Take action

1) Call or email your legislator

Be brief, polite, and specific. Focus on patient safety and transparency.

Phone script (30–45 seconds)

Hello, my name is ____. I’m a constituent from ____. I’m calling to ask the Delegate/Senator to oppose SB 178 / HB 970 as written. These bills expand scaling and polishing to a new assistant certification and risk incomplete care and patient confusion. Please protect standards of care in preventive dentistry. Thank you.

Email template

Subject: Please oppose SB 178 / HB 970 (patient safety and transparency)

Body:

Dear [Delegate/Senator] [Name],

I’m a constituent in [City/County]. I’m writing to ask you to oppose SB 178 / HB 970 as written.

These bills create a new “preventive dental assistant” certification that can perform limited scaling/polishing (“above-the-gumline” cleanings). I’m concerned this can normalize partial cleanings, confuse patients about what care they received, and delay detection/treatment of periodontal disease.

If the legislature moves forward, please add strict guardrails: clear eligibility criteria, independent competency verification, explicit patient disclosure/informed consent, mandatory outcome reporting, and a sunset clause with independent evaluation.

Thank you for your time, [Name] [Address or ZIP]

2) Keep it fact-based

When you share, include sources. This improves credibility and reduces the chance of being dismissed as partisan.

See: Sources