CDA has developed an FAQ about the delta variant, including its transmissibility, how it impacts fully vaccinated individuals or individuals with natural immunity, the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines against the delta variant and the potential future need for boosters.

The Dental Board of California has issued an alert about a scam targeting licensees of the California Department of Consumer Affairs boards and bureaus. A scammer, posing as an employee of the state Acupuncture Board, is reaching out to licensees in an attempt to gather their personal information.

Patient safety remains a top priority for practice owners and dental teams; however, the dental office can often be a fast-paced working environment with distractions that can impede best safety practices. To better prevent mishaps, the Joint Commission requires accredited dental practices to implement a timeout before all surgical procedures.

CDA Practice Support has developed the California State Reopening Guide for Dental Practices to help dentists and dental teams understand their responsibilities to maintain a safe environment and communicate with patients about continued COVID-19 safety precautions in the dental office.

As California moves forward with reopening the economy and lifting the statewide mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals on June 15, dental practice owners should be prepared to communicate to patients that face coverings will still be required in the dental office.  

The increase and severity of  ransomware attacks prompted the Biden administration on June 2 to issue an open letter to business leaders asking them to treat the threat of ransomware attacks with great urgency.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, dentists and other prescribers in California must issue electronic-data prescriptions for both controlled and noncontrolled substances with very few exceptions. Paper prescriptions will no longer be allowed by state law. All pharmacies in California must be capable of accepting those prescriptions.

Health care organizations are receiving postcards disguised as official communications from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, according to an alert the OCR issued yesterday. 

With an increasing demand for dental assistants throughout California, CDA is encouraging member dentists to consider transferable skills while recruiting and hiring. Smile Crew CA aims to create a pool of qualified candidates by targeting job seekers who have been displaced from service roles with adaptable skills that would make them a viable dental assistant.