LONDON, ON–The Ontario government has agreed to consider regulating Ontario’s dental assistants. Currently it is not mandatory that dentists hire dental assistants who are formally educated or certified, despite the fact that DAs have important responsibilities related to infection control, such as sterilizing instruments and disinfecting operatories.
“Dental assistants who are formally trained have knowledge of disease transmission and infection control,” says Judy Melville, executive Director of the Ontario Dental Assistants Association (ODAA). “With the heightened awareness of infectious diseases we feel the importance of proper disinfection and sterilization cannot be overemphasized.”
Dental assisting is currently a regulated health profession in eight provinces, with Ontario and Quebec being the exceptions.
