California Dental Practice Act 2026-CA Dental Practice Act

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This webinar, presented by the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry, covers key compliance obligations under the California Dental Practice Act from a practical “risk management” perspective. Attorney Ali Oromchian explains that Dental Board enforcement often turns on small, easily missed details that can trigger outsized consequences—public discipline postings, loss of patient trust, lender and insurance issues, fines, monitoring costs, and even suspension or revocation.<br /><br />Core topics include: how the Dental Board is structured and why its primary mission is public protection; strict license renewal rules (no grace period for practicing after expiration) and the importance of tracking renewals for all staff; and required disclosures at renewal, where under-reporting is often worse than the underlying issue. He clarifies office transparency rules: licenses need not be posted, but practitioner names must be displayed; name tags must show name/license status in 18-point font unless the license is displayed.<br /><br />He highlights common “unprofessional conduct” traps such as misleading advertising (especially around specialization claims and pricing language), fee-splitting with third parties, record alteration intended to deceive, and improper patient abandonment. The session stresses correct delegation and supervision of dental auxiliaries, required training for dental assistants after 120 days of employment (Practice Act, infection control, BLS), posting auxiliary duties in a common staff area, and rules about establishing a “patient of record” before delegating treatment.<br /><br />Additional areas include corporate/fictitious name compliance, additional office permits, patient communication accommodations (translated medication directions; options for hearing-impaired patients), adverse event reporting, financing disclosures (treatment plan before credit), OSHA expectations, and mandatory reporting for suspected child/elder abuse. The webinar closes by urging attendees to write down three concrete action items to improve compliance.

Keywords

California Dental Practice Act compliance

Dental Board of California enforcement

pediatric dentistry risk management

dental license renewal requirements

license expiration no grace period

renewal disclosure obligations

dental office transparency rules

practitioner name display requirements

name tag 18-point font rule

unprofessional conduct dentistry

misleading dental advertising specialization claims

fee-splitting prohibitions

dental record alteration fraud

patient abandonment rules

delegation and supervision of dental auxiliaries