# RDA exam practice questions: Laws and regulations

Five original RDA exam practice questions on laws and regulations, each answered on this page with a rationale and a source.

Last updated: 2026-09-29.

## Question 1

While the RDA drapes a patient for an extraction, the patient says nobody explained what could go wrong and the consent form is unsigned. What should the RDA do?

- A. Stop and tell the dentist before treatment begins, because the disclosure is the dentist's duty.
- B. Explain the risks and alternatives herself and obtain the signature, since the patient asked her directly.
- C. Obtain the signature now so the appointment can start, and mention the conversation to the dentist afterward.
- D. Proceed, because the treatment estimate the patient initialed at the front desk documents her consent.

**Answer A:** Stop and tell the dentist before treatment begins, because the disclosure is the dentist's duty.

Cobbs v. Grant places on the provider a duty of reasonable disclosure of the available choices and the dangers involved in each, measured by what a reasonable patient needs to decide — and that conversation belongs to the treating dentist because diagnosis and treatment planning are never delegable.

**Common trap:** the helpful-sounding option has the RDA narrating risks and alternatives, which is stepping into diagnosis; a signature collected before the required disclosure is not informed consent, and a financial estimate discloses price, not dangers and choices.

Source: [Cobbs v. Grant (1972) 8 Cal.3d 229 — California's informed consent doctrine: a duty of reasonable disclosure of the available choices with respect to…](https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/cobbs-v-grant-30273)

## Question 2

A caller who says he is a patient's employer asks the front desk to confirm whether she really had a root canal yesterday. There is no authorization in the chart. What is correct?

- A. Do not confirm or deny anything, because the CMIA makes confidentiality the default.
- B. Confirm the appointment only, because scheduling data is a health care operation.
- C. Confirm the treatment, because the caller supplied the patient's name and date of birth.
- D. Confirm the treatment if the caller states it is needed for the patient's sick leave.

**Answer A:** Do not confirm or deny anything, because the CMIA makes confidentiality the default.

California's CMIA makes confidentiality the default and bars disclosure without an authorization outside the statute's own exceptions, and HIPAA's treatment, payment, and health care operations permissions do not cover an employer verifying an absence. When the layers differ, the stricter rule controls.

**Common trap:** identifying information supplied by the caller authenticates nothing, and "confirm only the appointment" still discloses that the person is a patient and was treated.

Source: [California Civil Code §56.10 (Confidentiality of Medical Information Act) — permitted and prohibited disclosures of patient medical information; the…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=56.10.&lawCode=CIV)

## Question 3

An RDA is seating a patient for extraction of a lower molar. While the RDA drapes her, the patient says, "Wait — I thought he was just going to fill this one. Nobody has told me what could go wrong if I have it pulled." The consent form in the chart is unsigned. What should the RDA do?

- A. Explain the risks and the alternatives to extraction herself and then have the patient sign the consent form, since the patient asked her directly.
- B. Have the patient sign the consent form now so the appointment can start, and mention the conversation to the dentist after the visit.
- C. Stop and tell the dentist before treatment begins, because disclosing diagnosis, risks, and alternatives is the dentist's non-delegable duty.
- D. Proceed with setup, because the itemized treatment estimate the patient reviewed and initialed at the front desk already documents her informed consent.

**Answer C:** Stop and tell the dentist before treatment begins, because disclosing diagnosis, risks, and alternatives is the dentist's non-delegable duty.

Cobbs v. Grant imposes on the provider "a duty of reasonable disclosure of the available choices with respect to proposed therapy and of the dangers inherently and potentially involved in each," measured by what a reasonable patient would need in order to decide. That disclosure conversation belongs to the treating dentist, because diagnosis and treatment planning are never delegable to any dental assistant. The RDA's lawful moves are procedural: confirm consent is documented before assisting, and route the patient's confusion or hesitation to the dentist.

**Common trap:** Option A is the helpful-sounding answer and the most commonly chosen wrong one — an RDA who narrates risks and alternatives has stepped into diagnosis and treatment planning. Option B inverts the sequence: a signature collected before the required disclosure is not informed consent, and consent explained for one procedure but obtained for another is no consent at all. Option D confuses a financial estimate with informed consent; a cost form discloses price, not dangers and choices.

