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"Your job and your profession aren't as secure as you might think..."

Preceptorship is a major threat to dental hygiene education, licensure and practice.

• In North Carolina, pediatricians and nurses are performing fluoride varnishes because hygienists are restricted from the performance of the care for which we are educated and licensed. There are not enough dentists to serve the public's needs.
  
  
• Alabama still has a preceptor trained hygienists. Kansas passed a bill allowing assistants to scale. Other states are also seeking changes to alter the profession of dental hygiene.
  
  
• In 2000, RDH's saw major changes in our profession when the Illinois Legislature made changes in our Practice Act by allowing assistants to apply sealants, fluoride and polish teeth.
  
  
• Licensed dental hygienists must be prepared in the 21st century to treat the population and provide that treatment in the settings where we are most needed.

"Isn't it time to insure your professional future?"

Being a member of your professional organization helps to insure that the IDHA will have the means to foster gains for the improvements of the public's oral health and help protect our professional future.

In 2002, 325 hygienists will graduate compared to 95 dentists and the United States Bureau of Labor reports there is a continuing shortage of dentists. RDH's have the "People-Power" to provide care more readily and help avert the crises in oral care. 

Many changes are facing our profession. House Bill 3788/Senate Bill 752 is access to care legislation that would allow licensed dental hygienists to take action in addressing the disparity of oral health care in Illinois. It would allow registered dental hygienists to practice under general supervision in alternate practice settings outside the private dental practice.

IDHA's Government Relations Committee and legislative staff are working hard to protect the interests of our members, but it takes financial backing and activism from hygienists such as yourself to continue to move forward.

"Insurance provides security and peace of mind."

You probably pay yearly premiums to protect:

• Your car?
  
  
• Your life?
  
  
• Your family's health?
  
  
• Your home and possessions?
  
  
• Your income if become disabled?
  
  
• Yourself against malpractice?

If so, doesn't it also make sense to insure the one thing that makes all of these payments possible? Insure your professional future by becoming a member of the ADHA/IDHA today.

"...and the cost is only pennies a day."

The cost of membership in the ADHA/IDHA is about $220 per year. This breaks down to...

$18.33 per month / $4.23 per week /$0.60 per day

Isn't the investment that you've made in your education and professional standing worth sixty cents per day?

Don't hesitate..act now! Become of a member of the ADHA/IDHA. Contact Gina Strelecki at (847) 634-3848 today.

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