Dentists Now Eligible to Administer COVID-19 Vaccinations

In an effort to speed up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines throughout California, state officials last week authorized dentists who undergo a brief training regimen to administer the vaccines.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs issued an order that “waives Business and Professions Code section 1625 to the extent it prohibits licensed dentists from independently initiating and administering COVID-19 vaccines that are approved or authorized by the federal Food and Drug Administration to persons 16 years of age or older and, in cases involving a severe allergic reaction, epinephrine or diphenhydramine by injection,” according to the order.

Pasadena Director of Public Health Dr. Ying-Ying Goh said the move could potentially speed the vaccination process along.

“The more people who are qualified to help vaccinate, the faster people will be able to be vaccinated,” she said.

As of Thursday, California had administered 586,379, or 25.3%, of the 2,314,350 doses it has received, according to analysis by Bloomberg.

Dentists are required to undergo four U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention training before being able to administer the shots and are bound to state recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and all vaccinations must be done “in accordance with any applicable FDA emergency use authorization,” according to the order.

In addition to waiving regulations related to administering the vaccines, the order also authorizes dentists to treat rare but potentially serious allergic reactions to the vaccines, state officials said.

The California Dental Association applauded the move earlier this week in a statement. The waiver allows the state’s 36,000 or so dentists to join the front line fight against COVID-19.

“During declared emergencies, such as the pandemic, every available resource must be deployed to save lives and mitigate suffering,” according to the CDA statement.

CDA President Dr. Judee Tippett-Whyte said dentists were eager to help.

“Dentists are ready, willing and able to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations to the public,” she said. “We can help with surge capacity at clinics and vaccinations sites — wherever we’re needed to quickly administer vaccinations and save lives.”

In addition to undergoing extensive medical training, dentists are already accustomed and trained “to provide injections in objectively more complex areas of the mouth that commonly have gag reflexes, major blood vessels, nerves and a moving tongue,” the CDA statement added.

And they are more than willing to help, according to Immediate Past President of the CDA Dr. Richard Nagy, who heads the Postdoctoral Periodontal Residential Program at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.

“Practically everybody is interested,” he said. “The dentists are eager. Many I personally know are in the process of taking these courses.”

“We’re healthcare providers. We care. This has affected everyone’s lives,” he said.

Nagy said while state officials only cleared the way for dentists to administer the vaccines on Monday, he has been doing so for several weeks after a similar move was previously made affecting the VA hospital where he works.

The requirements for administering vaccines are not easily met in a dentist’s office, so patients should not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine when they come in for dental check-ups, Nagy explained. Participating dentists will administer doses at hospitals, clinics and other vaccination sites.

The CDA urged dentists, themselves, to be vaccinated before administering it to others.

“CDA is continuing to advocate at the state and local level for dentists and their staff to be elevated in priority to access the vaccine and should receive at least their first dose prior to vaccinating community members,” the organization said in a statement on its website.

A fact sheet on COVID-19 vaccination for dentists compiled by the California Dental Association is available online at cda.org/Home/News-and-Events/Newsroom/Article-Details/covid-19-vaccine-administration-faqs