H-721                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1806

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Braddock, Patrick, Jacobsen, Belcher, Hine, Brough, G. Fisher, Hankins, Brekke, Appelwick, Jones, Wineberry and Nelson

Read first time 2/6/89 and referred to Committee on Health Care.

AN ACT Relating to constraint of trade for dental hygiene services; adding a new section to chapter 18.29 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that present law results in restricting the public's access to dental hygiene services as defined in chapter 18.29 RCW, restricts competition between two professions, and establishes a monopoly within the state of Washington for persons licensed under chapter 18.32 RCW.  The legislature finds it necessary to eliminate restrictions in current law to promote public access to cost-effective and competitive dental hygiene services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 18.29 RCW to read as follows:

          A dental hygienist licensed under this chapter, who has two years' practical clinical experience with a licensed dentist within the preceding five years, may perform dental hygiene services without the supervision of a dentist.  These services shall be limited to removal of deposits and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, application of topical preventive or prophylactic agents, polishing and smoothing of restorations, assessment and treatment planning for dental hygiene services, injections of local anaesthetic agents for dental hygiene treatment, and root planing and soft-tissue curettage.  For dental planing and dental treatment, dental hygienists shall refer patients to licensed dentists.