# What California prescribing and CURES rules matter for dental exam prep? > Use this guide when you need California prescribing rules, CURES timing, opioid counseling, and emergency-style exception language. Last verified: 2026-06-10 Reviewed by: Mahtab Mansour, DDS on 2026-04-25 (re-verification in progress) ## Direct answer - CURES review is required before the first Schedule II-IV prescribing event unless a current statutory exemption applies. - For ongoing therapy, California expects a re-check at least every 6 months. - Do not answer from stale five-day exemption language when the current official wording uses seven-day nonrefillable language. ## Full guide ## High-yield California rules for this topic ### Prescribing — within scope and CURES Prescribe only within dental scope — a prescription for a non-dental condition, a family favor, or convenience violates the Dental Practice Act even with flawless paperwork.[^A15] CURES: check within 24 hours (or the previous business day) before first prescribing, ordering, administering, or furnishing a Schedule II through IV controlled substance, then re-check at least every six months while it stays in the treatment plan; Schedule V is reportable when dispensed but needs no pre-prescribing check.[^A12] [^A13] Carve-outs: a 7-day nonrefillable supply for emergency-department discharges or specific surgical procedures, and Assembly Bill 82 (effective January 1, 2026) bars reporting testosterone or mifepristone to CURES.[^A13] [^A60] A CURES exemption is not an e-prescribing exemption — e-prescribing is the default under BPC §688, and paper prescribers must register with the Board of Pharmacy.[^A32] **Memorize it:** **"24-6 / 7-day / II-III-IV (not V) / No-Testosterone"** — check 24 hours before and 6 months after; 7-day nonrefillable emergency exemption; II-IV checked but V excluded; AB 82 exempts testosterone reporting in 2026. ### Opioid counseling, naloxone, MATE Act, opioids to minors HSC §11158.1: before the first opioid in a course of treatment, counsel every patient (not just minors) on addiction risk, overdose risk, and the danger of mixing opioids with alcohol, benzodiazepines, or other CNS depressants.[^A24] AB 2760 requires offering a naloxone prescription at 90 or more MME per day, with a concurrent benzodiazepine, or with increased overdose risk.[^A24] For minors, HSC §11159.2 adds written counseling to the parent or guardian before the first opioid, covering addiction risk, depressant combinations, and safe disposal.[^A24] Federally, controlled-substance prescribing requires a valid DEA registration plus the one-time 8-hour MATE Act training — separate from California's repeating opioid CE.[^A12] **Memorize it:** **"First-talk / 90-MME-or-benzo-naloxone / MATE-once / Minors-written"** — first opioid requires counseling; naloxone offer at 90 MME or with a benzo; federal MATE is 8 hours one-time; minors need written counseling. [^A7]: `A7` Dental Board of California — continuing education, renewal, and permit-maintenance guidance. [^A9]: `A9` California Health & Safety Code §123110 — patient inspection and copy timelines (still apply to telehealth records). [^A11]: `A11` California Business & Professions Code §2290.5 — telehealth consent and parity. [^A12]: `A12` Department of Consumer Affairs CURES overview. [^A13]: `A13` Department of Consumer Affairs CURES mandatory-consultation flyer and exemptions. [^A15]: `A15` California Business & Professions Code §§1625, 1680 (including §1680(z) seven-day written report for a patient death or removal to a hospital or emergency center), 1684.5, 1685 — definition of dentistry, unprofessional conduct, telehealth-supervision cap, delivery of dental care. [^A19]: `A19` Dental Board of California — current anesthesia and sedation permit framework (GA, MGA, MS, PMS, OCS-A). [^A20]: `A20` Dental Board of California, SB 1453 alert — anesthesia/sedation changes effective 1/1/2025 (MGA permit, pediatric endorsements, physical presence). [^A21]: `A21` California Business & Professions Code §651 — advertising rules, including disclosure of material limits on advertised fees. [^A24]: `A24` California Health & Safety Code §11158.1 (opioid counseling), §11159.2 (counseling for minors), and AB 2760 (naloxone co-prescribing). [^A27]: `A27` California Family Code §§6922 (self-sufficient minor), 7002/7050 (emancipated minor) — minor self-consent statutes. [^A28]: `A28` California Business & Professions Code §654.3 — patient financing and third-party credit arrangements. [^A29]: `A29` California Civil Code §51 (Unruh Civil Rights Act); Government Code §§7290–7299.8 (Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act); ADA Title III. [^A30]: `A30` California Business & Professions Code §1683.1 — telehealth provider identification disclosures. [^A31]: `A31` California Business & Professions Code §1683.2 — complaint-waiver prohibition. [^A32]: `A32` California Business & Professions Code §688 — electronic prescribing and exemptions. [^A37]: `A37` California Business & Professions Code §1700 — license, permit, and registration display. [^A39]: `A39` 16 CCR §1018.05 — 30-day reporting of criminal indictments and felony or misdemeanor convictions to the Board. [^A40]: `A40` California Business & Professions Code §1682 — anesthesia informed consent and pediatric warning language. [^A49]: `A49` *Cobbs v. Grant*, 8 Cal.3d 229 (1972) — patient-centered material-risk informed-consent standard. [^A50]: `A50` *Truman v. Thomas*, 27 Cal.3d 285 (1980) — duty to disclose material risks of refusing recommended treatment. [^A51]: `A51` *Arato v. Avedon*, 5 Cal.4th 1172 (1993) — limits and context for the informed-consent disclosure analysis. [^A52]: `A52` California Probate Code §§4683, 4711, 4712, plus AB 2338 default-surrogate framework for adults lacking capacity. [^A57]: `A57` California Family Code §6550 — Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit for relative caregivers (good-faith reliance immunity; parent contrary wishes override). [^A38]: `A38` California Business & Professions Code §1750 — dental assistant definition, basic supportive dental procedures, and infection-control prerequisites. [^A59]: `A59` Senate Bill 351 (2025) — prohibitions on private equity and hedge fund clinical interference. [^A60]: `A60` Assembly Bill 82 (2025); HSC §11165(k) — CURES reporting exemptions for testosterone and mifepristone. [^A61]: `A61` 16 CCR §1016 — continuing education repeating opioid course mandate. [^A62]: `A62` Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact (DDHC) — member-state status (13 member states as of May 2026; California not a member; compact privileges not yet issued in any state). [^A63]: `A63` Assembly Bill 116 Health Omnibus — elimination of State-only Medi-Cal dental benefits for undocumented adults effective July 1, 2026. [^A73]: `A73` California Business & Professions Code §1647.31 — minimal sedation of a patient under age 13; PMS, GA, or pediatric-endorsed MS permit required. [^A80]: `A80` California Business & Professions Code §1647.2 (SB 501, operative 1/1/2022) — pediatric moderate-sedation requirements for patients under 13, including pediatric endorsement and pediatric life support (PALS or Board-approved equivalent) certification. ## Related guides - [How do California consent rules work for minors and patients with impaired capacity?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/consent-minors-impaired-patients/index.html.md) - [What changed in California dental sedation and anesthesia rules?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/sedation-anesthesia/index.html.md) - [What continuing-education, renewal, and permit rules do California dentists need?](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/ce-renewal-permits/index.html.md)