Dental Assisting Council reviews proposal to shift program oversight and considers accepting DANB exams; stakeholders warn of training gaps

The Dental Assisting Council on Aug. 14 discussed a draft legislative proposal to amend multiple Business and Professions Code sections so that external accrediting or approving agencies — rather than the Dental Board — would approve dental‑assisting educational programs and courses, and separately heard a presentation from the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) about its radiation, infection‑control, coronal‑polishing and sealants exams.

The proposal, presented by council members Jerry Fowler and Kara Miyazaki as part of the regulations working group, would add a new statutory section that lists recognized accrediting/approving entities and remove or reduce the board’s direct program‑approval role. Board staff said the change reflects that the board no longer has staffing capacity or subject‑matter resources to continue full program review, approval and audits at current scale. "Board staff do not have the education to approve dental assisting courses anymore," Tina Valerie, chief of dental assisting and licensing and program compliance, told the council.

Why it matters: The board oversees training that underpins several expanded duties for assistants (radiography, infection control, coronal polishing, sealants). Stakeholders and some council members warned that shifting oversight could reduce required hands‑on instruction, fragment curricula and raise costs for small providers, with potential impacts on workforce supply and patient safety.

Key components of the proposal and staff rationale

- The draft text would require educational providers to be accredited or authorized by a list of external entities (the meeting materials list multiple agencies; the materials noted that rigor varies widely and that CODA evaluates individual course content while other agencies may not). Fowler said the board’s existing review process is time‑ and labor‑intensive and that many programs now fail reevaluations, creating workload and cost pressures on staff and providers.

- Board staff and counsel proposed stakeholder meetings and additional workgroup review before any final action; staff said the legislative language is a discussion draft intended to generate stakeholder feedback. "This legislative proposal is just a first draft. This is intended to spark conversation with the dental assisting community," Tina Valerie said.

Stakeholder and council reactions

- Melody Randolph, representing the Dental Assisting Alliance, said the alliance is "deeply concerned" and warned the proposal could eliminate mandatory hands‑on training, produce inconsistent educational standards because many listed accreditors have no dentistry‑specific curriculum requirements, and lead to program closures and reduced protections for patients. "This alone could pose a significant or substantial barrier to dental assisting education and training," she said.

- The California Dental Association (CDA) similarly urged the board to preserve affordable, local training options and recommended recognizing board‑permitted continuing‑education providers alongside nationally recognized accreditors to avoid closing programs or creating new barriers.

- Educators including Sherry Becker and John Greenfield (California Association of Dental Assisting Teachers and California Associates Extended Functional Association) urged caution and asked that stakeholder meetings explore options before the board removes course‑approval authority.

- Several council members said they support thorough stakeholder outreach and further internal discussion before any decision. Miyazaki and other members emphasized that the council needs to examine whether the board’s current evaluation approach is yielding the right outcomes and whether other oversight models would better protect patient safety while addressing workforce shortages.

DANB presentation and discussion of exam pathways

- Catherine Landsberg, director of government relations for DANB, and DANB psychometrician Jana Georgieva presented DANB exam content, administration and usage in other states. Landsberg noted DANB certifications or component exams are recognized or required in 39 states and the District of Columbia and that DANB offers the Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and Infection Control (ICE) exams, among others. The RHS and ICE exams are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, Landsberg said.

- Board staff noted DANB certification recently was recognized in statute as one acceptable pathway to qualify for the RDA examination in other states, and the council discussed whether California should accept DANB component exams as evidence that an applicant has met the prerequisite knowledge for duties such as radiography and infection control.

- DANB provided pass‑rate data for component exams: the RHS pass rate reported for a prior period was roughly mid‑60s to high‑60s percent (transcript cited roughly 66% historical and 68% more recently) and ICE pass rates in the low‑to‑mid 70s percent range for national candidates. Landsberg said detailed content outlines and study guides are available online.

Points of operational concern raised in the meeting

- Several participants asked how the board would avoid a situation where a candidate passes a DANB‑style written exam but lacks hands‑on clinical experience. Board staff replied that the draft proposal contemplates either a board‑approved course or an accepted exam as pathways and that supervision by a dentist remains a key safeguard in practice, but stakeholders said supervision alone may not fully protect patients.

- Questions about reciprocity and duplication surfaced: under current law, candidates holding a DANB CDA who seek California licensure still must take certain in‑state courses; the proposal discussed would change whether those in‑state courses remained necessary.

Next steps

- Council members Fowler and Miyazaki and board staff said stakeholder meetings will be scheduled to solicit written and oral comments and to refine any statutory or regulatory language. Staff indicated proposed language and revised materials would be returned to the Dental Assisting Council for further discussion at a later meeting.

- No formal action or vote on the legislative proposal or on recognition of DANB exams was taken at the Aug. 14 meeting.

Ending: The council directed workgroups and staff to pursue stakeholder outreach and bring revised options back to the council for additional review and deliberation in subsequent meetings.