Dental Assistant Council recommends changes to DA/RDA duties, moves orthodontic-appliance instruction out of 'chairside' category

The Dental Assistant Council voted Thursday to recommend legislative clarifications that reorganize and clarify the allowable duties and supervision levels for dental assistants and registered dental assistants.

The council approved a working-group draft that consolidates allowable duties in statute, adds definitions (including a new term, "supervising licensed dentist"), and creates a chairside supervision section to group duties that require the dentist be physically at the patient’s chair while a duty is performed. Council members debated the practicality of one chairside duty—delivering care instructions after the dentist adjusts and seats a removable orthodontic appliance—and moved to remove that sentence from the chairside list and reinsert it under direct supervision.

The change was prompted by members who said it is unrealistic to require a dentist to remain chairside while an assistant delivers routine post‑adjustment instructions. Proponents of the revision said the duty already existed elsewhere and the edit was a reclassification to better reflect existing practice. Council member S. Robbins moved to strike the item from the chairside subsection and place it back into the direct supervision paragraph; Miyazaki seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with recorded 'aye' votes from all members present.

Stakeholder feedback was discussed during the item. Staff presented written support from the California Dental Association for the working group’s interpretation of supervision language. Members also asked whether the proposal should include a formal definition of "chairside supervision" to address open-bay clinic layouts; staff and the working group said the statutory language mirrors existing regulatory language indicating the dentist must be at the specific patient's chairside for those duties.

The council approved the working group’s recommendation, as revised, and directed that the amended legislative proposal be forwarded to the Dental Board of California for consideration as a board-sponsored bill.

The council also discussed certificate-of-completion wording for educational pathways and noted a specific infection-control course provision required a statement of the statutory authority because that course is proposed to be accepted only for non‑licensure purposes. Staff said those certificate requirements are distinct from the scope changes in the DA/RDA working group.