Beginning January 1, 2019, continuing education requirements for Washington state dentists will change. View amendments to the rule here, and read on for a summary of changes from the Washington State Department of Health. You may also visit the DOH FAQ web page for rule change information.

The Dental Quality Assurance Commission adopted amendments to clarify continuing education (CE) requirements. Amendments clarify CE subject matter, minimum and maximum number of hours in specified subject matter, and methods to obtain CE, including web-based options. The dental commission adopted the rule changes on April 20, 2018 and filed the CR103 Rule Making Order on June 6, 2018 as WSR 18-12-116. The new requirements begin January 1, 2019. 

Changes include changing the CE reporting period to three years. Please note, although the CE reporting period is changing from annually to every three years, this does not change the annual renewal of a dentist license. You must still renew your dental license every year on or before your birth date.

Changes include:

• Sixty-three CE hours every three years; license renewal is still annual on your birthdate.
• Jurisprudence examination required once every three years, counts as one hour of CE (free, online, open book).
• No limit on live webinars.
• Specialty board certification/recertification counts as 62 hours of CE, earned in CE reporting period.
• Self-study/online CE – 30 minutes counts for every one hour completed; no limit on number of total hours.
• Basic life support, count one hour per year (three hours total for three-year reporting period).
• Clinical supervision is acceptable CE.
• Publishing a paper is acceptable CE.
• Reading journal articles is acceptable CE, with additional requirements.  
• Award of fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, master of AGD, or lifelong learning and service recognition award counts as 62 hours of CE.

The three-year requirement begins January 1, 2019. 

You begin obtaining your CE for the three-year reporting period beginning on January 1, 2019. 

First CE due date will be with your renewal in 2022. 

• Example: Your birthdate is June 15, 2019. Begin obtaining 63 hours of CE on January 1, 2019 through June 15, 2022. 

Dentists should continue to maintain their current 21 hours of CE through renewal in 2018.

The DOH has also created a summary table covering continuing education required for licensed dentists under the new rules.

View Summary Table 
For additional information, please see the DOH FAQ web page. 

Members with questions regarding Washington’s new dentist CE rules may contact WSDA at info@wsda.org or (800) 448-3368.