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Dental professionals also receive license exam waiver
California-licensed dental professionals whose licenses expire in July and August now have through Dec. 1 to complete their required C.E. according to a waiver issued today by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

In late March, following CDA’s advocacy efforts, the California Department of Consumer Affairs temporarily waived the license-renewal continuing education requirements for dental professionals whose licenses expire between March 31 and June 30, giving them until Sept. 30 to satisfy any waived C.E. requirements. That waiver has not been extended.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 4 state-of-emergency order granted the Department of Consumer Affairs the authority to waive statutory or regulatory professional licensing requirements as part of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CDA advocated for the C.E. waiver knowing that licensees would have difficulties completing C.E. due to the cancellation of in-person courses forced by the statewide stay-at-home mandate and social distancing requirements intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The first waiver was a relief for individuals facing immediate re-licensure, but with in-person education likely restricted for months, CDA has continued to underscore the need for an additional waiver.

Licensees are still required to renew and pay for their licenses by the normal expiration date. The waivers only grant an extension to complete the required C.E.

Licensure exam waiver
Dental professionals who are applying for licensure in California but whose clinical examinations or graduation from RDH and RDA programs have been delayed as a result of COVID-19 now have additional time to complete the required licensing examinations.

The Department of Consumer Affairs last week approved a waiver for applicants whose applications are deemed abandoned between March 31 and July 1 due to the applicant’s failure to take the examinations. The waiver is subject to the condition that applicants take the licensing examination within two years and six months after the date the Dental Board of California received the application.

Although the waiver applies to dentists, as a result of CDA’s advocacy efforts that began in March, dental school graduates in California may use passing scores on the WREB and ADEX manikin-based examinations this summer to apply for licensure in the state.

Options for continuing education
C.E. courses are available to dentists and their teams through CDA’s online learning platform, Brightbox, including self-study courses and recordings of webinars on a range of topics. CDA members can access courses by logging in to their cda.org accounts. (Each dental staff member will need an individual account login to enroll.)

Additionally, CDA is already at work developing more innovative learning opportunities for dentists and their teams, including a virtual C.E. event to be held this fall, and will announce more details soon.

CDA is actively engaged in the Legislature’s effort to address the state’s flawed new prescription-form requirements. Under AB 149 (Cooper, D-Elk Grove), introduced in January, implementation of the requirement that prescription forms include a unique serialized number would be delayed to a date no later than Jan. 1, 2020, as determined by the Department of Justice. It also imposes new requirements for the forms and allows prescriptions written on noncompliant forms — those approved as of or prior to Jan. 1, 2019 — to be considered valid and eligible to be filled until Jan. 1, 2021. AB 149 is currently pending in the Senate after Assembly approval last week. CDA anticipates the governor will sign the measure by the end of the month. Due to its urgency status, the bill would be effective immediately.
For more information, go to: https://www.cda.org/news-events/new-serial-number-required-on-controlled-substances-prescription-forms

Dentists have reported to CDA that pharmacies have rejected their prescriptions due either to forms that are out of date or are missing required elements. All prescriptions have been for controlled substances, which must be on tamper-resistant forms printed by California-approved printers and containing California-specific pre-printed elements.
A list of approved prescription pad printers can be found at: https://oag.ca.gov/security-printers/approved-list

CDA’s newest subsidiary, The Dentists Service Company, officially launched its services to CDA members this summer. TDSC was established to support dentists with the business side of dentistry, specializing in practice management advising and group purchasing services.
CDA formed TDSC in response to members’ strong interest in CDA pursuing a management services company to help members be more competitive and efficient in an ever-evolving profession, while ensuring all clinical-care decisions and practice ownership remain with dentists.
TDSC’s practice management services take a comprehensive approach to practice advising, marketing and human resources. Member-clients work with TDSC experts as an extension of their team to build a strategic action plan geared toward their own practice goals and vision.
Visit https://www.tdsc.com/ to check it out!