What Changed in 2025-2026

Purpose

Collect the freshness-sensitive rule changes and stale-prep traps most likely to cause wrong answers for 2025-2026 exam prep. Every entry names what changed, when it took effect, what old prep says, and what the current answer is. If your prep predates the effective date listed, re-memorize the entry from this sheet.

2025 Changes To Know

All of these come from SB 1453 (Ashby, Ch. 483, Stats. 2024), effective January 1, 2025 — the single biggest source of stale prep on the current exam.

• Sedation permits were renamed: the current permit categories are GA (General Anesthesia), MGA (Medical General Anesthesia, for physicians providing GA in a dental office), MS (Moderate Sedation), PMS (Pediatric Minimal Sedation — never "Pediatric Moderate Sedation"), and OCS-A (Oral Conscious Sedation – Adult). Old prep teaches the retired "Conscious Sedation" permit; the current answer uses the new names — but note the phrase "conscious sedation" still appears in statute (BPC §1680(z)'s 7-day reporting rule), so do not auto-reject an answer for containing it. ¹
• Physical presence became explicit: the dentist who administers or orders moderate sedation, deep sedation, or general anesthesia must be physically present in the treatment facility the entire time the patient is sedated, and a dentist applying for or renewing a GA permit must hold current ACLS. Old prep treats "available nearby" as enough; the current answer is presence in the facility, full stop. ¹
• The Licensure by Portfolio pathway was repealed: after a DCA Office of Professional Examination Services psychometric review, SB 1453 removed the portfolio route from the Dental Practice Act. Old guides list portfolio as a fifth pathway; the current answer is that no candidate can pursue California dentist licensure through portfolio. ²
• DA infection-control timing changed: unlicensed dental assistants must complete the Board-approved 8-hour infection-control course — at least 4 hours didactic, 2 hours laboratory/preclinical, 2 hours clinical (16 CCR §1070.6) — before performing any basic supportive procedures with blood/saliva exposure. Old prep allows a one-year grace period; the current answer is no grace period at all. ^{3 4}
• The EF auxiliary cap was repealed: the former limit on concurrent extended-functions auxiliaries (former BPC §1753.7) is gone. Old prep teaches a numeric EF cap; the current answer is that no EF cap exists — only the 5-auxiliary telehealth-supervision cap (BPC §1684.5(d)) remains. ¹
• Coronal polishing opened to DAs: under BPC §1750(f)(4), an unlicensed DA may perform coronal polishing after completing a Board-approved course (with the 8-hour IC course and current BLS as prerequisites), under direct supervision only. Old prep treats it as an RDA-only duty. ^{3 5}
• License display replaced name posting: SB 1453 amended BPC §1700 — offices display the actual license, permit, or registration of each person practicing dentistry where patients can see it (failure is a misdemeanor). Old prep says "post the names of all employees"; that rule is repealed. ⁶
• OA/RDA experience barriers were repealed: old prep requiring months of DA work experience before the OA/RDA pathways is stale; SB 1453 removed those barriers. ¹
• Use the current 1/1/2025 Board duties table: do not answer auxiliary-scope questions from older screenshots or pre-2025 role charts. ⁵

2026 Changes To Know

• Breach notice got a hard deadline (SB 446, effective 1/1/2026): Civil Code §1798.82 now requires notice to affected California residents within 30 calendar days of discovering a breach, plus a sample notice to the Attorney General within 15 calendar days of notifying individuals when more than 500 residents are affected. Old prep says "without unreasonable delay"; that standard is gone. ⁷
• MICRA caps keep rising (AB 35, replacing the flat cap since 2023): for 2026, noneconomic damages cap at approximately $470,000 (non-death) and $650,000 (wrongful death), stackable up to 3 times across unaffiliated defendants, rising annually toward $750K/$1M plateaus. Old prep's flat $250,000 answer is dead. ⁸
• Private equity clinical control is banned (SB 351, HSC §1191, effective 1/1/2026): private equity groups and hedge funds may not dictate diagnostic tests, referrals, patient quotas, treatment options, coding/billing, or own patient records, and their non-compete/non-disparagement clauses are void. Precision point: MSOs are not named in §1191 — old summaries that say "SB 351 bans MSOs" overstate it; a PE-backed MSO is reached only through its controlling investors. ⁹
• MSOs answer to AB 1415 instead (effective 1/1/2026): MSOs, private equity groups, and hedge funds are OHCA "noticing entities" that must give the Office of Health Care Affordability written notice at least 90 days before material transactions. ¹⁰
• CURES reporting carve-out (AB 82, effective 1/1/2026): prescribers and dispensers are prohibited from reporting testosterone or mifepristone prescriptions to CURES (HSC §11165(k)). Old prep treats all controlled-substance dispensing as reportable. ¹¹
• Medi-Cal coverage change (AB 116, effective 7/1/2026): state-funded full-scope Medi-Cal dental benefits end for undocumented adults age 19+, leaving restricted-scope emergency coverage for that population. ¹²

