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Also known as the sunset review bill, AB 1519 extends the operation of the dental board for four years and makes a number of related policy changes. Among other provisions, the bill sets a single standard of care by requiring that dentists providing orthodontics review radiographs (X-rays) prior to the movement of teeth.

CDA’s Access Plan to reduce barriers to oral health care prioritizes the need for a comprehensive state oral health program led by a state dental director. The state began providing ongoing funding for a dental director and the Office of Oral Health (based in the Department of Public Health) in the 2014-15 budget for the first time in decades, and Jay Kumar, DDS, MPH, was appointed to the position in 2015.

CDA sponsored SB 154 (Pan) in 2019 to add silver diamine fluoride (SDF) as a Medi-Cal benefit for treatment of dental decay when applied as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. SDF is a topical medication used to slow down or stop cavities in both primary and permanent teeth.

Californians deserve accountability and value from their dental benefit plans, and AB 954 (Wood) builds on a series of recent successful legislative efforts sponsored by CDA that have greatly increased the transparency of these plans.

CDA and the California Medical Association are leading efforts to reduce SSB consumption and have launched a campaign — Soda’s Sticky Business— highlighting the industry’s deceptive marketing tactics targeting children and low-income and minority communities.

CDA sponsored AB 954 (Wood) in 2019, which passed the legislature with unanimous support and was signed by the governor. The bill requires dental benefit plans to be more transparent about the common practice of “leasing” access to a network of contracted dentists from another dental benefit plan.

CDA is committed to building upon the existing health care delivery system to extend health coverage to all Californians. We support the actions taken in the 2019-20 state budget to expand coverage, increase affordability and stabilize the individual insurance market.

More than half of California’s children and a third of its adults — more than 13 million Californians — now rely on the state’s Medi-Cal program for their medical and dental coverage. The passage of Proposition 56 in 2016 — a tobacco-tax increase co-sponsored by CDA — has led to significant Medi-Cal funding improvements.