Dental Practice & Licensing

California-licensed dentists who do not have a fingerprint on record in the dental board’s section of the Department of Consumer…

In the aftermath of SmileDirectClub’s abrupt closure in early December, dentists may experience an uptick in patients needing orthodontic treatment. CDA has created FAQ to help members manage anticipated questions and concerns from past SmileDirectClub customers. 

Several CDA members have contacted CDA in the last week to report receiving calls from a scammer who is posing as a Dental Board of California official for the purpose of fraudulently collecting sensitive personal information and payment.

The online orthodontics company SmileDirectClub must remove certain conditions from its refund policy for U.S. customers and release more than 17,000 customers nationwide from those provisions in the company’s nondisclosure agreements as a result of a lawsuit settled last week. 

CDA encourages dentists to review continuing education requirements as the dental board resumes conducting C.E. audits. Common C.E. deficiencies include failure to complete a mandatory C.E. course, the minimum required units for license renewal or a course from an approved provider.

As the Dental Board of California continues to navigate its first full renewal cycle for the newly established anesthesia and sedation permits, two new implementation issues have been identified for the moderate sedation permit and have prompted CDA advocacy.

Dentists and other health care practitioners in California who issue 100 or fewer prescriptions in a calendar year could receive an exemption from the state’s existing law requiring practitioners to electronically prescribe all medications. 

Changes in continuing education regulations are coming for California dentists beginning Jan. 1, 2023, including mandated C.E. that covers the responsibilities and requirements of prescribing Schedule II opioid drugs. 
 

Updated Sept. 1, 2022: California-licensed dentists can now apply for the new general anesthesia/deep sedation, moderate sedation and pediatric minimal sedation permits through the dental board's online licensing system BreEZe. 

California dentists can take a new online course that meets the requirements for opioid use disorder training for licensure. “Responsibilities and Requirements for Prescribing Controlled Substances (Schedule II Opioid Drugs),” is eligible for 2 units of C.E. and is available to CDA members for a substantially discounted price. 

CDA reminds dentists that the California Dental Practice Act permits the use of Botox only when used as part of a comprehensive dental treatment plan and for one of the purposes defined in section 1625 of the state’s Business and Professions Code. 

The Dental Board of California today notified licensees with general anesthesia, conscious sedation and oral conscious sedation for minors permits expiring in 2022 that they “must renew their permits by December 31, 2021, in order to continue to practice under the existing terms of the permits beyond the scheduled 2022 expiration date."