Current Official Guidance Worth Re-Memorizing

These rules are not 2025-2026 bills, but old prep routinely predates or misstates them — re-verify each against the date shown.

• The passing standard is criterion-referenced, not 75% (16 CCR §1031, amended effective 7/1/2022): the passing score is set per test form by the modified Angoff method. Prep that teaches "you need 75% to pass" reflects the pre-July-2022 regulation and is outdated. Related format trap: the bulletin publishes no fixed "75 questions / 90 minutes" for the dentist exam — that format belongs to other boards. ^{13 14}
• Exam fees and retakes: the Board application fee is $125 (two-year eligibility window); each sitting — first attempt and every retake — carries a separate $27.23 PSI examination fee, with re-registration 7-10 business days after a fail. ^{15 14}
• Pediatric sedation staffing (SB 501, BPC §1647.2, operative 1/1/2022): moderate sedation on a patient under 13 requires at least two support personnel plus the operating dentist, with the dentist and at least one personnel member holding current PALS-and-airway certification — and the permit must be a pediatric-endorsed MS or GA (a PMS permit never covers moderate sedation). ¹⁶
• CMIA authorizations accept e-signatures (AB 1697, effective 1/1/2024): Civil Code §56.11 validates authorizations "signed, including with an electronic or handwritten signature." Old prep implying a wet-ink requirement is stale; the 14-point-type and separate-signature formatting rules still apply. ¹⁷
• Record copy fees are capped (SB 815, HSC §123110(j), effective 1/1/2024): patient-requested copies max out at $0.25 per page ($0.50 from microfilm). ¹⁸
• Medi-Cal record retention is 10 years (WIC §14124.1): the 10-year floor — from service, audit completion, or contract end, whichever is later — overrides the generic 7-year closure rule for every Medi-Cal (Denti-Cal) chart. ¹⁹
• The §650(h) digital safe harbor exists (AB 457, effective 1/1/2022): fees paid to neutral, non-endorsing internet advertising or appointment-booking platforms are not referrals under BPC §650. Old prep teaching "any per-booking platform fee is a kickback" is stale — but steering or endorsing a specific dentist still kills the safe harbor, and BPC §650.01 still flatly bans self-referral for enumerated services (no disclosure cure; only §650.02 exceptions like own-office services). ^{20 21 22}
• Knox-Keene continuity windows (HSC §1373.96): after a provider's contract termination — 12 months for serious chronic conditions, newborn care (to 36 months), and maternal mental health; full duration for acute, terminal, and pregnancy care; authorized surgeries within 180 days. Orthodontic completion has no statutory full-duration carve-out. ²³
• AB 2338 default surrogates: for adults lacking capacity with no advance directive or designated agent, the Probate Code framework added by AB 2338 follows specified family priorities — the consent lane order is recorded designation → agent → conservator → default surrogate. ²⁴
• Pediatric anesthesia warning language (AB 1622, since 2019): the BPC §1682 consent warning tells the parent to "consult with your dentist, family physician, or pediatrician as needed" — all three professionals, not "consult a pediatrician" alone. ²⁵
• California is not in the dental compact: the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact has 13 member states as of May 2026, California is not one, and no compact privileges are being issued anywhere yet — an out-of-state dentist treating a patient located in California needs a full California license. Verify at ddhcompact.org near exam day. ²⁶
• 16 CCR §1005 is under active rulemaking: the Board is amending the infection-control minimum standards, but the operative text is unchanged since 2011 — answer from the current version and re-check close to your exam date. (Current terminology point: §1005 says "standard precautions," not "universal precautions.") ²⁷
• CURES uses current 7-day nonrefillable exemption language: the official DCA flyer uses 7-day, not stale 5-day, wording in the emergency-department, surgical/procedural, and timely-access exception lanes. ²⁸
• Good Samaritan immunity is still a scene, not office concept: it never excuses ordinary negligence in a scheduled office setting — and BPC §2395 protects physicians and podiatrists, not dentists (a dentist's shields are BPC §1627.5 and HSC §1799.102). ²⁹
• 2025 ADA Code updates: Advisory Opinion 5.F.7 holds social-media influencer statements for a practice to strict veracity standards, and updated 4.E.1 makes paying an influencer a percentage of professional fees illegal and unethical fee-splitting. ³⁰

