§ 18.29.190. Initial limited license
(1) The department shall issue an initial limited license without the examination required by this chapter to any applicant who, as determined by the secretary:
(a) Holds a valid license in another state that allows a substantively equivalent scope of practice in subsection (3)(a) through (j) of this section;
(b) Is currently engaged in active practice in another state. For the purposes of this section, "active practice" means five hundred sixty hours of practice in the preceding twenty-four months;
(c) Files with the secretary documentation certifying that the applicant:
(i) Has graduated from an accredited dental hygiene school approved by the secretary;
(ii) Has successfully completed the dental hygiene national board examination; and
(iii) Is licensed to practice in another state;
(d) Provides information as the secretary deems necessary pertaining to the conditions and criteria of the uniform disciplinary act, chapter 18.130 RCW;
(e) Demonstrates to the secretary a knowledge of Washington state law pertaining to the practice of dental hygiene, including the administration of legend drugs;
(f) Pays any required fees; and
(g) Meets requirements for AIDS education.
(2) The term of the initial limited license issued under this section is eighteen months and it is renewable upon:
(a) Demonstration of successful passage of a substantively equivalent dental hygiene patient evaluation/prophylaxis examination;
(b) Demonstration of successful passage of a substantively equivalent local anesthesia examination; and
(c) Demonstration of didactic and clinical competency in the administration of nitrous oxide analgesia.
(3) A person practicing with an initial limited license granted under this section has the authority to perform hygiene procedures that are limited to:
(a) Oral inspection and measuring of periodontal pockets;
(b) Patient education in oral hygiene;
(c) Taking intra-oral and extra-oral radiographs;
(d) Applying topical preventive or prophylactic agents;
(e) Polishing and smoothing restorations;
(f) Oral prophylaxis and removal of deposits and stains from the surface of the teeth;
(g) Recording health histories;
(h) Taking and recording blood pressure and vital signs;
(i) Performing subgingival and supragingival scaling; and
(j) Performing root planing.
(4)(a) A person practicing with an initial limited license granted under this section may not perform the following dental hygiene procedures unless authorized in (b) or (c) of this subsection:
(i) Give injections of local anesthetic;
(ii) Place restorations into the cavity prepared by a licensed dentist and afterwards carve, contour, and adjust contacts and occlusion of the restoration;
(iii) Soft tissue curettage; or
(iv) Administer nitrous oxide/oxygen analgesia.
(b) A person licensed in another state who can demonstrate substantively equivalent licensing standards in the administration of local anesthetic may receive a temporary endorsement to administer local anesthesia. For purposes of the renewed limited license, this endorsement demonstrates the successful passage of the local anesthesia examination.
(c) A person licensed in another state who can demonstrate substantively equivalent licensing standards in restorative procedures may receive a temporary endorsement for restorative procedures.
(5)(a) A person practicing with a renewed limited license granted under this section may:
(i) Perform hygiene procedures as provided under subsection (3) of this section;
(ii) Give injections of local anesthetic;
(iii) Perform soft tissue curretage; and
(iv) Administer nitrous oxide/oxygen analgesia.
(b) A person practicing with a renewed limited license granted under this section may not place restorations into the cavity prepared by a licensed dentist and afterwards carve, contour, and adjust contacts and occlusion of the restoration.
[2006 c 66 § 1; 2004 c 262 § 3; 1993 c 323 § 2.]
Notes:
Findings -- 2004 c 262: See note following RCW 18.06.050.
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Last modified: April 7, 2009