1915: Connecticut amended its dental practice act to include the regulation of dental hygienists. 1917: Irene M. Newman received the world's first license as a dental hygienist in Connecticut in 1917. 1923: The first meeting of the American Dental Hygienists' Association took place. 1950: The University of Toronto established the first dental hygiene program in Canada. 1959: Esther Mae Wilkins, an American dental hygienist and dentist, authored the first comprehensive book on dental hygiene, Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist, the first edition of which was published in 1959. 1964: The American Dental Hygienists' Association deleted the word "female" from its constitution and bylaws. 1965: Jack Orio graduated from the University of New Mexico, making him the world's first male dental hygentist. 1974: Dental hygienists were first trained in New Zealand in 1974, for use in the New Zealand Defence Force. The 1-year course was taught by the Royal New Zealand Dental Corp at the Burnham army base outside Christchurch. 1975: The dental hygiene profession was introduced in Australia. 1993: The New Zealand Dental Hygienists' Association was founded. 1994: The first independent non-military training for dental hygienists in New Zealand began in 1994. Training Australia Dental hygienists in Australia must be graduates from a dental hygiene program, with either an advanced diploma (TAFE), associate degree, or more commonly a bachelor's degree from a dental hygiene school that is accredited by the Australian Dental Council (ADC) under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. In Australia it is a legal requirement for dental hygienist and oral health therapist graduates to be registered with the Dental Board of Australia before practising their scope in periodontology in any state or territory in Australia. The Dental Hygienists' Association of Australia (DHAA) Inc., established in 1975, is the peak body representing registered dental hygiene service providers in Australia. A dental hygienist does not need to be employed by a dentist but can independently assess patients and make treatment plans within their scope of practice whilst working in the community. Practising as an autonomous decision maker, and working within the scope of only what they are "formally" trained in. The National Law requires the same level of professional responsibility from dental hygienists, oral health therapists and dental therapists as it does from dentists, dental specialists and dental prosthetists in that all practitioners must have their own professional indemnity insurance and radiation licences. They are also required to