What To Purge From Old Prep

• "You need 75% to pass" (criterion-referenced modified Angoff since 7/2022) — and "the exam is 75 questions in 90 minutes."
• "Licensure by Portfolio is a current California pathway."
• "California breach notice is just prompt / without unreasonable delay."
• "DAs have a year to get the infection-control course" — and "the 8-hour course is 6 didactic / 2 lab" (it is 4/2/2).
• "A dentist may supervise at most 2 (or 3) EF auxiliaries" — the EF cap is repealed.
• "PMS means Pediatric Moderate Sedation" — it is Pediatric Minimal Sedation; moderate sedation under 13 needs a pediatric-endorsed MS or GA permit plus PALS.
• "Coronal polishing is RDA-only" and "post all employee names on the wall."
• "The mandatory CE core is 2-2-2" — it is four courses: 2 DPA + 2 IC + 2 CA-Opioid + hands-on BLS.
• "BPC §1683.6 requires a written estimate over $300 or 4 visits, with re-consent at 5% variance" — no such section exists; the duty is BPC §654.3(h)'s written plan before third-party credit.
• "MICRA is still a flat $250,000."
• "SB 351 explicitly bans MSOs" — §1191 names private equity groups and hedge funds; MSOs fall under AB 1415's OHCA notice.
• "All per-patient platform booking fees are kickbacks" — the §650(h) neutral-platform safe harbor exists.
• "Every kickback or self-referral problem can be fixed with disclosure" — §650.01's enumerated-services ban has no disclosure cure.
• "Testosterone and mifepristone are CURES-reportable" (AB 82 ended that in 2026).
• "The current CURES emergency-style exemption is 5 days."
• "Adult records are always 7 years" — Medi-Cal charts carry the 10-year WIC §14124.1 floor.
• "CMIA authorizations must be wet-signed" (AB 1697 validates e-signatures).
• "Good Samaritan immunity covers routine office care if the dentist meant well" — and "BPC §2395 protects dentists."
• "California joined the dental licensure compact."
• "Reject any answer containing the phrase 'conscious sedation'" — the permit was renamed, but BPC §1680(z)'s reporting text still uses the phrase.

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. A20 Dental Board of California, SB 1453 alert — anesthesia and sedation changes effective 1/1/2025 (permit renames, physical presence, ACLS, auxiliary changes). https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/alert_sb_1453.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. A64 Assembly Business & Professions Committee, Analysis of SB 1453 (Ashby, Ch. 483, Stats. 2024) — repeal of the Licensure by Portfolio pathway, effective 1/1/2025. https://abp.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2024-07/1-sb-1453-ashby-analysis.pdf ↩

3. A38 BPC section 1750 — DA definition, BSDP, SB 1453 infection-control prerequisite, and §1750(f)(4) coronal polishing. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1750. ↩ ↩²

4. A70 16 CCR section 1070.6 — 8-hour DA infection-control course content (at least 4 hours didactic, 2 hours laboratory/preclinical, 2 hours clinical). https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/1070oal1.pdf ↩

5. 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 ↩ ↩²

6. A37 BPC section 1700 — current license, permit, and registration display; misdemeanor for failure (amended by SB 1453). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1700. ↩

7. A48 SB 446 amending Civil Code section 1798.82 — 30-calendar-day breach notice and 15-day AG notice, effective 1/1/2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB446 ↩

8. A56 AB 35 — MICRA noneconomic-damages schedule replacing the old flat $250,000 cap; 2026 figures approximately $470K non-death and $650K wrongful death. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB35 ↩

9. A59 Senate Bill 351 (2025), codified at HSC §1191 — private equity and hedge fund clinical-control prohibitions, effective 1/1/2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=1191 ↩

10. A81 Assembly Bill 1415 (2025) — OHCA "noticing entities" (MSOs, private equity groups, hedge funds) 90-day material-transaction notice, effective 1/1/2026. https://hcai.ca.gov/affordability/ohca/assess-market-consolidation/mcn-cmir-faqs/ab-1415-frequently-asked-questions-faq/ ↩

11. A60 Assembly Bill 82 (2025); HSC §11165(k) — CURES reporting exemptions for testosterone and mifepristone, effective 1/1/2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB82 ↩

12. A63 Assembly Bill 116 Health Omnibus — elimination of state-funded full-scope Medi-Cal dental benefits for undocumented adults 19+, effective 7/1/2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB116 ↩

13. A65 16 CCR section 1031 — criterion-referenced passing score set by the modified Angoff method, amended effective 7/1/2022. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/16-CCR-1031 ↩

14. A1 Dental Board of California, Candidate Information Bulletin (Dental Law and Ethics Examination) — exam structure, PSI fee, experimental items. https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/licensed_le_booklet.pdf ↩ ↩²

15. A2 Dental Board of California, Application to Obtain Eligibility to Take the Law and Ethics Examination — $125 fee, two-year eligibility, retake process. https://www.dbc.ca.gov/applicants/law_and_ethics_exam.shtml ↩

16. A80 BPC section 1647.2 (SB 501, operative 1/1/2022; amended by SB 1453) — pediatric moderate-sedation staffing and PALS requirements for patients under 13. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1647.2. ↩

17. B1 California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, Civil Code §56.11 — authorization formatting and AB 1697 electronic-signature validity (effective 1/1/2024). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=CIV ↩

18. A9 HSC section 123110 — patient inspection, copies, and the §123110(j) per-page fee caps (SB 815, effective 1/1/2024). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=123110. ↩

19. A67 WIC section 14124.1 — 10-year minimum record retention for Medi-Cal (Denti-Cal) providers. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=WIC&sectionNum=14124.1. ↩

20. A33 BPC section 650 — anti-kickback limits, including the §650(h) neutral internet-platform safe harbor (AB 457, effective 1/1/2022). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=650. ↩

21. A82 BPC section 650.01 — strict self-referral ban for enumerated goods and services; disclosure does not cure. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=650.01. ↩

22. A83 BPC section 650.02 — exceptions to the §650.01 self-referral ban, including own-office and group-practice services. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=650.02. ↩

23. A84 HSC section 1373.96 — Knox-Keene continuity of care after provider contract termination. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=1373.96. ↩

24. A52 Probate Code sections 4683, 4711, and 4712, plus the AB 2338 default-surrogate framework for adults lacking capacity. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/ ↩

25. A40 BPC section 1682 — anesthesia informed consent and the AB 1622 pediatric warning language. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1682. ↩

26. A62 Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact (DDHC) — member-state status (13 states as of May 2026; California not a member; no privileges issued yet). https://ddhcompact.org/ ↩

27. A85 Dental Board of California — Board Meeting Agenda, February 5-6, 2026 (pending rulemaking to amend 16 CCR §1005; operative text unchanged since 2011). https://www.dbc.ca.gov/about_us/meetings/agendas/20260205_dbc_agenda.pdf ↩

28. A13 DCA CURES mandatory-consultation flyer and exemptions (7-day nonrefillable language). https://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/cures_flyer.pdf ↩

29. A53 Good Samaritan immunity comparison — HSC section 1799.102 and BPC sections 1627.5 and 2395 (the latter limited to physicians/podiatrists). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1627.5 ↩

30. C1 ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct (2025 online edition; Advisory Opinions 5.F.7 and 4.E.1). https://commons.ada.org/codeethics/ ↩