News Information
- CURES Reporting: New Law Effective January 1.
- Fraud Alert – December 5, 2025
- LICENSEE ALERT: “Three Day Rule” for Initiating Opioid Maintenance or Detoxification Treatment to Patients - November 20, 2025
- Alert: Examination Blackout Period November 2025 to August 2026 for Registered Dental Assistant in Extended Functions – November 14, 2025
- Alert: Dental Assisting Working Group stakeholder meeting – September 18, 2025
- Fraud Alert – May 21, 2025
- Alert: New Registered Dental Assisting Examination and Licensure Application Coming July 1, 2025, posted April 14, 2025
- Alert: New Application Requirements for Registered Dental Assistants (RDA) Established by SB 1453 Become Effective July 1, 2025, posted April 14, 2025
- Alert: Changes to Fingerprinting Process, posted April 14, 2025
- Alert: Notice to Licensees Regarding CURES Fee Increase for Licensees Expiring on and after July 1, 2025
- Alert: Notice of Public Posting of Addresses of Record for all Licensees issued by the Dental Board of California – March 2025
- Alert: Examination Fees Raised for Dentistry Law and Ethics Examination and RDA General and Law and Ethics Examination
- Implementation of SB 1453 Radiation Safety Requirements Delayed Until Further Notice
- New Requirement for Unlicensed Dental Assistants to Complete Infection Control Course, Effective January 1, 2025
- Credit Card Service Fee Effective – January 2, 2025
- Alert: New Dental Assisting Applications Coming January 1, 2025
- Alert: SB 1453 Changes to Elective Facial Cosmetic Surgery Permits Become Effective – January 1, 2025
- Alert: SB 1453 Changes to Anesthesia and Sedation Permits Become Effective – January 1, 2025
- Alert for Dental Assisting Programs and Course Providers
- Senate Bill (SB) 501, Anesthesia and Sedation Regulations Approval
Effective January 1, 2026, Assembly Bill (AB) 82 prohibits health care providers from reporting a prescription for or the dispensing of testosterone or mifepristone to the Controlled Substance Utilization and Evaluation System (CURES) or to the Department of Justice's contracted prescription data processing vendor, currently Bamboo Health. Existing records for testosterone or mifepristone will be removed from CURES on or before January 1, 2027. For more information about CURES, visit https://oag.ca.gov/cures.
EXAMINATION BLACKOUT PERIOD NOVEMBER 2025 TO AUGUST 2026 FOR REGISTERED DENTAL ASSISTANT IN EXTENDED FUNCTIONS
Effective November 14, 2025, the Board will be implementing an examination blackout period for the Registered Dental Assistant in Extended Functions (RDAEF) Examination to review and perform maintenance on the examination. The examination blackout period will be from approximately November 14, 2025 to July 31, 2026.
IMPORTANT BLACKOUT PERIOD INFORMATION
During the examination blackout period, the Board will continue to accept applications for licensure eligibility and examinations, but applicants will not be able to register for or take an examination during the blackout.
Attention all Dental Assisting Educators, License and Permit Holders, Members of the Public, and Interested Stakeholders:
The Dental Assisting Council's (DAC) Dental Assisting Working Group will be holding a stakeholder meeting on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 1:00 p.m., via Microsoft Teams. The purpose of this meeting is to review and discuss a legislative proposal to shift Board oversight of dental assistant education to recognized accrediting or approving agencies for educational institutions and programs, particularly in health, dental, technical, or continuing education fields.
The legislative proposal presented in Agenda Item 8 of the August 14, 2025 DAC Meeting generally would remove the current requirement for dental assisting educational program and course providers to apply to the Board for approval and instead provide that Board approval would mean any dental assisting educational program or course offered by a provider that is accredited or approved by one of several listed educational oversight bodies. In addition, Board staff propose to add statutory provisions to authorize successful completion of DANB examinations in radiation health and safety, infection control, certified dental assisting, orthodontic assisting, coronal polishing, topical fluoride, sealants, and dental infection prevention and control to satisfy requirements to complete a Board–approved course in those areas.
The DAC Working Group and Board staff seek guidance and feedback on the current legislative proposal from all stakeholders.
Attention Radiation Safety Course Providers and RDA Program Providers:
There will be a delay in implementing the new radiation safety course requirements described in the Dental Board of California's Sunset Bill, SB 1453 (Ashby, Chapter 483, Statutes of 2024), and codified as Business and Professions Code (BPC), section 1754.5.
Until further notice, Board–approved radiation safety course providers are required to continue providing instruction pursuant to California Code of Regulations (CCR), title 16, sections 1014 and 1014.1. Board–approved RDA program providers are required to continue doing so as well, pursuant to CCR, title 16, section 1070.2, subsection (d)(9)(A).
For more information on Board–approved dental assisting educational programs and courses, contact the Board's License and Program Compliance Unit by sending a message to the Board.
Attention Dentist Licensees:
The Dental Board of California's Sunset Bill, SB 1453 (Ashby, Chapter 483, Statutes of 2024) requires unlicensed dental assistants to complete a Board–approved 8–hour course in infection control (IC) prior to performing any basic supportive dental procedures involving potential exposure to blood, saliva, or other potentially infectious materials. The employer of the unlicensed dental assistant is responsible for ensuring that they complete the IC course. As of January 1, 2025, this requirement will be existing law, Business and Professions Code (BPC), section 1750, subdivision (c).
NOTE: Dental assistants who have evidence of completion of a Board–approved IC course do not need to retake the course.
SB 1453 also changes IC course requirements. However, implementation of these changes has been delayed. Accordingly, Board–approved IC course providers are required to continue providing instruction pursuant to California Code of Regulations (CCR), title 16, section 1070.6. For more information, consult the materials of the Board meeting of November 7–8, 2024. A list of Board–approved IC course providers is available on the Approved Educational Programs and Courses webpage of the Board's website.
For more information on Board–approved dental assisting educational programs and courses, contact the Board's License and Program Compliance Unit by sending a message to the Board.
Effective January 2, 2025, all online applications and transactions submitted through the BreEZe system that require a fee will be charged a 2.3% non–refundable credit card service fee. This fee will be listed as a separate charge on your account statement.