Update on Dental Assistant Scaling Certificate Program
Senate Bill 178/House Bill 970 updates Virginia law to allow trained and certified dental assistants with 1,800 hours of clinical experience to perform supragingival scaling and coronal polishing under indirect supervision, adding duties permitted to be delegated to credentialed team members in Dental Assistant I and II positions.
At its June 12, 2026, business meeting, the Board of Dentistry adopted a motion to add “supragingival scaling with hand and ultrasonic sealers certified by a dentist under Va. Code” as a hygiene duty that may be delegated to Dental Assistants I and II under indirect supervision of a dentist to its Guidance Document 60-7.
The law creates three pathways to training and certification from:
1. A licensed dentist or dental hygienist implementing a curriculum provided by a statewide association that is exempt under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and primarily represents dentists licensed in the Commonwealth
2. A federal program approved by or associated with the Indian Health Service or while serving on active military duty
3. An existing dental assistant education program
The Virginia Dental Association is developing a curriculum to fulfill the first pathway, consistent with national standards and best practices. The VDA expects that certificate program to be available for enrollment in 2027.
The VDA is developing the curriculum in close coordination with the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure, which includes representatives from the ADA, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), and dental examiners.
That curriculum will include educational materials for the dental assistants as well as for the members of the dental team conducting the training. The top consideration in developing the curriculum is patient safety and standard of care.
Key Insights from Virginia Dental Assistant Scaling Certificate Interest Form Submissions:
The VDA has been collecting interest forms from dental assistants in Virginia to assess interest and learn more about the practices that are interested in this pathway. Some of the early insights from those responses are:
1/2 of the dental assistants have worked for ten or more years in their field -- All have 1,800+ hours of clinical experience
2/3 of the dental assistants work in dental practices that treat rural patients
1/2 of the dental assistants work in practices that accept Medicaid
Dental Assisting National Board Survey
On September 18, the Dental Assisting National Board released the results of a national survey of more than 1,500 dental assistants, asking them their perspective on assistants being permitted to be educated to perform limited scaling procedures. Some of their findings include:
· 70 percent of dental assistants support their states permitting a pathway for assistants to supragingivally scale
· More than half (54%) of dental assistants are personally interested in the new role, and another 23% said they are “maybe” interested
The assistants surveyed also had an expectation that their certification to perform supragingival scaling would be reflected in their compensation. The survey results are available at https://danbsfprodassets.azureedge.net/assets/docs/default-source/marketing-and-surveys/scaling-assistant-survey.pdf
Additional Resources:
An Ethical Perspective for Emerging Dental Roles: Insights from Dr. Al Rizkalla, Chair of the VDA Ethics Council
Dental Assistant Scaling Certificate Interest Form
