# RDH Law and Ethics practice questions: Scope of practice, conduct and licensure

Five original RDH Law and Ethics practice questions on scope of practice, conduct and licensure, each answered on this page with a rationale and a source.

Last updated: 2026-07-25.

## Question 1

A hygienist is scheduled for root planing on a day when the supervising dentist will be at a second office 30 miles away, reachable by phone. Under which supervision level may she work, and is the appointment lawful?

- A. Indirect supervision, which California allows whenever the dentist is reachable by phone.
- B. General supervision, which does not require the dentist on site, so the appointment may proceed.
- C. Direct supervision, which requires the dentist in the building, so the appointment must be rescheduled.
- D. No supervision at all, because root planing is classified as a preventive service.

**Answer B:** General supervision, which does not require the dentist on site, so the appointment may proceed.

California recognizes only two supervision levels for hygienists — direct (dentist physically present in the treatment facility) and general (dentist not required to be present) — and root planing is a general-supervision duty.

**Common trap:** "indirect supervision" does not exist in the Dental Hygiene Practice Act, and it is not the dental-assisting word either, since BPC § 1741(k)–(l) defines only direct and general supervision there too — so it is always a wrong answer here. It is not, however, "non-California" terminology: California defines indirect supervision in other licensed fields, such as veterinary practice under BPC § 4836.1. The accurate rule is that it is not a dental supervision level.

Source: [Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1902 — Definitions: "direct supervision" (dentist physically present in the treatment facility) and "general supervision"…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1902.&lawCode=BPC)

## Question 2

A hygienist volunteers at a weekend event run by a for-profit community group. No dentist is present, the event is not a government-administered public health program, and no nonprofit sponsors it. Which service may she still provide?

- A. Pit-and-fissure sealants, because sealants are a preventive service in any setting.
- B. An oral prophylaxis, because a routine prophylaxis requires only general supervision.
- C. Fluoride varnish, which the statute allows without supervision in any setting.
- D. Nothing at all, because no dentist is present to supervise the event.

**Answer C:** Fluoride varnish, which the statute allows without supervision in any setting.

fluoride varnish may be provided without supervision, in any setting, notwithstanding the general-supervision default.

**Common trap:** fluoride application and pit-and-fissure sealants go unsupervised only in a public health program, a sponsored event, or a nonprofit — this event is none of those.

Source: [Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1911.5 — Fluoride Varnish: notwithstanding § 1912, an RDH may provide fluoride varnish without supervision](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1911.5.&lawCode=BPC)

## Question 3

A dentist tells an unlicensed assistant to "do the easy cleanings" — supragingival scaling on recall patients — and asks the hygienist to show her how. What is the hygienist's correct response?

- A. Refuse, because only a licensed dentist, RDH, RDHAP, or RDHEF may lawfully practice dental hygiene.
- B. Comply, because the dentist is legally responsible for everything that happens in his office.
- C. Comply, provided she directly watches the assistant throughout every recall appointment.
- D. Comply, as long as the assistant is currently enrolled in a dental assisting program.

**Answer A:** Refuse, because only a licensed dentist, RDH, RDHAP, or RDHEF may lawfully practice dental hygiene.

no one other than a licensed dentist, RDH, RDHAP, or RDHEF may practice dental hygiene, including supragingival and subgingival scaling, and aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice is unprofessional conduct.

**Common trap:** the employer's responsibility never absorbs the licensee's — the hygienist who trains the unlicensed person is exposed personally.

Source: [Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1915 — Limitations on Who May Engage in the Practice of Dental Hygiene, including supragingival and subgingival scaling,…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1915.&lawCode=BPC)

## Question 4

A hygienist in a Fresno general practice has a 2:00 p.m. patient scheduled for quadrant scaling and root planing with local anesthesia. At 1:45 p.m. the supervising dentist leaves the building for an off-site consultation and will not return until 4:00 p.m. The hygienist holds a current California RDH license and completed her board-approved local anesthesia coursework, which the board has on file. What may she lawfully do at 2:00 p.m.?

