WE ARE DENTURISTS
In November of 1994, the People of the State of Washington passed Initiative 607, allowing persons other than dentists to manufacture and sell dentures to the public. This new profession would be known as a Denturist.
YOUR ACTION NEEDED TODAY: AN INVESTMENT IN THE WASHINGTON DENTURIST POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR BUSINESS’ SURVIVAL!
WDA has had past legislative successes. We expanded the denturist scope to include teeth whitening trays and snore guards. We worked to reinstate the Adult Dental Medicaid Program after it was cut and have been a core part of the team working to protect it. We also passed a bill that requires stand-alone dental insurance plans to include denturists in their networks. Now we need to work on reducing fees for denturists, continue expansion and payments for those working with dental Medicaid patients, and we need to increase state investment in training new denturists. This is going to require a Legislature made of people who know who denturists are and who support denturists as dental providers. This means the 2024 elections are a key! Our entire Washington State House of Representatives is up for re-election, and half of our state’s Senate. Add that to over a dozen legislative retirements and vacancies, as well as open seats in the statewide races for Governor and Insurance Commissioner. We have a lot of work to help get denturist supporters elected!
Why is this important? Denturists have been fighting – and winning – here in Washington to be recognized major players in the dental community. From the originating initiative in 1994 to expanding our scope of practice in 2013, we have accepted the political challenges of our profession and had success. It is this grassroots and patient support combined with our willingness to pool our funds to achieve our goals that has gotten the attention of our state’s legislators.
No one gets elected without financial assistance and the WDA Political Action Committee (WDPAC) helps get the attention of candidates before they are elected. Therefore, we are urging you to contribute TODAY to the Washington Denturist Political Action Committee (WDPAC). Checks can be made out to:
WDA PAC
C/O Northwest Dental
2710 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225
This is a request that should not be ignored. Instead, it should be viewed as a key investment in the success and survival of your business – since politics and government oversee everything your business does. The WDPAC is the easiest way for you to get involved in what government is doing.
Most health care provider groups have PACs and many of them are very well-funded – particularly the Dentists. While WDA may not be able to get to the $400,000 plus of the Dentist PAC, we can get to an amount that will enable us to make sure Denturist supporters are sitting in legislative offices in 2025. The more Denturist supporters are elected, the easier it will be to get the insurance changes and other protections needed to keep Denturists as a vital and valuable health care provider in Washington!
Writing a check is the easiest form of political action there is – and it can have the most impact when combined through a political action committee to help elect people who would vote as you would vote if you were in Olympia!
So please write that check for $100, $500, $1000 or even more. No contribution is too small, and no contribution is too big.
What is a Denturist?
