This bill creates a new licensed credential called an "oral preventive assistant" and adds new sections to chapter 18.260 RCW. Applicants must pay fees established under RCW 43.70.110 and 43.70.250, submit required forms, and show successful completion of oral preventive assistant training approved by the commission with consultation from the dental hygiene examining committee. The commission must adopt rules defining the scope of services oral preventive assistants may perform under dentist supervision, which must include dental assisting tasks allowed under dentist supervision, periodontal probing after an initial probing and dentist diagnosis, and dental prophylaxis for patients in a "healthy oral state" as defined by the commission. The bill amends RCW 18.260.040 to require the commission to adopt rules on the scope of dental assisting services and laboratory duties, allow dental assistants to apply topical anesthetic agents, require close supervision for dental assistant services (with sterilization allowed under general supervision), and list procedures dental assistants may not perform (including full scaling, oral prophylaxis except coronal polishing, administration of general or local anesthetics including IV sedation, removal or addition to oral tissue, making diagnoses or prescriptions for oral disease, and taking impressions for restorations except as delegated by rules). It amends RCW 18.260.090 to specify that the commission shall issue or deny initial or renewal credentials based on meeting requirements or on unprofessional conduct or impairment under chapter 18.130 RCW, and it authorizes the commission to adopt renewal requirements, including continuing education, for oral preventive assistants and expanded function dental auxiliaries. The commission (unspecified in the provided text), the secretary (for fees and forms), and the dental hygiene examining committee are named as responsible actors; licensed dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental therapists, and applicants for the new credential are affected. Dentists may not assign duties to oral preventive assistants or dental assistants until the assistant has demonstrated competency in the assigned duties. The provided facts do not identify which specific commission is referenced, do not describe the oral preventive assistant training curriculum or competency standards, do not provide the commission’s definition of "healthy oral state," and do not include any effective date or transition provisions.

If enacted, the bill creates a new licensed role called an oral preventive assistant who, after paying fees and completing commission‑approved training, could perform certain preventive dental tasks under a supervising dentist. That will give dental offices another staffing option to handle routine preventive work, which can free dentist and hygienist time but will require employers to ensure assistants complete the required training, demonstrate competency before being assigned duties, and pay any licensing and training costs. The dental quality board (the commission) will need to write rules on exactly what these assistants may do and set renewal or continuing education requirements, so practices should expect some regulatory and administrative work to comply. Key details needed to plan for costs and operations are missing: the bill text here does not specify the required curriculum or competency standards for the training, how the commission will define a “healthy oral state,” which specific commission is responsible, or any effective dates or transition rules. Those gaps mean offices cannot yet estimate training costs, timelines for hiring, or precisely which procedures can be delegated until the commission issues the implementing rules.