Learning Objectives:

• Analyze emerging trends in workforce delegation within dentistry and examine how evolvingrolessuch as‘preventive assistants’underscore theneed for licensed dental hygienists to practice at the top of their scope
• Demonstrate strategies for elevating clinical care through comprehensive assessments, periodontal charting, systemic risk screening, airway evaluations, and oral cancer detection, reinforcing the irreplaceable value of the licensed RDH.
• Identify key opportunities for dental hygienists to elevate their role through enhanced clinical decision-making, interdisciplinary communication, and patient-centered care that differentiates the RDH from delegated support roles.

This isn’t a breakout session. It’s a rallying cry. In a time when the role of the dental hygienist is being diluted, redefined, or outright delegated, this keynote challenges us to take a hard look at how we got here, and what we’re going to do about it. From missed diagnoses to overlooked assessments, we’ve seen how easily our profession can be misunderstood... and undervalued. But it’s time to change the narrative. Through powerful storytelling, clinical insight, and a clear-eyed look at legislation like the Oral Preventive Assistant bill, this session calls hygienists to reclaim their identity as licensed health care providers, not prophy machines. We'll explore what it truly means to practice at the top of our scope: assessing risk, managing disease, identifying systemic links, and guiding patients toward whole-body health. If others think “anyone can do it,” then it's up to us to show them what only a dental hygienist can do. Because if anyone can do it...it’s time to make sure we’re doing so much more.