3.2 Documents That Must Be Posted or Displayed in a Dental Office
Key Takeaways
16 CCR § 1065 requires the Dental Board consumer notice to be posted in public view in at least 48-point type.
Since January 1, 2020, B&P § 1611.3 has required the Board notice to be electronically accessible to patients receiving dental services through telehealth.
16 CCR § 1005(b)(3) requires a copy of California's infection control regulation to be conspicuously posted in each dental office.
16 CCR § 1068 requires dentists who use auxiliaries to post a notice of delegable duties in a common area.
California B&P § 680 requires health care practitioners to wear a name tag with name and license status in at least 18-point type unless their license is prominently displayed.
Why postings are tested
Posting rules are simple, but they come up often in Board inspections and on the exam because they are easy to verify. Task T110 asks you to know which documents must be posted in a dental setting (K1101). Group them into three families: Board consumer notices, clinical-safety notices, and employment notices.
1. The Dental Board consumer notice
16 CCR § 1065 implements B&P § 138. Each licensed dentist must notify patients that dentists are licensed and regulated by the Board, using this text:
NOTICE: Dentists are licensed and regulated by the Dental Board of California, (877) 729-7789, www.dbc.ca.gov
The notice must be posted in a conspicuous location accessible to public view in at least 48-point type. B&P § 1611.3 says the notice must also cover dental assistants and must be accessible electronically to patients who receive care through telehealth, for example on the practice website or in the telehealth platform.
2. Clinical and auxiliary notices
| What must be posted or displayed | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A copy of the Minimum Standards for Infection Control regulation | Conspicuously, in each dental office | 16 CCR § 1005(b)(3) |
| A notice listing the duties the Board says may be delegated to each auxiliary category and the settings | A common area readily accessible to everyone the dentist supervises | 16 CCR § 1068 |
| An unlicensed dental assistant's radiation safety certificate (original or copy) | Publicly displayed where the assistant works | B&P § 1750(f)(3) |
| An unlicensed dental assistant's coronal polishing certificate | Publicly displayed where the assistant works | B&P § 1750(f)(4)(B) |
| An orthodontic assistant or dental sedation assistant permit | Publicly displayed where the permit holder works | B&P §§ 1750.2(c), 1750.3(b), 1750.4(c) |
The infection control and delegable-duties notices serve staff as much as patients: an assistant who can read the duties chart is less likely to drift into an unauthorized procedure, and the posted regulation gives everyone the same sterilization baseline.
3. Name tags and license display
B&P § 680 requires every health care practitioner to disclose their name and license status on a name tag in at least 18-point type while working. A practitioner in an office where their license is prominently displayed may skip the name tag. The rule applies to dentists, registered dental hygienists, and registered dental assistants alike. "RDA" on a tag tells the patient the person is licensed. An unlicensed assistant should not wear a title that suggests licensure.
4. Employment and workplace-safety postings
Dental offices are employers, so general California posting laws apply:
- Civil Rights Department posters. Government Code § 12950(a) requires employers to post the department's poster on employment discrimination, which includes the illegality of sexual harassment, and its transgender rights poster, in a prominent and accessible place. Employers must also distribute the sexual harassment information sheet.
- Cal/OSHA "Safety and Health Protection on the Job" poster and the workers' compensation notice.
- Wage-and-hour posters, such as the minimum wage notice and the applicable wage order.
- Proposition 65 warnings when the business has 10 or more employees and patients may be exposed to listed chemicals, such as mercury in dental amalgam.
- Offices that take federal financial assistance, such as Medi-Cal, must provide nondiscrimination and language-assistance notices under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
Given to patients, not posted
Some documents must be handed to patients, not simply posted:
- The Board's Dental Materials Fact Sheet, given to every new patient and to patients of record before restorative work, with a signed acknowledgment placed in the chart (B&P § 1648.15). Chapter 10 covers it.
- The Notice of Privacy Practices under HIPAA, offered at the first visit with a good-faith effort to get written acknowledgment. Covered entities with a website must also post it there.
- The written treatment plan and credit notice before arranging patient financing (B&P § 654.3; see Section 7.4).
A room-by-room checklist
| Location | What belongs there |
|---|---|
| Reception or waiting room | Board consumer notice (48-point type); Prop 65 warning if required; language-assistance notice if the office takes federal funds |
| Staff break room or common area | Delegable-duties notice (§ 1068); Civil Rights Department and Cal/OSHA posters; wage and workers' compensation notices |
| Sterilization area | Copy of 16 CCR § 1005; the office's written instrument-processing protocol, which § 1005(b)(2) requires to be available to all staff |
| Wherever each assistant works | Radiation safety and coronal polishing certificates; OA or DSA permits |
| Practice website or telehealth platform | Electronic copy of the Board notice for telehealth patients (§ 1611.3); Notice of Privacy Practices |
Sample inspection scenario
A Board inspector responding to a complaint visits a two-dentist office. In the waiting room is a 12-point printed sign saying "We are licensed by the State." The sterilization room has no copy of § 1005. An unlicensed assistant who takes radiographs keeps her radiation-safety certificate in her car.
- The consumer notice fails 16 CCR § 1065: wrong text and too small.
- The missing regulation violates § 1005(b)(3).
- The certificate must be displayed at the facility under § 1750(f)(3).
Each fix takes minutes. Each omission also suggests weaker compliance elsewhere.
Which statement meets the Dental Board's consumer-notice requirement under 16 CCR § 1065?
A line in the new-patient intake packet saying the dentist holds a California license
A framed diploma in the dentist's private office
A sign in public view, in at least 48-point type, saying dentists are licensed and regulated by the Dental Board of California and giving the Board's phone number and website
A notice in 12-point type at the front desk that includes the dentist's license number
An unlicensed dental assistant has completed a Board-approved radiation safety course and takes X-rays. What must the office do with the certificate?
Keep the original in a locked personnel file and show it only if the Board asks
Publicly display the original or a copy at the facility where the assistant works
Mail it to the Board within 30 days of hire
Nothing, because radiation safety certificates are for the assistant's own records
A registered dental hygienist works in an office where her license is not displayed. What does B&P § 680 require?
Nothing, because § 680 applies only to physicians and nurses
A name tag showing only her first name for privacy
A posted notice listing her license number and home address
A name tag showing her name and license status in at least 18-point type while working
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.