional therapists. Or at least adding myofunctional therapy skills to help with the large number of patients we see every day in need of this service. The disease that our nation is suffering from based on mouth breathing, poor sleep, tongue ties, speech impediments, and skeletal formation is prolific. We have a great education in head and neck anatomy and a huge part of oral wellness is correct breathing, eating, sleeping, and speaking patterns.

A dental hygiene license is the perfect jumping off point to gain further skill to help our patients improve their oral and overall health in this way. There is not a day that goes by when I work as a clinician that I don’t scramble to find a myofunctional therapist to refer to. I live in Idaho and my favorite is Cheryl Shafer, RDH in Maryland. Thank goodness for Zoom, and even at that, there are not enough hours in the day to take referrals from the whole country.

She has saved people from surgery, sleep apnea, ADHD, and a gamut of other diseases that otherwise “have no treatment” or “just needs a pill” or “let’s pull a few teeth” and the list goes on. I have seen her work firsthand with my daughter. A child who has had surgery for airway issues that only helped mildly for a few months. After a few short appointments and a few specific exercises for homework, this girl no longer takes allergy medication every day, sleeps through the night, does not have headaches, does not have puffy eyes all the time, and can chew her food with her mouth closed. It is literally life changing. And as a professional, Cheryl works from home, sets her own fees, sees a positive difference in her patients’ lives immediately, and has career satisfaction to one of the highest levels I have ever seen.

There are countless ways that we hygienists can expand our scope of practice. We have unlimited potential. There has never been a better time to reimagine our careers. To visualize and increase the contribution we make to the health and wellness of our country.

What it will take is getting outside of the clock in and clock out prophy box most of us have felt trapped in at one time or another. I invite every single one of us RDHs to examine and reimagine our career. Whether we feel called to elevate our private practice game, create a new position at a different venue, lobby for more appropriate laws, or expand upon geriatric or myofunctional dreams, this is our time to think bigger.

Dream without limits. Make the most profound impact we possibly can. While the task will require work, the reward is sure to be exhilarating. Cheers to our careers as RDHs, reimagined.

Reimagining the role and scope of the work done by dental hygienists.

Visualizing Dental Hygiene’s Potential

DentalXChange’s New CredentialConnect Platform Simplifies Payer Credentialing Process | Image Credit: © DentalXChange

Designed to simplify the payer credentialing process for dental practices and dental service organizations (DSOs), DentalXChange has just launched a one-of-a-kind credentialing platform, CredentialConnect.

The new platform saves providers time and is said to also increase revenue by minimizing calls with payers, removing paperwork from the process, and expediting approvals by leveraging an electronic platform. DentalXChange has digitized and automated almost all dental insurance company’s credentialing forms and requirements, into a single uniform platform, the company says.

The intuitive CredentialConnect platform simplifies credentialing with a 3-step application submission process that allows dental practices to manage provider information in 1 place. This allows the ability to easily submit supporting documentation electronically. Practices receive proactive notifications when providers are due for re-credentialing, which eliminates the need for manual processes and ensures providers get paid on time.

“Our provider and payer clients deserve a better, more efficient, and contemporary credentialing experience. It is 2024, it does not make sense for dentists who are already understaffed and who want to be in-network across 10 to 15 insurance companies to be struggling across disparate payer requirements and handwriting on paper forms,” explains Paul Kaiser, CEO of DentalXChange, in a press release. “And payers need a single secure communication platform that does not require a dentist office staff member to sit on hold waiting. Simplifying and automating manual processes for the dental ecosystem is core to DentalXChange’s mission.”

and by clicking the “Credential Now” button you’re 3 steps away from getting credentialed, Kaiser adds in the press release.

This latest launch from DentalXChange comes just a few weeks after the company introduced its new artificial intelligence (AI)–powered platform EligibilityAI. EligibilityAI was created to automate pre-appointment eligibility and benefits verification processes to streamline front office operations.

By harnessing the power of AI, EligibilityAI synchronizes with the dental practice’s pre-existing schedule to ensure verification is completed before the patient’s appointment. The user interface then displays the patient’s eligibility information in easy-to-read datapoints that are standardized across all patients and practices.

