What advertising and public-notice rules apply to California dentists?

High-yield California rules for this topic

Advertising rules

BPC §651 bans any false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive claim: no guaranteed results, superiority claims, or "painless dentistry"; no specialist labels without the recognized advanced training; fee ads must show all material terms, limitations, and timeframes; before-and-after images must identify the procedures actually performed; and a hired model must be labeled as a model.^{1 2} Before telehealth services, the patient must be able to identify the treating dentist by name, telephone number, practice address, and California license number (BPC §1683.1), and BPC §1683.2 prohibits requiring a patient to sign an agreement limiting Board complaints.^{3 4 5} A practice using a fictitious name needs a current Fictitious Name Permit (BPC §1701.5), updated immediately on any name or ownership change.⁶ Stale-prep warning: §§1683.1 and 1683.2 were added by AB 1519 (Stats. 2019, ch. 865) effective January 1, 2020, so older prep materials miss both rules.^{4 5}

Memorize it: "Truth-Terms-Identity-Tag" — truthful claims, full fee terms, telehealth identity quartet (name/phone/address/license), and fictitious-name permit kept current.

Display and posting requirements

Four postings plus one warning:

• Licenses: display the current license, permit, or registration of each person practicing where all patients are likely to see it (BPC §1700; SB 1453 replaced the old employee-name posting with this) — failure is a misdemeanor.⁷
• Nametags: name and license status in at least 18-point type, unless the license is displayed in the treatment area (BPC §680).⁸
• Duties table: the Table of Permitted Dental Auxiliary Duties (updated effective January 1, 2025) posted in a common area (16 CCR §1068).^{9 10}
• Consumer notice: the BPC §1611.3 complaint notice posted or made accessible to patients.¹¹
• Prop 65: offices with 10 or more employees (fewer than 10 exempt under HSC §25249.11(b)) must warn under HSC §25249.6 — either a sign at least 5 by 5 inches in 20-point type at public entrances, or the warning inside a signed consent form (27 CCR §§25607.8–25607.9, operative August 30, 2018); this one may live on the consent form instead of the wall.¹²

Memorize it: "License-Duties-Notice-Tag" — four wall postings: license/permit display (BPC §1700), Auxiliary Duties table (CCR §1068), §1611.3 consumer notice, and an 18-point nametag on every person.

Footnotes

1. A21 California Business & Professions Code §651 — advertising rules and prohibitions. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=651. ↩

2. A15 California Business & Professions Code §§1611.5, 1625, 1680, 1684.1, 1684.5, 1763, 1800–1808 (dental corporations); Corporations Code §13400 et seq. (Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act); SB 351 private-equity restrictions. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1680. ↩

3. A11 California Business & Professions Code §2290.5 — telehealth consent and parity. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=2290.5. ↩

4. A30 California Business & Professions Code §1683.1 — telehealth provider identification disclosures. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1683.1. ↩ ↩²

5. A31 BPC §1683.2 — a dental-service provider may not require a patient to sign an agreement limiting the ability to file a Board complaint. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1683.2.. Accessed 2026-09-08. ↩ ↩²

6. A41 California Business & Professions Code §1701.5 — fictitious name permit. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1701.5. ↩

7. A37 California Business & Professions Code §1700 — current license, permit, and registration display; misdemeanor for failure (reinforced by SB 1453). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1700. ↩

8. A58 California Business & Professions Code §680 — nametag disclosure requirement, 18-point type. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=680. ↩

9. A5 16 CCR Division 10 — Dental Board of California regulations index (includes §1068 posted-duties-table requirement). https://www.dbc.ca.gov/about_us/lawsregs/index.shtml ↩

10. A6 Dental Board of California, Table of Permitted Dental Auxiliary Duties, effective 1/1/2025. https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/pub_permitted_duties.pdf ↩

11. A16 California Business & Professions Code §1611.3 — notice to consumers. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1611.3. ↩

12. A72 Proposition 65 dental-care warnings — HSC §§25249.6, 25249.11(b); 27 CCR §§25607.8–25607.9 safe-harbor sign or consent-form method (OEHHA regulations compilation). https://oehha.ca.gov/sites/default/files/media/2025-04/OEHHA%20P65%20Regulations%20042025_1.pdf ↩