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Dental practice owners should be prepared for major changes to the California Family Rights Act. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, and will impact very small businesses who will soon be required to provide 12 workweeks of job-protected unpaid family leave benefits to eligible employees annually. 

Researchers are examining the link between periodontal disease and COVID-19-related respiratory complications, and early research findings suggest that dental professionals may need to shift their focus to preventing underlying conditions, such as periodontitis, that promote systemic inflammation.

Dental practice schedules and production have certainly been a rollercoaster in 2020. As we near the end of the year, many practices are reporting a slight decline in patient volume compared to the third quarter. 

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.  

Dental professionals will be included in the state’s first-phase distribution of COVID-19 vaccine shots. CDPH expects that all essential health care workers identified in Phase 1a will receive their first dose of the vaccine by the end of January 2021.

Elisa Chavez, DDS, professor of diagnostic sciences and director of the Pacific Center for Special Care at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, has received the California Dental Association Foundation’s Dugoni Faculty Award for 2020. 

Military families will be eligible for Paid Family Leave benefits beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Dental practice owners are encouraged to update their employee handbooks regarding military exigency and Paid Family Leave benefits.

University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni's Joshua Goldfaden details how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered his experience as a dental student and his thoughts on how the dental profession will evolve. 

During this challenging year, stress levels have often been high and patience very low. Regardless of these external stressors or how different individuals manage their frustrations, dental professionals deserve a working environment that is free from hostile interactions.