Dentistry: examination requirements.

The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of dentists and associated professions by the Dental Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires an applicant for a license to practice dentistry to complete various examinations, including the National Board Dental Examination, an examination in California law and ethics developed by the board, and a clinical and written examination administered either by the board or the Western Regional Examining Board. Existing law prescribes the maximum amount of fees to be charged for examination, licensure, and renewal, for deposit into the State Dentistry Fund. This bill would abolish the clinical and written examination administered by the board. The bill would instead replace that examination with a portfolio examination of an applicant's competence to enter the practice of dentistry, which would be conducted while the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a board-approved dental school. The bill would require this examination to utilize uniform standards of clinical experiences and competencies, as approved by the board. At the end of that dental school program, the bill would then require the passage of a final assessment of the applicant's portfolio, subject to certification by his or her dean and payment of a $350 fee. Under the bill, the portfolio examination would not be conducted until the board adopts regulations to implement the portfolio examination. The bill would require the board to provide specified notice on its Internet Web site and to the Legislature and the Legislative Counsel when these regulations have been adopted by the board. The bill would require the board to oversee the portfolio examination and final assessment process, and would require the board to biennially review each dental school with regard to the standardization of the portfolio examination. The bill would also set forth specified examination standards. The bill would also, as part of the ongoing implementation of the portfolio examination, require the board, by December 1, 2016, to review the examination to ensure compliance with certain requirements applicable to all board examinations under the department's jurisdiction. The bill would provide that the examination shall cease to be an option for applicants if the board determines the examination fails to meet those requirements. The bill would require the board to submit its review and certification or determination to the Legislature and the department, by December 1, 2016.