Eligibility AI aims to get rid of these antiquated methods as well as any errors that can accompany manual claims checking. This also ensures that patients receive the care that they need and are covered for, adding to peace of mind for the practitioner. This beneficial technology is said to eliminate the hassle of reaching out to insurance companies, making front office workflows smoother and more efficient.

Since 1989, DentalXChange has been on the forefront of modernizing and innovating dental claims by creating dental payment solutions designed to make the payments process easier. Last fall a new partnership got underway to bring Scorpion’s digital marketing technology to clients of the DentalXChange payments platform. With the partnership, dentists using DentalXChange became able to use Scorpion’s marketing platform and Ranking.AI technology to find more patients, fill schedules, and help grow their practices.

DentalXChange has grown to support a current client base of more than 107,000 dental providers. Headquartered in Irvine, California, the company through its own clearinghouse, state-of-art technology consisting of modern APIs, and secure web portals, is said to process over 300 million transactions, consisting of more than 71 million dental claims annually.

The new solution is designed to simplify the process for dental practices and DSOs, and expedite approvals by leveraging an electronic platform.

DentalXChange’s New CredentialConnect Platform Simplifies Payer Credentialing Process

Kellie Nock is the assistant editor for Dental Products Report. She graduated from Kent State University in 2018 with a Bachelor's in Journalism. Kellie enjoys multimedia content creation with a focus on audio and video storytelling. 

5Ws* Elvatome 2.0. Image credit: © TBS Dental

Information provided by TBS Dental | Compiled by Kellie Nock

A surgical instrument for simple to complex extractions.

Any procedure that requires precise extraction of a tooth, including implant treatment.

Because of the complexity of tooth extractions, it’s vital to ensure clinicians not only successfully remove the tooth but also do so in a way that is ergonomically sound. elvatome® 2.0 provides a comfortable grip and has a specific spade tip that enables clinicians to push the tooth out of its socket rather than pull it out.

elvatome 2.0 features both palm grip and pen grip options with its TWIST handle to enable the dentist to find the exact purchase point to push and twist the tooth out of its alveolar housing when applying the right amount of pressure along the long axis of the tooth. Added to that, elvatome 2.0 is thicker than the original elvatome, providing more comfort for the clinician using it.

This surgical instrument makes tooth extraction more ergonomic, more efficient, and less complicated for the clinician.

5Ws* elvatome® 2.0

Vyne Dental Unveils Image Sync for Vyne Trellis. Image credit: © Vyne Dental

Dental revenue technologies company Vyne Dental, has announced the launch of Image Sync, a new enhancement to the Attachments feature in its revenue acceleration platform Vyne Trellis. This innovative addition is designed to save time, reduce errors, and streamline workflows in the dental practice, according to a press release from Vyne.

Image Sync is said to deliver integration with supported imaging systems and the Vyne Trellis revenue acceleration platform, empowering users to attach high-quality patient images to claims. Some key features include direct access to patient images, which will allow users to eliminate the hassle of taking and exporting screenshots; as well as patient-specific images, which ensure that the correct patient image is matched to the correct attachment.

Image Sync is also said to bridge the gap between the practice's claims, attachments, and imaging system, creating an integrated and user-friendly platform. Users can navigate between processes without switching between disparate systems, which will eliminate previous hassles.

To learn more about Image Sync, or to start using it in your practice, visit the 

This new feature for Vyne Trellis ensures efficiency, error reduction, and more streamlined workflows when it comes to dental images. 

Vyne Dental Unveils Image Sync for Vyne Trellis

Essential Dental Systems, known for its commitment to innovation, has announced the integration of the Enhanced Dental Solutions (EDS) formula into CEMPOWER Luting Cement. This integration combines the EDS formula with the enhanced performance of CEMPOWER to create a high-performance material, according to a press release from the company.

The EDS formula is said to bring transformative enhancements to CEMPOWER. Some notable features introduced through the EDS formula include new rheology–CEMPOWER benefits from a novel rheological profile, for smooth and precise handling during application; adhesive monomers that are said to establish a superior bond to zirconia; fillers that are designed to enhance bond strength; high moisture tolerance; long-term hydrolytic stability with a blend of Bis-GMA free monomers; and enhanced biocompatibility.

