# What advertising and public-notice rules apply to California dentists? > Use this guide for California rules on truthful advertising, required office notices, and the difference between marketing language and regulated public disclosures. Last verified: 2026-06-09 Reviewed by: Mahtab Mansour, DDS on 2026-04-25 (re-verification in progress) ## Direct answer - California focuses on whether an ad or public-facing statement is false, misleading, or omits a required disclosure. - Required office notices, provider-identification duties, and fictitious-name rules can matter just as much as the ad itself. - If a stem sounds like marketing, still check whether a separate public-notice or license-display rule is being tested. ## Full guide ## 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.[^A21] [^A15] 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 gag clauses waiving Dental Board complaints are void and unenforceable under BPC §1683.2 even if signed.[^A11] [^A30] [^A31] A practice using a fictitious name needs a current Fictitious Name Permit (BPC §1701.5), updated immediately on any name or ownership change.[^A41] 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.[^A30] [^A31] **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.[^A37] - **Nametags:** name and license status in at least 18-point type, unless the license is displayed in the treatment area (BPC §680).[^A58] - **Duties table:** the Table of Permitted Dental Auxiliary Duties (updated effective January 1, 2025) posted in a common area (16 CCR §1068).[^A5] [^A6] - **Consumer notice:** the BPC §1611.3 complaint notice posted or made accessible to patients.[^A16] - **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.[^A72] **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. [^A5]: `A5` 16 CCR Division 10 — Dental Board of California regulations index (includes §1068 posted-duties-table requirement). [^A6]: `A6` Dental Board of California, Table of Permitted Dental Auxiliary Duties, effective 1/1/2025. [^A11]: `A11` California Business & Professions Code §2290.5 — telehealth consent and parity. [^A14]: `A14` Dental Board of California minimum standards for infection control, 16 CCR §1005. [^A15]: `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. [^A16]: `A16` California Business & Professions Code §1611.3 — notice to consumers. [^A17]: `A17` California Business & Professions Code §1741 — direct and general supervision definitions. [^A18]: `A18` California Business & Professions Code §1750.1 — dental assistant duties. [^A19]: `A19` Dental Board of California — current anesthesia and sedation permit framework. [^A20]: `A20` Dental Board of California, SB 1453 alert for anesthesia and sedation changes effective 1/1/2025. [^A21]: `A21` California Business & Professions Code §651 — advertising rules and prohibitions. [^A22]: `A22` California Penal Code §11166 — child-abuse reporting under CANRA (immediate phone, written within 36 hours). [^A23]: `A23` California Welfare & Institutions Code §15630 — elder/dependent-adult abuse reporting (immediate, written within 2 working days). [^A25]: `A25` California Business & Professions Code §1611.5 — Board inspection power on complaint. [^A30]: `A30` California Business & Professions Code §1683.1 — telehealth provider identification disclosures. [^A31]: `A31` California Business & Professions Code §1683.2 — complaint-waiver prohibition (no gag clauses). [^A37]: `A37` California Business & Professions Code §1700 — current license, permit, and registration display; misdemeanor for failure (reinforced by SB 1453). [^A38]: `A38` California Business & Professions Code §1750 — DA definition, BSDP, and SB 1453 8-hour infection-control prerequisite. [^A41]: `A41` California Business & Professions Code §1701.5 — fictitious name permit. [^A44]: `A44` California Government Code §12950.1 — harassment-prevention training (5+ employees, 2h/1h, every 2 years); Labor Code §1102.5 retaliation protection. [^A45]: `A45` CDPH Medical Waste Management Program (MWMA). [^A46]: `A46` DTSC universal-waste guidance, including dental amalgam. [^A54]: `A54` California Penal Code §11160 — reporting of assaultive or abusive injuries (immediate, written within 2 working days). [^A58]: `A58` California Business & Professions Code §680 — nametag disclosure requirement, 18-point type. [^A70]: `A70` 16 CCR §1070.6 — Board-approved 8-hour infection-control course content for dental assistants (at least 4 hours didactic, 2 hours laboratory/preclinical, 2 hours clinical). [^A71]: `A71` 16 CCR §1044.5 — minimum equipment, oxygen, suction, and emergency-drug standards for sedation/anesthesia-permitted facilities. [^A72]: `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). [^B3]: `B3` Cal/OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard, 8 CCR §5193 (Exposure Control Plan, sharps-injury log, annual training, post-exposure protocol). [^B4]: `B4` Dental Board of California, office-closure practical guidance newsletter. ## Related guides - [What California duties fall on the dental practice owner?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/practice-owner-duties/index.html.md) - [What telehealth and patient-of-record rules apply in California dentistry?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/scope-patient-of-record-telehealth/index.html.md) - [What can California dental auxiliaries do and under what supervision?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/auxiliaries-delegation-supervision/index.html.md)