Source: [Cobbs v. Grant (1972) 8 Cal.3d 229 — California's informed consent doctrine: the provider's duty to disclose information a reasonable patient needs…](https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/cobbs-v-grant-30273)

## Question 4

A caller tells the front desk he is a patient's employer and wants to confirm whether the patient really had a root canal yesterday, because she called in sick. He offers the patient's full name and date of birth. There is no authorization in the chart. What is the correct response?

- A. Confirm the appointment date and time only, because scheduling information is a health care operation and may be shared without authorization.
- B. Disclose nothing and route the request to the dentist; without authorization or a statutory exception, the CMIA bars disclosure.
- C. Confirm the visit, because HIPAA permits disclosures for payment and this employer may be connected to the patient's dental coverage.
- D. Confirm the visit, because the caller supplied the patient's full name and date of birth, which verifies that the request is legitimate.

**Answer B:** Disclose nothing and route the request to the dentist; without authorization or a statutory exception, the CMIA bars disclosure.

Civil Code §56.10 commands that a provider of health care "shall not disclose medical information regarding a patient … without first obtaining an authorization," outside the exceptions the statute itself lists. HIPAA's permission to share for treatment, payment, and health care operations does not reach an employer's curiosity, and where the minimum-necessary standard applies, permitted sharing is bounded. Because HIPAA is a federal floor, the stricter California rule controls when the two overlap.

**Common trap:** Options A and C dress an ordinary nosy call in real statutory vocabulary — "operations" and "payment" are genuine HIPAA categories, which makes them feel authorized. This is the classic "HIPAA allows it, so it's legal" error: even where a federal permission arguably exists, the CMIA's default of no disclosure without authorization governs. Option D confuses identifying the caller with being authorized by the patient; knowing a birthdate is not an authorization, and the fact of an appointment is itself protected information.

Source: [California Civil Code §56.10 (Confidentiality of Medical Information Act) — permitted and prohibited disclosures of patient medical information](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=56.10.&lawCode=CIV)

## Question 5

An RDA assisting on a 4-year-old notices bruising in several colors along the child's jaw and a cheek laceration that does not match the caregiver's explanation. She tells the supervising dentist, who says he will "take care of it." Two days later he tells her he decided not to report because the family has been with the practice for years. What must the RDA do?

- A. Nothing further; she satisfied her own obligation when she reported to the supervising dentist, who as the treating licensee is the office's designated mandated reporter.
- B. Make her own telephone report immediately or as soon as practicably possible to police or the county welfare department, with a written report within 36 hours.
- C. Wait until the child's next scheduled appointment to see whether any new injuries appear, because right now she has a suspicion but no documented proof of abuse.
- D. Obtain the office's written authorization before contacting an outside agency, and then submit her written report to that agency within 10 days.

**Answer B:** Make her own telephone report immediately or as soon as practicably possible to police or the county welfare department, with a written report within 36 hours.

The RDA is covered through Penal Code §11165.7(a)(21)'s catchall for persons "currently licensed under Division 2" of the BPC — the subdivision names a dentist and a dental hygienist but not a "dental assistant," so an RDA is covered by her license and an unlicensed DA is not covered by job title. Her initial agreement that the dentist would "take care of it" can lawfully operate as a §11166(h) team designation, but once she learns the designee failed, §11166(h) requires her to make the report. The telephone report — to a police or sheriff's department or the county welfare department — is immediate or as soon as is practicably possible, followed by the written report within 36 hours. Reasonable suspicion is the trigger; proof is not required, good-faith reports are protected, and failing to report when required is itself a crime.

**Common trap:** Option A is the strongest distractor because it matches every other workplace instinct — chain of command. A §11166(h) mutual-agreement designation is the only lawful way to route a report through a colleague, and §11166(i) confirms that merely notifying a supervisor is not a report and that no supervisor may impede reporting; either way the duty revives here because the designee did not report. Option C imports a proof standard the statute does not use. Option D combines two myths: that employer permission is needed, and a 10-day clock that exists nowhere in the child-abuse statute.

Source: [California Penal Code §§11165.7, 11166 — mandated child-abuse reporting. §11165.7(a)(21) does not name "dental assistant." It names a dentist and a…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=11165.7.&lawCode=PEN)

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Official reference: [Dental Board of California RDA Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination Outline](https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/rda_exam_outline.pdf). Original exam-style questions written for study, never recalled exam content. Independent educational preparation, not legal or clinical advice, and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Dental Board of California or PSI. Confirm current requirements with the Dental Board of California.