LIDHA
News and Newsletter
DHASNY 88th Annual Session 2008!
October 31 - November 2, 2008
Crowne Palaza. White Plains
66 Hale Avenue
White Plains, NY 10601
914-682-0050
Continuing
Education Courses, Exhibitor's Hall, Student Program and Table Clinics,
Poster Sessions and Business Meetings,
Presidents' Dinner and 2008 Awards Ceremony
Dental
Assisting Bills S3304 and A7369 Are Now New York State Law
by Ann Breeswine, RDH Vice President, Governmental Affairs
Dental Hygienists' Association of the State of New York
The journey of senate and assembly bills affecting the profession
of dental assisting has come to an end with the 2006 legislative session.
The passage of bills S3304 and A7369 in their final format is a huge
step forward for the profession of both dental assisting and dental
hygiene in New York. Not only were more stringent regulations put
into place for licensed dental assistants, the original goal of the
bills to place the regulation of licensed dental assistants into the
hands of dentists was removed. The Dental Hygienists' Association
of the State of New York (DHASNY) and the New York Dental Assisting
Association (NYDAA) worked together to inform legislators about the
dangers of moving the profession of dental assisting out of state
regulations by emphasizing the safety of the public as patient-clients
in any dental office setting As you may recall, the bills were first
introduced to New York legislators in 2005 with the intention of removing
the education commissioner's regulation over the practice of licensed
dental assisting and placing the profession under the authority of
dentist-employers. At the end of 2005, the S3304 had passed in the
senate but A7369 failed to reach the assembly floor. They reappeared
this January when they were re-introduced to the New York State legislature.
Following tireless efforts of DHASNY's and NYDAA's lobbyists as well
as a letter writing blitz by grass roots members of both associations
in May, it looked like the bills would fail to reach either the senate
or the assembly floor and we all breathed a tentative sigh of relief.
Of course, politics is rarely straight-forward and after a short time,
the bills came up again due to pressure on the legislators from the
New York State Dental Association (NYSDA). However, the final version
of the bills return the regulation of licensed dental assisting to
the commissioner of education and further define the procedures that
a certified dental assistant may perform "shall not include diagnosing
and/or performing surgical procedures, irreversible procedures or
procedures that would alter the hard or soft tissue of the oral and
maxillofacial area or any other procedures determined by the department."
It also further limits the educational settings for licensed dental
assistants to non-degree granting institutions "which shall not
be a professional association or professional organization…or
which shall be provided by a degree-granting institution or a board
of cooperative educational services program." A new day has arrived
for the professions of dental hygiene and dental assisting! Together
we have made an impact in Albany; legislators know who we are and
that we stand for patient safety and access to dental care for all
New Yorkers. The new law takes effect in January 2007; in the meantime,
rules will be determined by the commissioner of education to further
outline procedures which can and cannot be performed by licensed dental
assistants. DHASNY continues to monitor the progress of the rules
committee and will not hesitate to provide input when necessary to
protect the professions of dental hygiene and dental assisting and
most importantly, the safety of the patients under our care.
For more information on the workings of the New York State Legislature
and to find out who your legislators are, check out the New York State
Senate website at http://www.senate.state.ny.us/senatehomepage.nsf/home?openform
and the New York State Assembly website at http://assembly.state.ny.us.
UPDATE on ADHP
The advanced dental hygiene practitioner (ADHP) curriculum has moved
into the second phase of development. Based on feedback from members
and the ADHP advisory committee, a revised draft curriculum has been
developed that includes a vision statement, background information,
domains and competencies. The task force will be devoting considerable
time to reviewing and evaluating the feedback related to the curriculum
and preparing the next version. Members are encouraged to provide
feedback.
ADHA
Seeks Input on Draft Clinical Practice Guideline
Developing and redefining the clinical standards for modern dental
hygiene care is an area that is crucial to advancing our profession.
Technological and scientific advances have made vast changes in the
way dental hygienists provide treatment. The last set of dental hygiene
standards of practice were developed in 1985 and since that time there
has been no update to allow dental hygienists to benchmark how they
treat patients against a comprehensive standard of care. In 2003 the
ADHA Board of Trustees appointed a task force to develop a new clinical
practice guideline for dental hygiene. The draft clinical practice
guideline has been created and members are encouraged to provide feedback.
To provide your feedback, please go to
the ADHA websit: www.adha.org
New
York State licensed dental hygienists can become certified to administer
and monitor local infiltration anesthesia and nitrous oxide analgesia
during the practice of dental hygiene under the personal supervision
of a licensed dentist (effective August 7, 2003). (August 18, 2003)
The following local schools offer a local anesthesia
course:
Farmingdale State College – Dept. of Dental Hygiene
NYU College -school of Dentistry
Stony Brook –school of Dentistry
Online
Membership Renewal
Members
may now renew their membership on line at www.adha.org.
Members can login 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to update contact
information and pay dues.Your login is your ADHA membership ID number
which is found on your membership card or Access mailing label.
Your password is the first three letters of your last name on file
followed by your ADHA membership ID number
Our e-mail group is growing rapidly. As members and non-members
send their e-mail addresses to LIDHAinfo@gmail.com,
they are being placed in e-mail groups so that periodically we can
alert them to upcoming events, courses and news. If you would like
to be included send your e-mail address to us.