- A. Both the anesthesia and the scaling and root planing, because she holds the required coursework and the dentist gave prior instructions.
- B. The scaling and root planing, but not the local anesthesia, because that duty requires the dentist's physical presence.
- C. Neither procedure, because all therapeutic hygiene procedures require the supervising dentist to be physically on site.
- D. Both procedures, because scaling with anesthesia falls under indirect supervision when the dentist is reachable by phone.

**Answer B:** The scaling and root planing, but not the local anesthesia, because that duty requires the dentist's physical presence.

California recognizes only two supervision levels for hygienists — "direct supervision," which requires the dentist to be "physically present in the treatment facility," and "general supervision," which does not. Local anesthesia is one of the three BPC § 1909 direct-supervision duties, so it stops the moment the dentist leaves the building. Scaling and root planing are BPC § 1910 general-supervision duties and continue on the dentist's prior instructions.

**Common trap:** Option D imports "indirect supervision," which appears nowhere in the Dental Hygiene Practice Act. Do not describe it as the dental-assisting term, either: BPC § 1741(k)–(l) defines only direct and general supervision for dental assisting as well. So "indirect" is not a dental supervision level in California and is always wrong on this exam — but do not overstate the point into "not a California term," because California defines indirect supervision in other licensed fields, including veterinary practice under BPC § 4836.1. Option A is tempting because the coursework requirement is satisfied, but § 1909 imposes two locks at once: the course and the dentist's physical presence. Option C over-corrects by treating every therapeutic procedure as direct-supervision when § 1912 makes general supervision the default for anything not specifically listed as direct.

Source: [Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1902 — Definitions: "direct supervision" (subd. (c), dentist physically present in the treatment facility), "general…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1902.&lawCode=BPC)

## Question 5

During a recall appointment in a San Jose office, the dentist is running behind and asks the hygienist to help catch up. Which of the following requested tasks is outside the practice of dental hygiene under every level of supervision, no matter what additional training the hygienist has completed?

- A. Performing a dental hygiene assessment and developing a dental hygiene care plan for a periodontal maintenance patient.
- B. Placing an interim therapeutic restoration on a carious primary molar after the dentist's diagnosis and instruction.
- C. Placing and carving the permanent composite restoration the dentist just prepared on tooth #19.
- D. Applying a subgingival antimicrobial agent for the control of periodontal disease in a maintenance patient.

**Answer C:** Placing and carving the permanent composite restoration the dentist just prepared on tooth #19.

BPC § 1908 excludes from dental hygiene, at every license level and under any supervision, the "placing, condensing, carving, or removal of permanent restorations," along with diagnosis and comprehensive treatment planning, surgery or cutting on hard and soft tissue, prescribing medication, and anesthesia or sedation beyond nitrous oxide-oxygen and § 1909 local anesthesia. A hygiene assessment and hygiene care plan are expressly inside the scope, subgingival agents are a § 1910 general-supervision duty, and an interim therapeutic restoration is lawful under § 1910.5 precisely because it is a provisional restoration.

**Common trap:** Option B looks like the same act as option C to a candidate who does not separate "provisional" from "permanent" — an ITR stabilizes the tooth until a dentist diagnoses the need for definitive treatment, while a permanent restoration is one of the five doors that never opens. Option A trips candidates who blur a hygiene assessment and care plan (inside scope) with a diagnosis and comprehensive treatment plan (the dentist's alone).

Source: [Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1908 — Practices Included in and Excluded from Dental Hygiene: assessment, care-plan development and implementation,…](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1908.&lawCode=BPC)

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Official reference: [DHBC/PSI RDH Laws and Ethics Written Examination Candidate Information Bulletin](https://www.dhbc.ca.gov/formspubs/candidate_handbook.pdf). Original exam-style questions written for study, never recalled exam content. Independent educational preparation, not legal advice, and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Dental Hygiene Board of California or PSI. Confirm current requirements with the Dental Hygiene Board of California.