California signs AB 1760 dentistry changes
Oct 4, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0019 · Published 2026-10-04 · Version 2 · Final
AB 1760 revises dental licensing evidence, cosmetic-surgery permits, extended-function assistant duties and radiation-safety course approval. Its August 31 chaptering is distinct from ordinary January 2027 effect, and the final text contains a January 2028 transition for existing course approvals.
What happened
California enacted AB 1760 as Chapter 167 on August 31, with general changes subject to the ordinary January 1, 2027 effective-date rule. The law revises licensing and examination evidence, including the foreign-school accreditation cross-reference, subject reexamination treatment and credentials for certain out-of-state practitioners and faculty. The credential pathways distinguish clinical hours from specified nonclinical public-health experience and require supporting documentation. Elective facial cosmetic surgery permit review also changes: when an applicant requests both procedure categories, the committee may recommend a permit limited to one if competency for both is not established.
The measure adds polishing and contouring existing amalgam restorations to specified extended-function assistant duties under direct dentist supervision and revises related training requirements. Radiation-safety course provisions address approval, instructional requirements, provisional approval and written reasons for approval decisions, and permit didactic distance learning subject to stated conditions. Existing course approvals continue only until January 1, 2028 under the transition provision. That date concerns the course-approval transition; it should not be treated as the commencement date for every licensing or assistant-duty amendment.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Operationally relevant
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
Why it matters
Dental credentialing, permitting and education teams own different parts of the measure. A general announcement that the bill was signed cannot establish that a particular person may perform an expanded duty or that an existing course remains approved indefinitely.
Recommended action
Review sections 1628, 1633, 1635.5, 1638.1, 1753, 1753.5 and 1754.5 with dental credentialing, education and counsel. Prepare applicable January 2027 changes and verify course transition and approval conditions before January 2028. Preserve dentist supervision and documented competency for expanded assistant duties.
Sources
- AB 1760, chaptered textOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-08-31 · Source review 2026-09-06
- AB 1760, legislative historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-08-31 · Source review 2026-09-06
- Official Assembly 2023-24 Constitution, Article IV section 8Official · California Legislature · Source review 2026-10-14
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