WSR 26-01-125
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
(Dental Quality Assurance Commission)
[Filed December 18, 2025, 7:43 a.m., effective January 18, 2026]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Licensure requirements for expanded function dental auxiliaries (EFDAs). The dental quality assurance commission is adopting amendments to WAC 246-817-195 to allow the EFDA training for amalgam restorations on actual clinical patients to be optional. The amended rule allows amalgam restoration training on typodonts (plastic models) or on clinical patients, rather than requiring both.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-817-195.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 25-17-018 on August 11, 2025.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Debbie Gardner, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone 360-236-4893, TTY 711, email dental@doh.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: October 24, 2025.
Bryan Swanson, DDS, Chair
Dental Quality Assurance Commission
RDS-6364.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 21-01-215, filed 12/23/20, effective 1/23/21)
WAC 246-817-195Licensure requirements for expanded function dental auxiliaries (EFDAs).
To be eligible for licensure as an EFDA in Washington an applicant must:
(1) Provide a completed application on forms provided by the secretary;
(2) Pay applicable fees as defined in WAC 246-817-99005;
(3) Provide evidence of:
(a) Completion of a dental assisting education program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA); or
(b) Obtain the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) certified dental assistant credential, earned through pathway II, which includes:
(i) A minimum of ((three thousand five hundred))3,500 hours of experience as a dental assistant within a continuous ((twenty-four through forty-eight))24 through 48-month period;
(ii) Employer-verified knowledge in areas as specified by DANB;
(iii) Passage of DANB certified dental assistant examination; and
(iv) An additional dental assisting review course, which may be provided online, in person or through self-study; or
(c) A Washington limited license to practice dental hygiene; or
(d) A Washington full dental hygiene license and completion of a course in taking final impressions affiliated with or provided by a CODA accredited dental assisting program, dental hygiene school or dental school.
(4) Except for applicants qualified under subsection (3)(d) of this section, provide evidence of completing an EFDA education program approved by the commission where training includes:
(a) In a didactic, clinical and laboratory model to the clinically competent level required for close supervision:
(i) In placing and finishing composite restorations on a typodont and on clinical patients; and
(ii) In placing and finishing amalgam restorations on a typodont ((and))or on clinical patients; and
(iii) In taking final impressions on a typodont; and
(b) In a didactic, clinical and laboratory model to the clinically competent level required for general supervision:
(i) In performing coronal polish, fluoride treatment, and sealants on a typodont and on clinical patients; and
(ii) In providing patient oral health instructions; and
(iii) In placing, exposing, processing, and mounting dental radiographs; and
(c) The basic curriculum shall require didactic, laboratory, and clinical competency for the following:
(i) Tooth morphology and anatomy;
(ii) Health and safety (current knowledge in dental materials, infection control, ergonomics, mercury safety, handling);
(iii) Placement and completion of an acceptable quality reproduction of restored tooth surfaces—Laboratory and clinic only;
(iv) Radiographs (covered in path II)—Laboratory and clinic only;
(v) Ethics and professional knowledge of law as it pertains to dentistry, dental hygiene, dental assisting, and EFDA;
(vi) Current practices in infection control;
(vii) Health history alerts;
(viii) Final impression;
(ix) Matrix and wedge;
(x) Rubber dam;
(xi) Acid etch and bonding;
(xii) Occlusion and bite registration;
(xiii) Temporary restorations;
(xiv) Dental emergencies;
(xv) Risk management and charting;
(xvi) Intra-oral anatomy;
(xvii) Pharmacology; and
(xviii) Bases, cements, liners and sealers.
(5) Except for applicants qualified under subsection (3)(d) of this section, attain a passing score on:
(a) A written restorations examination approved by the commission; and
(b) A clinical restorations examination approved by the commission.
(6) Provide any other information determined by the secretary.