Dentist Licensure Requirements in Washington

The ADA lists four accepted practical/clinical examination pathways for Washington: ADEX (administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA), CRDTS+SRTA, DLOSCE, and, for graduates of an accredited Canadian dental school, the NDEB of Canada examination.

The practical examination must cover at least restorative, endodontic, periodontal, and prosthodontic sections plus comprehensive treatment planning or diagnostic skills, and all sections must be passed with the same testing agency or a maximum of two agencies administering the sections in coordination with each other.

Manikin (non-patient-based) or patient-based clinical examinations are both acceptable from approved testing organizations, and only results from within the preceding 5 years of the license application are accepted.

RCW 18.32.040 requires graduation from a commission-approved dental college or school, submission of a recent photograph, and passage of a practical and written examination set by the commission; the commission may accept a national or regional testing organization's certificate in place of all or part of the written exam, and must accept, in place of the practical exam, proof of a completed general practice, pediatric, or advanced-education-in-general-dentistry residency of at least one year in a Washington program serving predominantly low-income patients.

WAC 246-817-110 lists the full application package: proof of graduation from a DQAC-approved dental school granting a DDS or DMD, proof of passing the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (or Parts I and II of the prior National Board Dental Examination, or the Canadian National Dental Examining Board Examination), an official transcript, a chronology of practice history, proof of malpractice insurance if available, certification of any other licenses held, a completed practical/clinical exam or qualifying residency, a written jurisprudence exam, a photograph, and authorization for background inquiries.

WAC 246-817-120 sets the examination content itself: a written exam (the Integrated National Board Dental Examination, Parts I and II of the National Board Dental Examination, or the Canadian exam) and a practical exam covering restorative, endodontic, periodontal, prosthodontic, and comprehensive treatment planning or diagnostic skills sections, accepted from WREB, CRDTS, CDCA (formerly NERB), SRTA, CITA, a U.S. state or territory board clinical exam, or DLOSCE, plus the NDEB of Canada exam for approved Canadian dental school graduates.

RCW 18.32.215 lets the commission grant a license without examination to an applicant holding a valid license and currently practicing in another state, on payment of the required fees, if the applicant is a graduate of a commission-approved dental school, or has practiced in another state for at least four years and completed a one-year postdoctoral residency approved by the commission (the residency may have been completed outside Washington).

The commission may also require documentation of the applicant's current out-of-state license and evidence of knowledge of Washington dentistry law under the Uniform Disciplinary Act.

WAC 246-817-135 details the full application: a completed application and fee, verification from a U.S. state or territory board of an active, unrestricted credential and disciplinary history, proof of graduation from an approved dental school, proof of current practice (which varies by setting — federal service, dental school employment, residency program, or private practice at a minimum of twenty hours per week for the four consecutive years before applying), a written jurisprudence exam, a photograph, and authorization for background inquiries.

A licensed dentist may practice in all areas of dentistry but may only advertise or represent themselves as a specialist after completing a CODA postdoctoral education program at least two years long and recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards in one of twelve listed specialty areas (or a CODA or other USDE-recognized-accreditor advanced program at least two years long in a special-interest area not among the twelve).

A dentist who does not meet those standards is a general dentist and may render specialty services but may not represent themselves as a specialist; effective July 1, 2022, dentists in a group practice of two or more must be identified as a general dentist or a specialist, with specialists' area disclosed.

RCW 18.32.665 separately bars any fraudulent, false, or misleading advertising or representation of skill or method of practice.

WAC 246-817-440 requires a licensed dentist to complete a minimum of 63 hours of continuing education every three years, attested at renewal, with up to 25% of licensees randomly audited each cycle.

Within that 63 hours, a dentist must complete the commission-approved dental jurisprudence exam once every three years (1 hour credited) and at least 2 hours of commission-approved health equity training every three years.

Qualifying continuing education spans listed subject categories — dentistry practice courses, emergency/ACLS/PALS training, BLS (capped at 3 hours), infection control and radiation protection, pharmacology and pain management, ethics, patient care and risk management, Washington dentistry law, and practice management (capped at 21 hours) — completed through course attendance, self-study, teaching, direct clinical supervision of students, peer-reviewed publication, journal-article evaluation, volunteer patient care, or specialty board certification/recertification (credited as 62 hours).

WAC 246-817-441 separately requires a one-time, at least 3-hour suicide-prevention training, and WAC 246-817-909 requires a one-time, at least 3-hour continuing education course on opioid-prescribing best practices for any dentist who prescribes opioids in the state; both count toward the 63-hour requirement.