PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Dental hygiene, new section WAC 246-815-XXX Dental hygiene practice in senior centers.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 18.29.130.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: SHB 1298, passed in the 2007 legislative session. The bill allows a dental hygienist to remove deposits and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, apply topical preventive or prophylactic agents, polish and smooth restorations and perform root planing and soft-tissue curettage on seniors in senior centers with off-site supervision by a dentist licensed in Washington. The department is considering adopting rules defining and regulating this practice.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.
Process for Developing New Rule: Collaborative rule making.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Vicki Brown, Department of Health, Dental Hygiene Program, P.O. Box 47867, Olympia, WA 98504-7867, phone (360) 236-4865, fax (360) 664-9077. This notice will also be sent via e-mail to all individuals on the dental hygiene listserv, to all interested parties and to all individuals on the dental listserv.
July 26, 2007
Mary C. Selecky
Secretary