"We are thrilled to introduce the integration of the Enhanced Dental Solutions formula into CEMPOWER, elevating the material to new heights of performance and reliability," Executive Vice President at EDS, Dr Allan Deutsch said in the press release. "This remarkable advancement represents our commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions that empower dental professionals and redefine patient care."

To learn more about this new material, visit the 

CEMPOWER will now benefit from Essential Dental Systems’ EDS formula to bolster this restorative material. 

Essential Dental Systems Integrates Formula into CEMPOWER Luting Cement

Lynne Slim is an award-winning dental author who has published extensively in dental/dental hygiene journals including 

Journal of the Western Society of Periodontology

. She was the periodontal columnist for RDH magazine for about 17 years and is now a columnist for 

 and is a member of their advisory board. In 2003, Lynne founded Perio C Dent, a dental practice management company that specializes in the incorporation of non-surgical periodontal therapy into the hygiene department of the general dental practice.

As a key opinion leader in the dental industry, Lynne is frequently asked to review new products and write product reviews. She participates in product development and is consulted about consumer/RDH product awareness. Lynne received the Philips Oral Healthcare “Mentor of Distinction” award at the 2012 ADHA Annual Session.

Ms. Newkirk received her dental hygiene degree from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in 1981. A recognized key opinion leader in periodontal endoscopy, Suzanne has published numerous articles and co-authored several dental textbook chapters on minimally invasive non-surgical periodontal therapy with use of the dental endoscope.

Ms. Newkirk is the national and international dental endoscopy instructor for Zest Dental Solutions and is a professional speaker. Her website is: 

, the authors discussed the 1998 Kansas House Bill (HB) 2724 authorizing dental assistants to scale teeth supragingivally. The HB was written to address a shortage of dental hygienists in the state and outcomes from the 2007 performance audit report of the Kansas Dental Practice Act. The report indicated dental scaling assistants are only subject to minimal oversight by the Kansas Dental Board and unlike dentists and dental hygienists, they are not required to be licensed.

In 2015, Illinois became the second state in the United States to authorize dental assistants to scale teeth supragingivally on children 12 years of age and younger after attending a weekend course.

Although both the Kansas and Illinois scaling assistant bills require a dentist or dental hygienist to complete the prophylaxis after the supragingival work has been completed by the assistant, most of us know that time constraints of the dentist and dental hygienist prevent this from occurring as it is not an effective use of time. This suggests offices utilizing scaling dental assistants typically end up billing the supragingival scaling procedure as a complete prophylaxis. However, there is no CDT procedure code for supragingival scaling because the American Dental Association does not recognize it as a separate therapeutic procedure.

In 2021 approximately 333,942 healthcare providers, including members of the dental field, left their jobs due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The American Dental Association Health Policy Institute Report on Dental Workforce Shortages identified enrollment in dental assisting programs had been trending downward since 2015, and the pandemic had a negative impact on dental hygiene program enrollment. While there has been some recovery of enrollment in dental hygiene programs, data suggest that dental assisting program enrollment will not rebound in the near future. As a result, workforce shortages are likely to remain an issue for years to come.

Hence, some states have again begun looking for “solutions” to the dental hygiene workforce shortage by initiating legislation via a scaling dental assistant. In 2021, the Wisconsin Dental Association initiated legislation for an expanded duty dental assistant which included scaling. However, after strenuous opposition and advocacy by the Wisconsin Dental Hygienists’ Association, this section of the bill was removed. In 2022, the Illinois Dental Society passed legislation authorizing dental assistants with 32 hours of instruction to provide coronal scaling on Medicaid children 17 years of age and younger. And in 2023, a House representative and dentist from the Bozeman area introduced HB411 under the premise of the “workforce shortage of dental hygienists that would have authorized dental assistants to provide an “oral prophylaxis” on children aged 12 and under.

 Although Kansas and Illinois allow “coronal scaling” by dental assistants, this bill would have been the first to allow dental auxiliaries to provide a complete prophylaxis.

