Regulatory Compliance

Dentists are authorized to administer flu and COVID-19 vaccines. The Dental Board has adopted related regulations on training, continuing education, notification and reporting.

Prescribers who apply for a new DEA registration, or who want to renew their registration, on or after June 27, 2023 are required to complete 8 hours of education on “treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.” The hours can be completed with one or more courses from an acceptable course provider. The individual is only required to complete the hours once for DEA registration or renewal. The new requirement is part of the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act that was enacted in 2022 as part of a federal spending bill. For more information see this article.

Effective March 1, 2017 all single-occupancy restrooms in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government agency need to be identified as "all gender" and be universally accessible. The bathrooms to which this law applies are toilet facilities with no more than one water closet and one urinal and with a locking mechanism controlled by the user. Therefore, employers and practice owners should change signage used for single-user restrooms to comply with the law. It is important to note that not every “all-gender” sign available for purchase complies with California law. The state requires the all-gender sign to have a geometric symbol on the door that is an equilateral triangle superimposed onto a circle. No other pictogram, text, or braille is required on the symbol. 

A visual resource that provides information on various masks and respirators.  A downloadable and printer-friendly version is available.

The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has updated Wage Order 4-2001 to reflect the 2017 and 2018 increases in the state minimum wage. The DIR amended sections 4(A) and 10(C), which also reflect updated meal and lodging credit amounts. The correct industry Wage Order bears a revision date of “12/2016,” which is found on the bottom of the cover page for each Wage Order. Although the Wage Orders are dated 12/2016, they were just released by the DIR. Please note: this change comes after the 2017-18 CDA Required Poster Set printing. Each employer/practice owner is required to print and post the updated Wage Order over the top of the old Wage Order contained in the Required Poster Set. The Required Poster Sets will not be reprinted to reflect this change until the next print cycle in 2019.

Poster last revised: April 2023 (the April 2016 and February 2013 versions still fulfill the posting requirement). The April 2016 version is contained in the 2023-2024 Required Poster Set. CDA Members may still choose to print and affix the new poster over the FMLA poster contained in the 2023-2024 Required Poster Set. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants for employment can see it. 

A dental practice must have a medical emergency kit for their employees as well as their patients. Learn what it should include.

Use sample plan to describe the practice’s medical waste management and disposal procedures as required by state law. This resource is part of the Regulatory Compliance Manual. Updated June 2024.

An overview of other Cal/OSHA regulations for which dental practices have been cited for violating.

U.S. copyright laws allow owners of movies, television shows, and music to collect performance license fees from individuals and entities, such as dental practices, for public performances of the movies, television shows, and music.

Compilation of resources for N95 respirator/mask requirements.

All dental practices should follow the nondiscrimination requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Review this summary, checklist and Q&A.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health under the California Department of Industrial Relations, commonly known as Cal/OSHA, has updated the Safety and Health Protection on the Job notice with a poster print date of October 2017. All employers are required to print and post this notice in an area frequented by employees where it may be easily read during the workday.

Under the Affordable Care Act, dentists participating as providers in the Denti-Cal, Medicare Advantage and CHIP (formerly known as Healthy Families) programs and those who have received Meaningful Use funding are required to comply with new federal nondiscrimination policies. They must post a notice of nondiscrimination, post taglines in the top 15 non-English languages spoken in California and offer free language assistance, and post information regarding grievance procedures for practices with 15 or more employees. Also, they must complete and submit the Assurance of Compliance Form (HHS 690) to the Office of Civil Rights. The form may also be reviewed and electronically submitted through this website.

Enforcement of this rule, which is to improve patient access to their electronic health information, is expected to commence on this date. For more information see “Information Blocking Rule Q&A.”

For all employers in the city of Berkeley, Calif., minimum wage increases to $13.75 and increased paid sick leave requirements also become operative effective Oct. 1, 2017. Detailed information and posting requirements about minimum wage requirements can be found on the City of Berkeley’s website. As part of paid sick leave requirements, covered employees accrue one paid sick leave hour for every 30 hours worked; the ordinance is silent with regard to front-loaded allowances. For small businesses, which employ fewer than 25 employees, there is a cap of 48 hours per year; for all other businesses, the cap is 72 hours, though employers can set a higher cap or no cap. Accrued but unused leave carries over from year to year — whether calendar or fiscal year — but cannot exceed the cap. Employers who don’t meet the minimum requirements may still be required to update their written paid sick leave policies.

Dental practices, including those that are exempt or want to claim an exemption to the requirement to install an amalgam separator, must submit a one-time compliance report to their local control authority. The report is available in most areas from the local sanitation agency. If a sanitation agency does not have a pretreatment program, then the dental practice must submit the report to the California State Water Resources Board.

As announced by the Department of Justice in April 2018, California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES 2.0) is ready for statewide consultation by prescribers. As of Oct. 2, 2018, prescribers must check a patient’s prescription history in CURES 2.0 before prescribing a Schedule II-IV substance, with some specific exceptions. Refer to CDA’s article on mandatory checks for information on the exception applicable to some dentists. Prescribers who have issues accessing CURES can email the DOJ or call 916.210.3187.

Display this poster in the operatory for quick reference on effective operatory disinfection. 

A summary of state and federal requirements for providing oral health care in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities.

Format and content, patient access to records and requests to amend, disclosure of information, data breach notification, retention and disposal, transferring records in a sale.

Summary of records release rules with customizable sample form. Patients have the right to access their record and can request paper, film or electronic copies.

Includes information on this patient right to restrict disclosure of patient health information to a dental benefit or health care plan and a sample form to use for a patient who requests such a restriction.

Describes patient rights and dental practice responsibilities under HIPAA. Patients must be informed of these rights through the distribution of the covered entity’s Notice of Privacy Practices.

This is the second of four presentations created to train a dental practice’s privacy officer and security officer on the requirements of federal and state privacy laws and on their respective responsibilities. 

Screening patients and other visitors is an essential part of COVID-19 infection prevention. Dental practices must also perform screening in compliance with Cal/OSHA regulations.