SB 1453: Dentistry.

Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, establishes the Dental Board of California to license and regulate the practice of dentistry, and establishes requirements for meetings of the board, admission to, and practice of, dentistry, licensure and regulation of dental auxiliaries, the use of anesthesia and sedation, and the use of fictitious business names by dental corporations. Existing law requires that the board consist of 8 practicing dentists, a registered dental hygienist, a registered dental assistant, and 5 public members. Existing law also makes certain violations of the act a crime, including engaging in the practice of dentistry without causing to be displayed in a conspicuous place in their office the name of each person employed there in the practice of dentistry.

This bill, among other changes to the act, would remove the requirement that the board include a registered dental hygienist and, instead, require the inclusion of 2 registered dental assistants. The bill would delete a provision requiring the board to meet regularly once each year in the San Francisco Bay Area and once each year in southern California. The bill would revise application, examination, and continuing education requirements and requirements for the application and issuance of an elective facial cosmetic surgery permit.

Existing law governs the use of deep sedation, general anesthesia, moderate sedation, oral conscious sedation for adults, and pediatric minimal sedation.

This bill would revise and recast the requirements for obtaining authorization for, and the administration of, general anesthesia and sedation, including requirements relating to the physical presence of a dentist administering or ordering general anesthesia or deep sedation. The bill would make certain patient records submitted to the board confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. The bill would provide for the expiration of a pediatric endorsement, and would revise requirements for the administration of general anesthesia by a physician and surgeon.

This bill would make it a crime, punishable as a misdemeanor, for a person to engage in the practice of dentistry without causing to be displayed in an area that is likely to be seen by all patients who use the facility, the original or copy of the current license, permit, or registration of each person employed at the facility to practice dentistry. The bill would authorize the board to post an administrative citation issued for a violation of certain provisions on the boards internet website. The bill would also revise requirements and conditions for obtaining a permit for, and practicing under, a fictitious name. The bill would revise provisions affecting the cancellation of expired licenses, and would establish a fee for a pediatric endorsement for a general anesthesia permit or moderate sedation permit of up to $1,000, and a renewal fee for a pediatric endorsement not to exceed $600, which would be deposited into the State Dentistry Fund.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of dental auxiliaries, including registered dental assistants, registered dental assistants in extended functions, orthodontist assistants, and dental sedation assistants, and sets forth duties and functions that those dental auxiliaries are authorized to perform.

This bill would, among other changes, revise requirements and conditions of supervision of dental assistants by employers and licensed dentists, training and education requirements for dental assistants, and the functions and duties a dental assistant is authorized to perform. The bill would establish requirements for courses in radiation safety and infection control for certain unlicensed dental assistants.

Existing law establishes requirements for obtaining an orthodontist assistant permit or a dental sedation assistant permit from the board, including licensure as a registered dental assistant, and sets forth the duties and functions that a person holding an orthodontic assistant permit or a dental sedation assistant permit may perform.

The bill would revise and recast the requirements to obtain an orthodontic assistant permit or a dental sedation assistant permit, and would revise the duties and functions that a person holding an orthodontic assistant permit or dental sedation assistant permit is authorized to perform. The bill would revise requirements for licensure and practice as a registered dental assistant and a registered dental assistant in extended functions, and would revise specified requirements for applying for and receiving a license as a registered dental hygienist, registered dental hygienist in alternative practice, or registered dental hygienist in extended functions. The bill would revise the requirements on a provider of specified educational programs or courses that require board approval, and would authorize the board to issue an administrative citation if the board has probable cause to believe that a person, company, or association is advertising with respect to offering or provision of an educational program or course that requires board approval without being properly approved by the board.

The bill would make other related and conforming changes. By expanding the scope of a crime under the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.