Section 1070 - General Provisions Governing All Dental Assistant Educational Programs and Courses(a)(1) The criteria in subdivisions (b) to (j), inclusive, shall be met by a dental assisting program or course and all orthodontic assisting and dental sedation assisting permit programs or courses to secure and maintain approval by the Board as provided in this Article.(2) The Board may approve, provisionally approve, or deny approval of any program or course for which an application to the Board for approval is required. All Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) and Registered Dental Assistant in Extended Functions (RDAEF) programs and dental assisting educational courses shall be re-evaluated approximately every seven years, but may be subject to re-evaluation and inspection by the Board at any time to review and investigate compliance with this Article and the Dental Practice Act (Act). Re-evaluation may include a site visit or written documentation that ensures compliance with all regulations. Results of re-evaluation shall be reported to the Board or its designee for final consideration and continuance of program or course approval, provisional approval or denial of approval.(3) Program and course records shall be subject to inspection by the Board at any time.(4) The Board may withdraw approval at any time that it determines that a program or course does not meet the requirements of this Article or any other requirement in the Act.(5) All programs and courses shall be established at the postsecondary educational level or deemed equivalent thereto by the Board.(6) The Board or its designee may approve, provisionally approve, or deny approval to any such program. Provisional approval shall not be granted for a period which exceeds the length of the program. When the Board provisionally approves a program, it shall state the reasons therefore. Provisional approval shall be limited to those programs which substantially comply with all existing standards for full approval. A program given provisional approval shall immediately notify each student of such status. If the Board denies approval of a program, the specific reasons therefore shall be provided to the program by the Board in writing within 90 days after such action.(b) The program or course director shall possess a valid, active, and current license issued by the Board or the dental hygiene committee. The program or course director shall actively participate in and be responsible for the administration of the program or course. Specifically, the program or course director shall be responsible for the following requirements:(1) Maintaining for a period of not less than five years copies of curricula, program outlines, objectives, and grading criteria, and copies of faculty credentials, licenses, and certifications, and individual student records, including those necessary to establish satisfactory completion of the program or course.(2) Informing the Board of any major change to the program or course content, physical facilities, or faculty, within 10 days of the change.(3) Ensuring that all staff and faculty involved in clinical instruction meet the requirements set forth in this Article.(c) Course faculty and instructional staff shall be authorized to provide instruction by the program or course director at the educational facility in which instruction is provided.(d) No faculty or instructional staff member shall instruct in any procedure that he or she does not hold a license or permit in California to perform. Each faculty or instructional staff member shall possess a valid, active, and current license issued by the Board or the Dental Hygiene Committee of California, shall have been licensed or permitted for a minimum of two years, and possess experience in the subject matter he or she is teaching. An instructor who has held a license as a registered dental assistant or registered dental assistant in extended functions for at least two years, who then becomes a permit holder as an Orthodontic Assistant on or after January 1, 2010, shall not be required to have held such a permit for two years in order to instruct in the subject area.(e) A certificate, diploma, or other evidence of completion shall be issued to each student who successfully completes the program or course and shall include the following: the student's name, the name of the program or course, the date of completion, and the signature of the program or course director or his or her designee.(f) Facilities and class scheduling shall provide each student with sufficient opportunity, with instructor supervision, to develop minimum competency in all duties for which the program or course is approved to instruct.(1) The location and number of general use equipment and armamentaria shall ensure that each student has the access necessary to develop minimum competency in all of the duties for which the program or course is approved to instruct. The program or course provider may either provide the specified equipment and supplies or require that the student provide them. Nothing in this Section shall preclude a dental office that contains the equipment required by this Section from serving as a location for laboratory instruction.(2) Clinical instruction shall be of sufficient duration to allow the procedures to be performed to clinical proficiency. Operatories shall be sufficient in number to allow a ratio of at least one operatory for every five students who are simultaneously engaged in clinical instruction.