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Bus. & Prof. Code, § 1700 · Article 5. Offenses Against This Chapter

Bus. & Prof. Code, § 1700

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

Any person, company, or association is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not less than 10 days nor more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), or by both fine and imprisonment, who:

(a) Assumes the degree of “doctor of dental surgery,” “doctor of dental science,” or “doctor of dental medicine” or appends the letters “D.D.S.,” or “D.D.Sc.” or “D.M.D.” to their name without having had the right to assume the title conferred upon them by diploma from a recognized dental college or school legally empowered to confer the same.

(b) Assumes any title, or appends any letters to their name, with the intent to represent falsely that they have received a dental degree or license.

(c) Engages in the practice of dentistry without causing to be displayed in an area that is likely to be seen by all patients who use the facility, the original or copy of the current license, permit, or registration of each person employed at the facility to practice dentistry.

(d) Within 10 days after demand is made by the executive officer of the board, fails to furnish to the board the name and address of all persons practicing or assisting in the practice of dentistry in the office of the person, company, or association, at any time within 60 days prior to the demand, together with a sworn statement showing under and by what license or authority this person, company, or association and any employees are or have been practicing dentistry. This sworn statement shall not be used in any prosecution under this section.

(e) Is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance while engaged in the practice of dentistry in actual attendance on patients to an extent that impairs their ability to conduct the practice of dentistry with safety to patients and the public.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 483, Sec. 36. (SB 1453) Effective January 1, 2025.

Source of truth

Edition
As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Official file
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1700.
Text hash
sha256 6514471df4e876fdb5477e1c160db941c713e425d2326c7956ad4537f389a027
Composed by
compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section

Cited by 2 provisions

Provisions in this library whose text cites Bus. & Prof. Code, § 1700. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.