A waiver from the California Department of Consumer Affairs permitting dental professionals to use certain recorded webinars as continuing education will end Dec. 31.
The department enacted the waiver in September 2020 as part of the state's COVID-19 response, the California Dental Association said Nov. 23. It authorizes webinars to count as continuing education if dental professionals can interact with presenters in real time.
Once the waiver ends, the state will revert to its prior rules, which require licensed dental professionals to obtain at least 50 percent of the continuing education units through non-live instruction. Recorded webinars will no longer count toward those credits.
State waivers that extend the continuing education completion deadline for dental professionals with licenses that expired from March 31, 2020, through October 2021, are still in effect.