Going beyond dental assisting to prevention.

In Alberta, dental assisting became a regulated profession in 2006 under the Health Professions Act.1 By this act and its accompanying regulations, dental assistants registered by the College of Alberta Dental Assistants (CADA) and certified with additional training (Preventive Dentistry Module) were permitted to provide scaling procedures to patients with pockets up to 4 mm under the direction of a dentist or dental hygienist. Although not all reactions to this decision were positive, dentists, specifically those in rural areas, were pleased because it meant they would have qualified professionals to help provide preventive care to patients. The shortage of dental hygienists in Alberta is particularly acute in rural areas; dental assistants could provide an extra hand to dentists who found it difficult to attract hygienists to these areas. Dentists and dental assistants felt that having dental assistants perform this service would address care issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, demand and costs. Having the right provider provide preventive services to the appropriate patients within a suitable time frame met the goal of efficient oral health care.