employment for 120 days or more has already successfully completed, or successfully completes within a year of the date of employment, all of the following: ● A Board-approved two-hour course in the Dental Practice Act. ● A Board-approved eight-hour course in infection control. ● A course in basic life support (BLS) offered by an instructor approved by the American Red Cross (ARC) or the American Heart Association (AHA), or any other course approved by the Board as equivalent and that provides the student with the opportunity to engage in hands-on simulated clinical scenarios. Dental assistants must keep their BLS certifications current (The DALE Foundation, 2021). Initial licensure: Registered dental assistants Section 1752.1 of the Dental Practice Act states that a registered dental assistant applying for initial licensure must submit written evidence to the Board of one of the following eligibility requirements: ● Graduation from an educational program in registered dental assisting approved by the Board, and satisfactory performance on the Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination administered by the Board. ● Evidence of completion of at least 15 months of satisfactory work experience as a dental assistant in California or another state, and satisfactory performance on the Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination administered by the Board. “Satisfactory work experience” means the performance of the duties of a dental assistant in a competent manner as determined by the employing dentist, who shall certify to such satisfactory work experience in the application. The Board shall give credit toward the work experience referred to in this section to persons who have graduated from a dental assisting program in a postsecondary institution approved by the Department of Education or in a secondary institution, regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, even if it is not specifically approved by the Board. The credit shall equal the total weeks spent in classroom training and internship on a week-for-week basis. Graduates of programs not meeting established minimum criteria shall not qualify for satisfactory work experience as defined by this section. Statutes and regulations specifically define the duties that each category of hygienist is allowed to perform, the level of dentist supervision required, and the settings in which the duties may be performed. The Dental Board of California does not provide a duty table for dental hygienists. The practice of dental hygiene is defined as including “dental hygiene assessment and development, planning, and implementation of a dental hygiene care plan. It also includes oral health education, counseling, and health screenings” (California Dental Practice Act, 2009d). The practice of dental hygiene does not include: ● Diagnosis and comprehensive treatment planning. ● Placing, condensing, carving, or removing permanent restorations. ● Surgery or cutting on hard and soft tissue – including, but not limited to, the removal of teeth. ● Cutting and suturing soft tissue. ● Prescribing medication. ● Administering local or general anesthesia or oral or parenteral conscious sedation; however, nitrous oxide and oxygen (whether administered alone or in combination with each other) or local anesthesia may be administered by a dental hygienist if he or she has been trained in these procedures and performs such procedures under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist after submitting evidence of Registered dental hygienists Scope of practice
Each applicant for RDA licensure must provide evidence of having successfully completed Board-approved courses in radiation safety and coronal polishing as a condition of licensure. The length and content of the courses is governed by applicable board regulations. In addition, individuals applying for RDA licensure must demonstrate satisfactory performance on the Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination administered by the Board, and provide written evidence of successful completion within five years prior to application of all of the following: ● A Board-approved course in the Dental Practice Act. ● A Board-approved course in infection control (eight-hours). ● A course in BLS offered by an instructor approved by the ARC or the AHA, or any other course approved by the Board as equivalent. (California Dental Practice Act, 2020g) In 2017, the practical examination for dental assistants was suspended pending further study of several issues (Dental Board of California, 2017). Initial licensure: Registered dental assistants in extended functions Section 1753 of the Dental Practice Act states that an RDAEF must submit written evidence to the Board of all the following eligibility requirements: ● Current licensure as an RDA or completion of the requirements for licensure as an RDA. ● Successful completion of a Board-approved course in the application of pit and fissure sealants. ● Successful completion of either of the following: ○ An extended functions postsecondary program approved by the Board. ○ An extended functions postsecondary program approved by the Board to teach the duties that RDAEFs were allowed to perform prior to January 1, 2010, and a course approved by the Board in the procedures numbered (1), (2), (5), and (7) to (11) of the RDAEF duties specified in Section 1753.5. ● Passage of a written examination and a clinical or practical examination administered by the Board. The Board designates whether the written examination will be administered by the Board or by the Board-approved extended functions program. (California Dental Practice Act, 2009b) satisfactory completion of an approved course of study to the Dental Hygiene Board. (California Dental Practice Act, 2009d; California Dental Practice Act, 2020i) An RDH may provide, without supervision, educational services, oral health training programs, and oral health screenings (California Dental Practice Act, 2021b). Unless otherwise specified by law, an RDH may perform any procedure or provide any service within the scope of his or her practice in any setting, as long as the procedure is performed or the service is provided under the appropriate level of supervision required. He or she must refer any screened patients with possible oral abnormalities to a dentist for a comprehensive examination, diagnosis, and treatment plan. An RDH who practices in a public health program may also apply fluoride and pit and fissure sealants without supervision (California Dental Practice Act, 2021b). Sections 1909 and 1910 of the Dental Practice Act delineate the procedures that an RDH may perform under direct versus general supervision of a licensed dentist. An RDH may perform the following procedures under direct supervision of a licensed dentist after submitting evidence to the Dental Hygiene Board of California of satisfactory completion of an approved course of instruction in the procedure: (a) soft-tissue curettage; (b) administration of local anesthesia; and (c) administration of nitrous oxide and oxygen, whether administered alone or in combination with each other. General supervision is required
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