COVID-19 Updates

Dentists who provide care for Medicaid patients (known as Medi-Cal in California) may be eligible to receive financial relief from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Provider Relief Fund established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic now have until Aug. 8 to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans that are entirely forgivable if borrowers spend at least 60% of the loan funds on payroll expenses.

California-licensed dental professionals whose licenses expire in July and August now have through Dec. 1 to complete their required C.E. according to a waiver issued today by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that dental care personnel “wait 15 minutes after completion of clinical care and exit of each patient without suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to begin to clean and disinfect room surfaces.”

Delta Dental of California announced it will temporarily offer its network providers a $10 supplemental reimbursement for each “qualifying evaluation or consultation code” to help dentists provide care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.