Virginia Dental Association Asks CODA to Adopt Proposed Revision to Increase Pool of Eligible Faculty in Accredited Dental Hygiene Programs
Prior to its most recent meeting, the VDA and a coalition of state dental societies successfully urged CODA to revise its standards for dental hygiene education to allow licensed hygienists with two-year degrees to serve as clinical faculty. Most dental hygienists in Virginia hold a two-year degree, and this change allowed graduates of our two-year programs to return as faculty members.
The Commission is currently accepting comments on an additional revision, that would permit internationally educated dentists and dental hygienists to serve as faculty in accredited dental hygiene education programs. Internationally educated dentists are already permitted by CODA to serve as faculty members in dental schools, and several are serving in that capacity at the VCU School of Dentistry.
The VDA has submitted the following comment to CODA in support of this revision to increase the potential pool of faculty members in allied dental programs.
The Virginia Dental Association, representing 4,000 member dentists in the Commonwealth of Virginia, supports the proposed addition to Dental Hygiene Standard 3-6 as it pertains to qualified internationally trained dentists and dental hygienists serving as faculty.
Virginia law already permits a faculty license to teach dentistry in an accredited dental program to internationally educated dentists with demonstrated clinical competency and clinical experience that meet the credentialing standards of the dental school with which the applicant is to be affiliated.
This proposed revision would similarly allow states to recruit dental hygiene education faculty from a broader pool of qualified, experienced professionals with advanced degrees and help address one frequently cited barrier to the sustainability of dental hygiene education programs.
The Virginia Dental Association strongly supports this proposed revision to Accreditation Standards for Dental Hygiene Education Programs and encourages CODA to adopt it.
