Washington § 18.260.040 - Dental assistants — Scope of practice.

(1)(a) The commission shall adopt rules relating to the scope of dental assisting services related to patient care and laboratory duties that may be performed by dental assistants.

(b) In addition to the services and duties authorized by the rules adopted under (a) of this subsection, a dental assistant may apply topical anesthetic agents.

(c) All dental services performed by dental assistants under (a) or (b) of this subsection must be performed under the close supervision of a supervising dentist or supervising dental therapist as the dentist or dental therapist may allow.

(2) In addition to any other limitations established by the commission, dental assistants may not perform the following procedures:

(a) Any scaling procedure;

(b) Any oral prophylaxis, except coronal polishing;

(c) Administration of any general or local anesthetic, including intravenous sedation;

(d) Any removal of or addition to the hard or soft tissue of the oral cavity;

(e) Any diagnosis of or prescription for treatment of disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, or physical condition of the human teeth, jaw, or adjacent structures; and

(f) The taking of any impressions of the teeth or jaw or the relationships of the teeth or jaws, for the purpose of fabricating any intra-oral restoration, appliance, or prosthesis, other than impressions allowed as a delegated duty for dental assistants pursuant to rules adopted by the commission.

(3) A dentist or dental therapist may not assign a dental assistant to perform duties until the dental assistant has demonstrated skills necessary to perform competently all assigned duties and responsibilities.

Effective date—2023 c 460 ss 1-22: See note following RCW 18.265.005.