We on the Dental Quality Assurance Commission understand that this is a very difficult and very anxious time for dentists, dental staff, and dental patients. We share those feelings with you as colleagues. We regret that we had to cancel the meeting last Friday, however because attendance exceeded our capacity of 250, we were bound by Open Public Meetings Act law to cancel the meeting. We understand this caused frustration and upset among the dental community but we are bound by statute.

In Washington, we have some of the strictest Open Public Meetings and Open Public Records Acts in the nation. These laws strictly prohibit us from meeting without the public and stakeholders being able to attend.

The Department of Health obtained a license for 1000 stakeholders but we are experiencing overwhelming demand for the meeting scheduled tomorrow, May 15, 2020. Due to OMPA law if even one person is unable to join due to overcapacity we cannot legally hold the meeting. We have reached our 1000 participant capacity and must cancel tomorrow’s meeting. We apologize for this inconvenience and frustration.

In addition, we are expecting potential guidance from the Governor for reopening dental offices for routine procedures to be issued soon. This guidance is being considered by the Governor but we are unsure when it will be provided. We believe a discussion by the Dental Commission on reopening will be more constructive once we have that guidance. We appreciate the amount of work and attention our Governor is putting towards safety in dental offices in response to this unprecedented crisis.

Please also be aware that the Dental Commission is unable to modify the Governor’s proclamation. Additionally, any infection control mandates would require a rule to enforce, if not ordered by the Governor.

We are working to obtain a license for a platform that will accommodate up to 5000 participants that will comply with our OPMA and technology requirements. Thank you for your patience and we will have additional communication shortly. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.