Dental Practice & Licensing

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."

CDA recently hosted a webinar with its Endorsed Services partner iCoreConnect to help dentists understand the process of transitioning from written and phoned-in prescriptions to electronic prescriptions by the state's Jan. 1 deadline. Here CDA answers questions members submitted during the webinar. 
 

As of Jan. 1, 2022, California-licensed dentists who administer or order the administration of general anesthesia, moderate sedation and minimal sedation are subject to new requirements under legislation signed into law in 2018. Dentists can now apply for the new permits.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8 signed into law CDA-sponsored legislation that allows California-licensed dentists to apply for the requisite laboratory licensure to administer rapid COVID-19 tests in the dental office. The new law also gives dentists permanent authority to administer FDA-approved or FDA-authorized COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, dentists and other prescribers in California must issue electronic-data prescriptions for both controlled and noncontrolled substances with very few exceptions. Paper prescriptions will no longer be allowed by state law. All pharmacies in California must be capable of accepting those prescriptions.

Dentists registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration should be aware that the DEA is no longer sending renewal notices by U.S. Postal Service as of last June. Instead, registrants will receive several renewal notifications by email. 

An expedited licensure application review process is now available for individuals in specific categories who apply for a professional license through California licensing boards, including dentists, RDAs and RDAEFs who apply for licensure through the Dental Board of California.