Continuing Education

Washington State dental hygienists are required to complete 15 clock hours of continuing education (CE) annually. WAC 246-815-140

Continuing education is defined as any of the following activities:

(a) Continuing education courses offered or authorized by industry recognized local, state, private, national and international organizations, agencies or institutions of higher learning. Examples of sponsors or types of continuing education courses may include, but are not limited to:

(b) (i) The Washington State Dental Association, American Dental Association, National Dental Association, Washington Dental Hygienists' Association, American Dental Hygienists' Association, National Dental Hygienists' Association, including the constituent and component/branch societies;

(ii) BLS for health care providers, advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA), or emergency related training such as courses offered or authorized by the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society, or any other organizations or agencies;

(iii) Self-study through study clubs, books, research materials, or other publications. The required documentation for this activity is a summary of what was learned, not to exceed five hours per year;

(iv) Distance learning. Distance learning includes, but is not limited to: Correspondence course, webinar, audio/video broadcasting, audio/video teleconferencing, computer aided instruction, e-learning/online-learning, or computer broadcasting/webcasting that includes an assessment tool upon completion;

(v) A licensee who serves as an educator or who lectures in continuing education programs or courses, that contribute to the professional knowledge of a licensed dental hygienist may accumulate hours for the content preparation of the program or course, not to exceed ten hours per year;

(vi) Attendance at a continuing education program with a featured speaker(s);

(vii) Courses relating to practice organization and management, medical/dental insurance courses, or retirement, not to exceed five hours per year;

(viii) Dental hygiene examination standardization/calibration workshops and dental hygiene examination item writer workshops, not to exceed ten hours per year;

(ix) Provision of clinical dental hygiene services in a documented volunteer capacity when preceded by educational/instructional training prior to provision of services, not to exceed five hours per year. Volunteering must be without compensation and under appropriate supervision;

(x) A licensee who serves as a public health official or employee, contractor for a state or local health agency, community prevention education expert, or works in a field that relates to prevention activities in public health dentistry, may accumulate hours for the content preparation of providing services, education, or training to the underserved, rural, and at risk populations, not to exceed five hours per year; and

(xi) College courses.

The Department of Health may randomly audit up to twenty-five percent of practitioners for compliance with the continuing education requirements after the credential is renewed as allowed by chapter 246-12 WAC, Part 7.

For more information, visit the Washington State Department of Health's dental hygienist continuing education web page.

Upcoming CE Events or CE Resources:

For the most current WDHA sponsored CEs please check our calendar.

Suicide Screening & Referral, with Special Emphasis on Imminent Harm Via Lethal Means - Randi Jensen

Course Materials

Suicide Screening & Referral, with Special Emphasis on Imminent Harm Via Lethal Means Powerpoint *
Case Study - Marillee *
Safe T Placard
Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised
The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

* Password protected. If you are a past attendee please email info@wsdha.com for the password.

ADHA Online CE Courses

ADHA offers a wide selection of convenient online continuing education courses in easy-to-use self-paced modules. Each course is followed by a post-test that can be completed and submitted online, by fax or by mail. Course fees are noted, $18 (ADHA members), $30 (non-members) or free. Courses range from 2 to 4 CE units per course. Successful participants will be awarded either 2 or 4 CE units for each course, as noted. To begin, simply click on the highlighted text for each course below. Follow the program instructions to complete the course module, payment and post-test submission. Immediately following submission of the post-test for all CDE World courses, tests are scored and successful participants are immediately provided a CE certificate. For all other courses, you will receive confirmation of your score and a CE certificate via email within four weeks of your test submission. A minimum test score of 80% is required for successful completion of all courses.

Self-Paced Courses

Dental Hygiene Education

Diet and Nutrition

Working with Vulnerable Populations

Clinical Practice and Research

Working with Older Adults

Interprofessional Work

Procter & Gamble’s Crest Oral-B On-Line CE: at http://www.dentalcare.com

Choose from more than 150 free continuing dental education courses – a CE library provided exclusively by Procter & Gamble’s Crest Oral-B. The Procter & Gamble Company is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider and is designated as an Approved PACE Program Provider by the Academy of General Dentistry for Fellowship, Mastership, and Membership Maintenance Credit. See details below.

Click here to read about Procter & Gamble’s mission and goals for the CE program.

Click here to learn how to submit a CE course to dentalcare.com.

Hu-Friedy: Friends of Hu-Friedy is proud to offer our members free continuing education courses through our live & on-demand webinars, ineedce.com free courses, and live education courses.

Find out state requirements here.