Dental assisting council backs higher review fees, cuts infection-control grace period to 30 days

The Dental Assisting Council recommended that the Dental Board of California ask the Legislature to amend AB 873 to set higher application-review fees for three newly authorized dental assistant courses and to require unlicensed dental assistants to complete the board’s infection‑control course within 30 days of first exposure to infectious material.

The council’s action also asked the board to set a $7,330 fee for review of interim therapeutic restoration (ITR), radiographic decision making (RDM) and radiation‑safety courses, and a $3,830 fee for review of the infection‑control course. Council members voted to retain current draft language in Business and Professions Code Section 17.55 that limits use of the fully electronic infection‑control course for unlicensed assistants (Subdivision G), while licensed RDA and RDAEF pathways would continue to require any clinical instruction specified by statute or regulation.

Why it matters: Board staff told the council that the $300 cap in the current AB 873 draft would not cover the full cost of thorough course reviews, site visits and staff time. The higher fees are intended to cover travel and staff workload for program evaluations and recurring…