The bill did not include any language requiring a preprocedural evaluation, a post-procedural check, nor did it contain language that parents be informed that an unlicensed person other than a licensed dental hygienist would be cleaning their children’s teeth.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Dental Association (CDA) has created a Resolution “to direct the CDA to submit a Sunrise Review application to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies to address the expansion of dental assistants’ scope of care to include scaling dental assistants.

In researching data for this article, nothing can be found in any common dental database, research articles or abstracts to indicate supragingival scaling alone (without a complete prophylaxis) increases access to dental care or provides a health benefit to the public. As such, one might suggest that delegation of dental hygiene duties to dental assistants is motivated not by a sincere interest in patient health, but rather to maximize profits

Dental hygiene is the only licensed health care profession regulated by another profession to depreciate the rigors of one’s education, training, and licensure to that of a weekend course.

Although dental hygienists know the value of the oral health services they provide, local state legislators do not. Their job is to provide legislation that benefits the public at large. Without understanding the scope of practice of dental hygienists or their education, state legislators will continue to pass legislation for scaling dental assistants. As licensed oral healthcare professionals, it is our job to inform them of the possibility of incomplete care with little or no health benefit. This takes the form of a grassroots effort which begins with getting to know your local state senator and representative.

The Montana Dental Hygienists Association was able to defeat the scaling dental assistant legislation using 3 “A” pillars to their lobbying efforts: advocacy, accuracy, and all together.

This begins by introducing yourself to your local state legislator and scheduling an appointment to meet them in person to discuss concerns impacting your profession. Provide your legislator with accurate information and data to support your concerns. This should be done now regardless if your state is looking at implementing scaling dental assistant legislation. Become a member of your professional Association as legislators want to know that information and it provides a greater voice to make an impact at the state legislature.

Imagine taking your child to a dental practice with certain expectations from a licensed, primary oral health care professional only to discover that care was provided by a technician who may have completed a weekend course. What happens when this so-called technician or “scaling assistant” uses sharp and/or powered instruments in a child’s mouth with no knowledge of fulcruming and instrument safety? Dental hygienists are educated to solve oral health problems of patients and residents based on a process of care that is well defined by the United States and Canadian Dental Hygienists’ Associations. The dental hygiene process of care serves as a foundation for the dental hygienists’ role as professionals who are primary healthcare providers.

 Even in the early 1900s, Dr Alfred C. Fones, educated the first dental hygienist, Irene Newman, for an entire year before she began treating patients in his dental practice.

Do we really want to stand still and go backwards by promoting oral health care interventions by unlicensed scaling assistants? What happens if we do nothing? The Scaling Dental Assistant may be coming to a state near you!

PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT, Kansas Dental Practices Act: Determining the Impact of the 1998 Changes to the Act https://www.kslpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/r-07-23.pdf

ADA HPI Dental Workforce Shortages: Data to Navigate Today’s Labor Market. American Dental Association. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/dental_workforce_shortages_labor_market.pdf?rev=e6025d77df184e6c95dc7cefde4adee3&hash=225FCBBCCB67174AAFC760FE2287322D#:~:text=Vacant%20positions%20in%20dental%20assisting,positions%20is%20a%20contributing%20factor

Montana HB 411. LegiScan. https://legiscan.com/MT/text/HB411/id/2683516

The Montana experience: Fighting House Bill 411 to protect children. RDH Magazine. https://www.rdhmag.com/career-profession/article/14291305/the-montana-experience-fighting-house-bill-411-to-protect-children

Kwak SH, Bae SM, Shin SJ, Shin BM. Definition and Classification of Dental Hygiene Interventions Based on the Dental Hygiene Process of Care: A Delphi Study. 

. 2023;20(17):6704. Published 2023 Sep 2. doi:10.3390/ijerph20176704

The 100 Year of Evolution of the Science and Practice of Dental Hygiene. DentistryIQ. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dental-hygiene/clinical-hygiene/article/16363590/the-100year-evolution-of-the-science-and-practice-of-dental-hygiene

In this follow up piece to “The Scaling Assistant,” we take a look at the complicated laws behind scaling assistants, and how to ensure your patients receive the best care possible. 