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A dental assistant by any other name…

The Professional Board for Dental Therapy and Oral Hygiene (PBDOH) has over the years received enquiries from Dental Assistants to change the Board name to include the profession.

These attempts were met with much resistance and this resulted in the Supreme Court of Appeal decision in November 2015 that Dental Assistants should be professionalised and registerable with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.

The Board was extremely concerned that the largest constituency of the Board, the Dental Assistants, were not reflected in the name of the Board. However, with pending legislation, the Board could not change its name to be representative of the three professions that it represents. Now that finality has been reached, the Board has engaged with the legal counsel within the HPCSA to begin the process of a name change to include the profession of dental assisting.

The proposed name for the Board will be the Professional Board for Dental Assisting, Dental Therapy and Oral Hygiene. It is important to state that, this is a lengthy and legally comprehensive task, as all rules, regulations, policies and references to the Board have to be amended to reflect the new name.

The Board reminds all Dental Assistants that they are recognised by the Board as valuable members of the dental professions and that they are represented on the Board by nominated dental assistants. The Board further emphasises that within the Board all three professions enjoy the same status.

The Chairperson of the Board, Dr Ahmed Muslim, encourages all unregistered dental assistants to ensure that they comply with the HPCSA registration and Board examination requirements, annual fee requirements, and that they adhere to the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requirements that are required for continuous registration.

Last Updated on 18 October 2016 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs