By Kevin Henry
DAD Editor
So how was your Thanksgiving? Maybe an even better question is ... how was your Black Friday shopping? I was right out there with you at 4 a.m., standing in line at Target ... then Best Buy ... then Walmart. I love getting out there with the crowds on a chilly morning before the sun comes up. It’s a great feeling to know a lot of my Christmas shopping is done by the time I sit down for breakfast. Call me crazy, but it’s one of my favorite days of the year.
As we barrel toward the end of the year, big things are happening in California. Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, California dentists will be required to send their unlicensed dental assistants to an eight-hour infection control course taught by a dental board-approved provider. Dentists have only one year to send their assistants through the program in order to be in compliance with the regulations below.
California Dental Practice Act Business and Professions Code, Article 7, Section 1750(c)
Beginning 1-1-2010, the supervising licensed dentist will be responsible for ensuring that each unlicensed dental assistant, who is in his or her continuous employ for 120 days or more, has successfully completed board-approved courses in Dental Practice Act, basic life support, and an eight-hour course in infection control within one year.
Four hours of the training can be completed online as home study; the other four hours are required to be live hands-on. To date, there are only 40 providers who may offer this course. One of them is DAD infection control columnist Leslie Canham. If your office is interested in having Leslie lead you through this, give her a call at (888) 853-7543 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
In this issue of DAD, we introduce some Buy It Now specials from DentistryIQ.com and Patterson Dental. I know the buying power of dental assistants, and I know these Buy It Now specials are some great deals on products used every day in your practice, so be sure to check it out in this issue or click here.
Never forget that you (yes, you) are the backbone of the dental practice. I hope you’ll find this issue helpful to you personally and professionally. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for future articles, drop me a line at [email protected].
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