New Continuing Education Regulations FAQ

Beginning January 1, 2006, the Dental Board of California’s (DBC) requirement for providing and obtaining continuing education for dental licensees changed. Below are some of the answers to the questions most concerning the providers of educational courses and those attending C.E. courses.

What are the significant changes to the regulations?

First, the course formerly known as California Law will have to be changed to California Dental Practice Act (CDPA). The units required for the course are the same (two); however, the content of the course must be specific to the new regulations and must include the following:

Regulations specific to the DPA;
Regulations specific to scope of practice for licensees (auxiliaries);
Regulations pertaining to the prescription of drugs;
Regulations specific to citations, fines, suspension and revocation of licensure; and
Regulations specific to all acts of unprofessional conduct as dictated by the DPA.

Many course providers were not following the spirit and intent of the regulations previously defined as “California Law” by allowing courses in malpractice, risk management, employment matters, HIPAA and other non-DPA related areas to count for Cal Law credit. The DBC is very specific in the regulations now to require certain content and not allow for too much variable. Further, CDPA courses will have to be approved by the DBC prior to their being presented. Each provider will have to submit their course outline to the DBC for approval in order to meet the new requirements. Components are required to do the same.

Infection Control is still a mandated course; however, this course too will have to be pre-approved by the DBC for presentation. Course outlines will have to be submitted for both CDPA and Infection Control on or after January 1, 2006. Two units are still required for Infection Control and the course must contain, at minimum, the DPA section 1005 in regulation.

Lastly, the manner in which a licensee obtains C.E. will change. The former method of categorizing C.E. courses has been reinstated – Category One and Category Two. Each category has been defined in regulation. Providers have the responsibility to determine, based on the regulations, whether a course is C.E. applicable and in which category.

Licensees must obtain a minimum of 80% of their required units in Category One subjects – and a maximum of 20% of their required units in Category Two.

See the regulations for definitions and category requirements.

Are there any new requirements for how providers issue C.E.?

Yes and No! The requirements for 11-digit C.E. verification numbers have always existed. The new regulations address the provider requirements and a letter to all providers was issued by the DBC in the Fall of 2005. Providers must be certain to address specific items clearly on C.E. verification slips:

11-digit DBC course registration numbers in the upper left hand corner of each verification slip
Whether the course is a Category One or Category Two course

Are there courses that were not previously eligible for C.E. that now are with the new regulations?

Yes. Previously the regulations for C.E. did not allow for C.E. eligibility in the areas of risk management, practice management and ergonomics unless substantially related to the clinical practice of dentistry. Rarely did course offerings in this area comply with that mandate.

The new regulations allow for a small percentage of courses to meet the new Category Two area, to include:

(A) courses addressing the evaluation, improvement and/or methods of correction for recall and scheduling systems.

(B) courses in organization and management of the dental practice including office design, and ergonomics, and the improvement of office operations for the patient's benefit and/or to improve the continuity of care provided to the patient.

(D) courses addressing patient record keeping.

(E) courses in skills such as communication, behavioral sciences, patient management and motivation when oriented specifically to the needs of the dental practice and will improve the health of the patient.

(F) courses in other subjects of direct concern to dentistry such as dentolegal matters, including but not limited to risk management, liability, and malpractice, employment law and employment practices.

(G) courses in methods of health care delivery and sociopolitical problems directly involving dentistry.
Be sure to be clear – only a maximum of 20% of licensees required units maybe obtained in Category Two subjects.

How can dental societies, components, study groups, conference organizers and others be assured of a speaker’s approval for the two mandatory courses?

The Dental Board has begun the process of approving course outlines for Infection Control and CDPA by providers who have submitted their data to them. Letters of approval are then sent out to the provider stating they are approved and if there are any changes to the course content, they are to be submitted to the Board for approval. You as the organizer of the educational event should ask for a copy of the speaker’s letter of approval to ensure they have met the requirement.

In addition, it has been determined by the DBC that only the approved provider of the course outlines is allowed to issue C.E. verification slips to participants of these courses. If your component, study group or association which to continue to issue C.E. verification slips to your participants as you always have, you then must submit course outlines for the two mandatory courses in Infection Control and CDPA to the Board and have your group approved as providers. This will allow you to issue C.E. slips in the same manner as you always have in the past for all your course offerings.

Can a provider continue to allow participants to write in the course registration number on the C.E. slips we issue?

The DBC staff has determined this is not in keeping with the new administrative criteria for C.E. verification slips. The 11-digit number needs to be pre-printed on the C.E. slip, in the upper left hand corner, prior to issuance.

Do the new regulations affect C.E. eligibility for Peer Review or case presentations that we do during a study group?

Yes. It has been determined that while Peer Review does involve case presentation, discussion of diagnostics, radiographic review and even study model review, there is concern regarding the number of units a participant can earn during the course of a year for this type of learning. It is agreed that learning does take place during a Peer Review process, but there is potential for too many credits at one time to be earned through the process - that is of some concern. The DBC will look to allow for Peer Review as a Category One subject, but to place a cap or maximum number of units earned per renewal period so that licensees understand that there are other educational offerings that are necessary for license renewal.

At this time, only two (2) Category One units per Peer Review meeting may be issued or obtained.

Can the instructor of a course receive C.E. units for the course they are presenting?

It is unclear as to whether it is possible for a speaker to learn and teach at the same time! However, current policy from the DBC is that an educator/lecturer/speaker may obtain one unit per year for the courses that they present.

Can a licensee still obtain C.E. units from home study or on-line learning?

Yes. The 50/50 rule still applies. A licensee may obtain up to 50% of his/her required educational units in home study. The new regulations are specific in defining the difference between live and home study (correspondence):

CCR Section 1017 states “ (c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, tape recorded courses, home study materials, video courses, and computer courses are considered correspondence courses, and if from registered providers, will be accepted for credit up to, but not exceeding, half of the total required credits. Interactive instruction courses, such as live lecture, live telephone conferencing, live video conferencing, or live classroom study from registered providers, will be accepted for full credit.”