Dear Colleague,

Listed below you will find the accomplishments of the Arizona State Dental Hygienists’ Association since it was established in 1953. And I proudly state accomplishments by our professional organization.

Dental hygiene has experienced many changes and advances since its inception and always the American Dental Hygienists’ Association has represented the needs of the dental hygiene professional. ASDHA and ADHA represent us, protecting and advancing our profession, as we go about our daily lives and enjoy the freedom to practice dental hygiene in whichever area we have chosen.

As you read down the page, notice that only 20 years ago dental hygienists’ in Arizona were finally allowed to scale subgingivally. Yes, 1986. Until that time, you were required by law to pass the Expanded Functions program to scale subgingivally. In other words, you had to go back to school. Now, taking 3 to 8 hour CE courses to learn emerging technologies and continually update your knowledge are common practice. The Expanded Functions program held at Northern Arizona University was an intense 6 week, 8 to 10 hours a day (and then homework) program to enable a licensed dental hygienist to subgingivally scale, root plane, curettage, suture and give local anesthesia. This program exceeded any level of dental hygiene education offered in the country. Here, in Arizona. Presently we teach all of this in a standard dental hygiene curriculum. Has our profession developed, advanced and improved? The answer is yes, through the efforts of your colleagues in our professional association.

In 2004 ASDHA proposed legislation for Affiliated Practice (and it passed). If you are not familiar with this I invite you to a CE on Friday, October 13, 9 to 12 AM, to learn more. A to Z……everything on the AP is a 3 hour CE in category 1 sponsored by ASDHA. The CE is free to ASDHA members, and $45 to all other attendees. Attending this CE will allow you to see how your professional association has worked to advance our profession while providing preventive oral health care to Arizona’s underserved children, and educate you in the what, where, when and how you may practice as an AP RDH.

Membership in ADHA, ASDHA and your local component is $288 annually. Since most of us live on a budget these days, I understand that sounds like a lot. So I ask you – is 79 cents every day too much to protect how you earn your living as a professional? That is $5.54 a week and $24.00 per month. Is there anything in your life you can refrain from for $24 a month?

You may not know how ASDHA has protected you against a military dental tech, (who receives 4 - 6 weeks of training in the military), from receiving the equivalent of your two to four year education and allowed to become a licensed dental hygienist in the state of Arizona.

You may not know that until the legislation ASDHA passed this year on fluoride, that any individual, any person with no formal dental education at all, could apply fluoride to your child’s teeth in any setting at any time with no previous exam by a dentist.
But a licensed dental hygienist could not unless that child had been examined by a dentist within the last year and was working under the general supervision of a dentist.

You as a professional are able to perform your duties due to the dedication and hard work of ASDHA and its membership. You can not bring about these changes by yourself; together as members we have, we can and we will continue to do so in the future with your help. If we desire to protect our profession and advance access of preventive oral health care to all people in Arizona, young and old, member support is critical.

Irene Woodall stated “We are either drawn to the familiar, the secure, the predictable or we are drawn to the unknown, the challenging, and the varied.” What if the members of ASDHA in the 1970’s and the1980’s had been drawn to the familiar and secure? Would our profession in Arizona be where it is today? How would you be practicing dental hygiene and earning your living? I invite you to join ASDHA today.

Sincerely,

Cathy Bevers, RDH, BSDH, EF, AP
President ASDHA 2004-2005