Dental plans conduct credentialing, which is the collection and verification of an applicant’s professional qualifications such as relevant training, licensure, certification, and/or registration to practice in a health care field and academic background, as well as an assessment of whether the practitioner meets certain criteria relating to professional competence and conduct.

List of forms and information needing completion prior to the patient’s first appointment.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) began accepting applications today for a small business hiring credit against California state income taxes or sales and use taxes. Qualified business employers who employed 100 or fewer employees as of December 31, 2019; and suffered a 50% decrease or more in income tax gross receipts when comparing second quarter 2020 to second quarter 2019, may apply between Dec. 1, 2020 through Jan. 15, 2021 to receive a credit of $1,000 for each net increase in qualified employees from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. The credit reservations will be allocated to qualified small business employers on a first-come, first-served basis.

Employers should be prepared with all the required information to start their online application. Visit www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/SB1447-tax-credit.htm for details.

Sample informed consent forms to aid in the face-to-face informed consent discussion between the dentist and patient. Available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese.

The law includes language that any entity that employs health care providers or emergency responders that elect to exclude employees from emergency paid sick leave under the federal FFCRA health care provider exemption must provide the leave in California. As a best practice, all employers should comply with emergency paid sick leave under FFCRA.

Use this letter (or Notice to Employee Change in Relationship resource) to record and document the employer initiated termination of an employee.

Template for keeping employees informed of any policy changes and obtaining signed acknowledgements that employees read and understand new policies. 

Use this sample letter template to document an employee’s voluntary resignation. Employers must provide immediate written notice and final pay to the employee upon separation of employment.

Informed Refusal of Treatment to be signed by patient, provider and witness to document the discussion between the patient and provider on risks of declining recommended treatment.

To avoid claims of abandonment, dentists who are separating from practice must notify patients in writing. Use this sample letter when a dentist is retiring or relocating, and be sure to include the Request for Access to Patient Records form.

Overview of the types of dental coverage and the differences between dental and medical coverage, in order to aid dentists in explaining dental coverage to patients.

Defines the types of plans to consider for your practice, contracting & contract analysis, billing & how to establish fees and more.

Tips for verifying coverage with a patient's plan and providing explanation to help patients interpret benefits, limitations, exclusions, financial responsibility and how to maximize coverage.

Help patients understand the relationship the practice holds with plans; overview of: in network, out of network, pre-authorization, predetermination, discounts, dual coverage and claims.

Learn cross-coding: billing medical insurance in a dental office; how to select the correct CPT code and ICD-10 codes when billing medical plans.

Understand the elements of the Explanation of Benefits and what to look for.

Learn about your rights and actions you must take when dealing with refund demands made by dental benefit plans.

California law requires every dental plan to have a formal procedure that providers can use to dispute/challenge actions/decisions made by the plan. Overview of plan legal requirements, steps to appealing claims, filing a payment disputes.

Understanding dental plan authority in quality assurance assessment audits, requirements for the dental practice and best practices for patient records. 

This document is intended to address frequently asked questions about personal protective equipment (PPE).

Employers should develop a policy to accommodate any worker who meets one of the exemptions from wearing a face mask. If a worker is unable to wear a mask due to a medical condition, they should be provided with a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape attached to the bottom edge, for example. Employers may provide this form to an employee to obtain medical certification from their health care provider supporting their request for an accommodation.

A visual resource that provides information on various masks and respirators.  A downloadable and printer-friendly version is available.

A dental practice that offers patients the option of using a third-party credit program for treatment payment must comply with new requirements. A news article and updated California Commercial Credit Law resource are forthcoming.

A practical guide for small-business employers

Guidelines to bring practice equipment on line after closure.

Intro to Hand Hygiene to help protect you and your patients.