• 85 questions

California Dental Law and Ethics Practice Test

Unofficial practice on California dental law, sorted by the two areas of the Board's examination outline.

How many units of continuing education must a dentist accumulate in each two-year renewal period?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Dental Board of California. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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All 85 questions

Law: patient information and records 13

  • A dental office's computers holding unencrypted patient medical information are accessed by an unauthorized person. Under Civil Code 1798.82, who must be told of the breach? Civil Code 1798.82. Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A dentist chooses to prepare a summary of the record instead of allowing access to the whole record. Within how many working days of the request must the summary normally be available? Health and Safety Code 123130(a). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A dentist closing her practice puts old charts in an open dumpster. Which duty in Civil Code 56.101 does this breach? Civil Code 56.101(a). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A dentist is asked to release a patient's medical information and no exception in the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act applies. What must the dentist obtain first? Civil Code 56.10(a). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A dentist sends chart notes to the oral surgeon who will treat the same patient. Under Civil Code 56.10(c)(1), is the patient's authorization needed? Civil Code 56.10(c)(1). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
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Law: patient information and records, continued

  • A patient asks for copies of his dental records and pays the copying fee. Within how many days must the copies be transmitted? Health and Safety Code 123110(b). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A patient believes an entry in his record is incorrect and hands the dentist a written addendum. What is the word limit for each disputed item? Health and Safety Code 123111. Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • A patient who still owes money for treatment asks for a copy of her records. What does Health and Safety Code 123110 say? Health and Safety Code 123110(i). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • After a complaint, a dentist rewrites a chart note so that it appears a risk was discussed. Which unprofessional conduct does B&P 1680 name? B&P 1680(s). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • An adult patient asks to inspect her own dental records. Within how many working days of the request must the dentist permit the inspection? Health and Safety Code 123110(a). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • The Dental Board requests a patient's records from a licensee and encloses the patient's written authorization. Within how many days must the licensee comply before a daily civil penalty begins? B&P 1684.1(a). Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • Under B&P 1683, where must a provider who performs a service in a dental office sign or initial the patient record? B&P 1683. Topic: Law: patient information and records.
  • Which of these compels a dentist to disclose a patient's medical information under Civil Code 56.10(b)? Civil Code 56.10(b)(1). Topic: Law: patient information and records.

Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings 20

  • A dentist hires a person to perform registered dental assistant functions who holds no current license at the time of initial employment. How does B&P 1680(ae) treat this? B&P 1680(ae). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • A dentist pays a radio host for a favorable on-air interview. When does B&P 651(d) allow this? B&P 651(d). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • A dentist plans to open a second office. What does B&P 1658 require before it opens? B&P 1658. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • A dentist reasonably suspects that a child patient has been abused. How must the first report be made under Penal Code 11166? Penal Code 11166(a). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • A group of dentists wants to practice under a name that is not any member's own name. What must the group hold? B&P 1701.5. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • A practice advertises before and after photographs of an actual patient. Besides showing comparable views, what must the advertisement state? B&P 651(b)(3)(C). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • After the telephone report of suspected child abuse, within how many hours must the written follow-up report be sent? Penal Code 11166(a). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • An advertisement shows a smiling person who has never been a patient of the practice. What does B&P 651 require? B&P 651(b)(3)(B). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • At the beginning of each workday, for how long must dental unit lines be purged with air or flushed with water before handpieces are attached? 16 CCR 1005(b)(21). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • Before a staff member operates dental radiographic equipment today, what must that person have done under B&P 1656? B&P 1656. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • How many units of continuing education must a dentist accumulate in each two-year renewal period? 16 CCR 1017(c). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • In the dental auxiliaries article, what does "direct supervision" require of the dentist? B&P 1741. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • The posted notice that dentists are licensed and regulated by the Dental Board of California must be in at least what type size? 16 CCR 1065. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • What must be conspicuously posted in each dental office under the Board's infection control regulation? 16 CCR 1005(b)(3). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • What sets "general supervision" apart from direct supervision in B&P 1741? B&P 1741. Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • When may a health care practitioner choose not to wear a name tag under B&P 680? B&P 680(a). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • Where must the license of each person employed to practice dentistry at a facility be displayed under B&P 1700(c)? B&P 1700(c). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • Which of these price advertisements breaks B&P 651(c)? B&P 651(c). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • Which pair of mandatory courses must every licensee complete, two units each, as a condition of renewal? 16 CCR 1017(a). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.
  • Who is directly responsible for determining that an unlicensed dental assistant is competent to perform basic supportive dental procedures? B&P 1750(b). Topic: Law: practice owners, advertising, auxiliaries and postings.

Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing 13

  • A 16-year-old lives apart from her parents and manages her own money. May she consent to her own dental care under Family Code 6922? Family Code 6922(a). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • A 17-year-old patient shows a court declaration of emancipation. Whose consent is needed for her dental care under Family Code 7050? Family Code 7050(e)(1). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • A company provides dental services by telehealth. Which of these must it make available about each dentist involved, before services are rendered, under B&P 1683.1? B&P 1683.1. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • A dentist treats a self-sufficient 16-year-old under Family Code 6922 and knows where her parents are. May the dentist tell them about the treatment? Family Code 6922(c). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • A general dentist offers a procedure for which she has no education, training or experience. Under B&P 1684 this is unprofessional conduct because the service is beyond what? B&P 1684. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Before administering moderate sedation to a 9-year-old, from whom must the dentist obtain written informed consent under B&P 1682(e)? B&P 1682(e). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Before delivering care by telehealth, what must the provider who initiates it do under B&P 2290.5(b)? B&P 2290.5(b). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Before issuing the first opioid prescription in a single course of treatment, what must the prescriber discuss under Health and Safety Code 11158.1? Health and Safety Code 11158.1. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Before prescribing a Schedule II, III or IV controlled substance to a patient for the first time, what must the dentist consult? Health and Safety Code 11165.4. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Civil Code 51 entitles all persons to full and equal services in every business establishment. Which of these is among the characteristics it names? Civil Code 51(b). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • If the controlled substance remains part of the patient's treatment and the prescription is renewed, how often must the prescriber consult CURES after the first time? Health and Safety Code 11165.4. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • In B&P 1684.5, a "patient of record" has been examined, has had a medical and dental history completed and evaluated, has had oral conditions diagnosed, and what else? B&P 1684.5(b). Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.
  • Which act falls within the practice of dentistry as B&P 1625 defines it? B&P 1625. Topic: Law: patient care, consent, telehealth and prescribing.

Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care 17

  • A dentist accepts a commission from a supplier for each prescription he writes. Which unprofessional conduct in B&P 1680 is this? B&P 1680(g). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A dentist co-owns a dental laboratory and refers work to it. Under B&P 650(d), on what must her return be based for the referral not to be unlawful solely because of her ownership? B&P 650(d). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A dentist decides to stop treating a patient in the middle of care. To avoid abandonment under B&P 1680(u), what must the patient receive? B&P 1680(u). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A dentist refers patients to an imaging center in which she holds a significant beneficial interest. What must she do first under B&P 654.2? B&P 654.2(a). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A disciplined dentist tells his patients that the Board's action concerned paperwork alone, which he knows is untrue. How does B&P 1680(v) treat this? B&P 1680(v). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A patient pays in advance for work the dentist never meant to perform. Which item in B&P 1680 applies? B&P 1680(a). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A registered dental assistant in extended functions treats a patient at a community site, away from the supervising dentist's practice location, under the diagnosis and treatment plan that dentist authorized. What must the patient or the patient's representative receive under B&P 1684.5(c)? B&P 1684.5(c). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • A specialist offers a general dentist $100 for each patient referred. What does B&P 650 say about the payment? B&P 650(a). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • After a patient receives the Dental Materials Fact Sheet, what goes into the dental record? B&P 1648.15. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • Besides disclosing her financial interest in the organization she refers to, what must the dentist advise the patient under B&P 654.2? B&P 654.2(a). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • By what measure does B&P 1685 judge whether an office policy discourages necessary treatment or permits clearly excessive or unnecessary treatment? B&P 1685. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • The Dental Materials Fact Sheet must carry a reference meant to encourage what? B&P 1648.10(a)(4). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • How many times must a dentist give the same edition of the Dental Materials Fact Sheet to one patient under B&P 1648.15? B&P 1648.15. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • In B&P 654.2, a "significant beneficial interest" is a financial interest equal to or greater than the lesser of five percent of the whole or what dollar amount? B&P 654.2(d). Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • May a provider of dental services require a patient to sign an agreement that limits the patient's ability to file a complaint with the Dental Board? B&P 1683.2. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • What does the Dental Materials Fact Sheet that the Board must develop describe and compare? B&P 1648.10. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.
  • When must a dentist give the Dental Materials Fact Sheet to a new patient? B&P 1648.15. Topic: Ethics area: informing patients, referrals and continuity of care.

Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care 22

  • A dentist fires an assistant mainly because she insisted on complying with the Dental Practice Act. How does B&P 1680(q) treat the discharge? B&P 1680(q). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A dentist lets his unlicensed brother place fillings in the office. Which item in B&P 1680 applies? B&P 1680(c). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A dentist orders clearly excessive diagnostic procedures. Besides being unprofessional conduct, what kind of offense does B&P 1680(p) make this? B&P 1680(p). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A dentist performing procedures has two patients under moderate sedation at the same time. What does B&P 1682(a) require? B&P 1682(a). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A dentist who is not under investigation wants help for a drug problem. How may he enter the Board's diversion program under B&P 1695.5(b)? B&P 1695.5(b). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A licensee is required to register as a sex offender under Penal Code 290 and no exception in B&P 1687 applies. What must the Board do? B&P 1687. Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A patient dies during a dental procedure. Within how many days must the licensee report the death to the Board in writing? B&P 1680(z). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • A patient pays for a crown and the insurer later pays the dentist for the same service. The dentist has received the duplicate payment and the patient asks for a refund. How many days does the dentist have? B&P 732. Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Another state's dental board revokes a California licensee's license there, on grounds that would be discipline in California. What may the California Board do under B&P 1680(r)? B&P 1680(r). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • B&P 1680(ag) concerns irrigation during procedures on exposed dental pulp. Which irrigant meets it? B&P 1680(ag). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • B&P 1684 bars services beyond a licensee's scope and competence. Which activity does the section exempt? B&P 1684. Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • By what measure does B&P 1680(t) judge unsanitary or unsafe office conditions? B&P 1680(t). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • How does B&P 726 treat sexual relations between a licensee and a patient who is not the licensee's spouse or domestic partner? B&P 726. Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • May the records of a licentiate's treatment in the diversion program be obtained by subpoena in a lawsuit? B&P 1698(b). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • One licensed professional is responsible for the recovery care of several sedated patients in the same room. What patient-to-staff ratio should not be exceeded under B&P 1682(b)? B&P 1682(b). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Under B&P 1681(a), when may a licensee administer a controlled substance to himself without committing unprofessional conduct? B&P 1681(a). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • What excuses a knowing failure to follow the Board's infection control guidelines under B&P 1680(ad)? B&P 1680(ad). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • What happens to the records of a licentiate's participation once the committee and program manager determine that he is rehabilitated and the diversion program is completed? B&P 1698(a). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Which act does B&P 810 name as unprofessional conduct by a health care professional? B&P 810(a). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Which is among the grounds on which the Board may revoke or suspend a license under B&P 1670? B&P 1670. Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Which of these events must a dentist report to the Board under B&P 1680(z)? B&P 1680(z). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.
  • Which use of alcohol by a licensee is unprofessional conduct under B&P 1681(b)? B&P 1681(b). Topic: Ethics area: impairment, billing, reporting and standard of care.

How this list was compiled: Our own questions on the law behind the California Dentistry Law and Ethics Examination of the Dental Board of California. The candidate information bulletin (https://www.dbc.ca.gov/formspubs/licensed_le_booklet.pdf, opened 2026-10-16) prints the examination outline: Content Area 1, Law (50%), and Content Area 2, Ethics (50%); it gives no question count, time limit or ethics text. The five topics here follow those two areas. Every fact was read on 2026-10-16 in the California codes on the Legislature's site (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml): the Business and Professions Code, Civil Code, Health and Safety Code, Penal Code and Family Code; and in Title 16, Division 10 of the California Code of Regulations (https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs, current through Register 2026, No. 40). Each question names its section and links to it. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site, written from the public text of the California codes and regulations. Nothing is taken from the Board's examination, a prep company or a review book.

How it works

An unofficial California dental law and ethics practice test: 85 of our own questions on the Business and Professions Code, four other California codes and Title 16 regulations. The Dental Board of California owns the real examination and is not affiliated with this page.

Read the full guide

What is left out

Each question cites its code section. The bulletin names no ethics text, so the Ethics area asks only the duties that California statute puts in writing, not judgment questions on ethical principles. Fees, sedation permits and dental hygiene practice law are left out. Practice for an exam, not medical advice.

  • Records open for inspection within five working days of a request, and copies go out within 15 days (Health and Safety Code 123110).
  • Abandonment is ending care without written notice and ample time to find another provider (B&P 1680(u)).
  • Paying or accepting anything of value for referring a patient is unlawful (B&P 650).

Questions and answers

What is on the California dental law and ethics exam?

The outline in the candidate bulletin has two content areas, Law and Ethics, each 50% of the examination. Law runs from patient information to practice owners and patient care; Ethics includes patient education, emergency treatment and community welfare.

How many questions are on the California dental law and ethics exam?

The candidate bulletin gives no question count or time limit. It says five to fifteen unscored experimental questions may be added. A mock run here asks 25 questions and gives a score with no verdict.

What is the passing score for the California dental law and ethics exam?

There is no fixed percentage. Title 16, section 1031 of the California Code of Regulations requires a criterion-referenced passing score, set for the examination by the modified Angoff method.

Who has to take the California dental law and ethics exam?

Every applicant for a dental license: B&P 1632(b) requires an examination in California law and ethics developed and administered by the Board. A successful result stays valid for two years.

Is this the Board's examination?

No. The questions were written for this site from the public codes and regulations, never from the examination. The Dental Board of California has not reviewed this page.

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