CDA Practice Support developed and published in April two new resources for practice owners who wish to help put their staff on the proper path to become a California-registered dental assistant. Both resources are in a one-page format that is easy to follow.
“Steps to Becoming a California-Registered Dental Assistant” outlines the required hours of work experience or formal training and dental board-approved courses that must be completed prior to taking the written RDA licensure examination. Final steps for completing and mailing the application are included.
In a perfect world, all patients would receive the care they need to improve their health. But too often patients hesitate to seek the care they need, especially when it comes to mental health. It is an unfortunate reality that there is still a stigma associated with mental illness, and those in need of treatment don’t always ask for help.
Delta Dental of California notified California dentists in its FYI newsletter that dentists should be prepared for a quality assessment review. CDA members are encouraged to review the on-site QA review checklist provided in the April 9 newsletter to ensure compliance.
Five months after the catastrophic Camp and Woolsey wildfires tore through more than 250,000 acres in Northern and Southern California, life and work are far from routine for dentists who lost their practices or homes — or both — in the fires. But many are beginning to find some semblance of daily structure and make long-term plans with the help of their colleagues and the dental community.
Commonly, a dental practice will hire a temporary dental assistant, hygienist or front-office staff to fill in briefly for employee sick days, when the practice’s needs have increased or for an employee’s long-term leave of absence. CDA Practice Support finds that many employers are still puzzled about the requirements when hiring, classifying and properly paying these short-term employees.
When performing procedures on exposed dental pulp, water or other methods used for irrigation must be “sterile or contain recognized disinfecting or antibacterial properties,” according to a new requirement that all licensed dentists in California must follow beginning Jan. 1, 2019.
Many bills were introduced over the past year to combat the opioid epidemic in California, as CDA previously reported. Here is an overview of CDA-supported legislation in the areas of e-prescribing, informed consent, interstate data sharing and prescription-pad requirements, that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in September and how these bills will affect the practice of dentistry.
Beginning Oct. 2, all licensees authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish or dispense controlled substances in California must, with some exceptions, check a patient’s prescription history in CURES 2.0 before prescribing a Schedule II-IV substance, as CDA first reported in April. One notable exemption to mandatory CURES consultation that applies to dental care and that CDA helped secure is summarized here.
Every employee’s employment life cycle ends eventually, whether due to resignation, retirement, termination or other reason. In the dental office, any employee who separates should do so in a structured and professional manner with minimum disruption to the patients, staff and practice. Still, depending on what triggers an employee’s departure, separation can be an awkward situation for employers to navigate. Such discomfort can be lessened if clear policies and practices are in place.
No later than Aug. 30, 2018, dental practices that employ 10 or more employees must post at the entrance of the office the new Proposition 65 warning notice, unless the practice chooses instead to provide a warning with an informed consent form. The form must be signed by the patient prior to exposure to the chemicals regulated by Proposition 65.
The 2018-19 state budget signed by Gov. Jerry Brown dedicates $210 million from the Proposition 56 Tobacco Tax revenue to Denti-Cal providers, a $70 million increase from last year’s amount. This effort is the result of years of activity to improve the Medi-Cal dental program and increase access to oral health care for the state’s 13.5 million Medi-Cal enrollees.
What started the legal action that led to this settlement? CDA filed the legal action in August 2013 after learning…