(A) Each operatory shall contain functional equipment, including a power-operated chair for patient or simulation-based instruction in a supine position, operator and assistant stools, air-water syringe, adjustable light, oral evacuation equipment, work surface, handpiece connection, and adjacent hand-washing sink.(B) Each operatory shall be of sufficient size to simultaneously accommodate one student, one instructor, and one patient or student partner.(C) Prior to clinical assignments, students must demonstrate minimum competence in laboratory or preclinical performance of the procedures they will be expected to perform in their clinical experiences.(g) The program or course shall establish written clinical and laboratory protocols that comply with the Board's Minimum Standards for Infection Control (Cal. Code Regs., Title 16, Section 1005) and other federal, state, and local requirements governing infection control. The program or course shall provide these protocols to all students, faculty, and instructional staff to ensure compliance. Adequate space shall be provided for handling, processing, and sterilizing all armamentarium.(h) A written policy on managing emergency situations shall be made available to all students, faculty, and instructional staff. All faculty and staff involved in the direct oversight of patient care activities shall be certified in basic life support procedures, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Recertification intervals may not exceed two years. The program or course director shall ensure and document compliance by faculty and instructional staff. A program or course shall sequence curriculum in such a manner so as to ensure that students complete instruction in basic life support prior to performing procedures on patients used for clinical instruction and evaluation.(i) A detailed program or course outline shall clearly state, in writing, the curriculum subject matter, hours of didactic, laboratory, and clinical instruction, general program or course objectives, instructional objectives, theoretical content of each subject, and, where applicable, the use of practical application. Objective evaluation criteria shall be used for measuring student progress toward attainment of specific program or course objectives. Students shall be provided with all of the following: (1) Specific performance objectives and the evaluation criteria used for measuring levels of competence for each component of a given procedure including those used for examinations.(2) Standards of performance that state the minimum number of satisfactory performances that are required for each performance-evaluated procedure.(3) Standards of performance for laboratory, preclinical, and clinical functions, those steps that would cause the student to fail the task being evaluated, and a description of each of the grades that may be assigned during evaluation procedures.(j)(1) If an extramural dental facility is utilized, students shall, as part of an extramural organized program of instruction, be provided with planned, supervised clinical instruction. Laboratory and preclinical instruction shall be performed under the direct supervision of program or course faculty or instructional staff and shall not be provided in an extramural dental facility.(2) The program or course director, or a designated faculty member, shall be responsible for selecting extramural dental facility and evaluating student competence before and after the clinical assignment.(3) Prior to student assignment in an extramural dental facility, the program or course director, or a designated faculty or instructional staff member, shall orient dentists and all licensed dental healthcare workers who may provide instruction, evaluation, and oversight of the student in the clinical setting. Orientation shall include, at a minimum, the objectives of the program or course, the student's preparation for the clinical assignment, and a review of procedures and criteria to be used by the dentist or the licensed personnel in the extramural dental facility in evaluating the student during the assignment, which shall be the same as the evaluation criteria used within the program or course.(4) There shall be a written contract of affiliation between the program and each extramural dental facility that includes written affirmation of compliance with the regulations of this Article.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 1070
1. New subsection (d) filed 2-22-88; operative 3-23-88 (Register 88, No. 10).
2. Amendment of section heading, section and NOTE filed 4-30-2003; operative 5-30-2003 (Register 2003, No. 18).
3. Repealer and new section heading, section and NOTE filed 10-12-2011; operative 11-11-2011 (Register 2011, No. 41). Note: Authority cited: Section 1614, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 1750, 1750.2, 1750.4, 1752.1, 1752.4, 1752.6 and 1753, Business and Professions Code.
1. New subsection (d) filed 2-22-88; operative 3-23-88 (Register 88, No. 10).
2. Amendment of section heading, section and Note filed 4-30-2003; operative 5-30-2003 (Register 2003, No. 18).
3. Repealer and new section heading, section and Note filed 10-12-2011; operative 11-11-2011 (Register 2011, No. 41).