AB 873: Dentistry: dental assistants.

This bill amends several sections of the California Business and Professions Code to improve regulations for dental assistants. The employer of a dental assistant is now required to ensure that the assistant completes a board-approved infection control course within 60 days of first employment, rather than 8 hours before performing basic supportive dental procedures. The employer is also responsible for providing the bloodborne pathogen training program prior to the dental assistant's potential exposure to infectious materials and annually thereafter. The bill also updates the list of procedures that registered dental assistants in extended functions are allowed to perform, adding polishing and contouring existing amalgam restorations. Additionally, the bill revises the requirements for courses in radiation safety and infection control, including requiring laboratory instruction to incl…