Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 1752.4

(a) A registered dental assistant may perform all of the following duties and procedures of a dental assistant as specified in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 1750.1 and may perform all the following duties under the general supervision and pursuant to the order, control, and full professional responsibility of a licensed dentist:
1. (1) All duties that a dental assistant is allowed to perform.
2. (2) Mouth-mirror inspections of the oral cavity, to include charting of obvious lesions, existing restorations, and missing teeth.
3. (3) Apply and activate bleaching agents using a nonlaser light-curing device.
4. (4) Use of automated caries detection devices and materials and recording of such findings before placement of pit and fissure sealants.
5. (5) Obtain intraoral images for computer-aided design (CAD), milled restorations.
6. (6) Pulp vitality testing and recording of findings.
7. (7) Place bases, liners, etch, and bonding agents for restorative procedures.
8. (8) Chemically prepare teeth for bonding for restorative procedures.
9. (9) Place, adjust, and finish direct provisional restorations.
10. (10) Fabricate, adjust, cement, and remove indirect provisional restorations, including stainless steel crowns when used as a provisional restoration.
11. (11) Place post-extraction dressings after inspection of the surgical site by the supervising licensed dentist.
12. (12) Place periodontal dressings.
13. (13) Dry endodontically treated canals using absorbent paper points.
14. (14) Perform sore-spot adjustment only of dentures extraorally.
15. (15) Perform tissue conditioning and soft reline of dentures.
16. (16) Remove excess cement from surfaces of teeth with a hand instrument.
17. (17) Polish coronal surfaces of the teeth.
18. (18) Place ligature ties and archwires.
19. (19) All duties that the board may prescribe by regulation.
(b) A registered dental assistant may only perform the following additional duties after successfully completing a board-approved registered dental assistant educational program or board-approved course in those duties.
1. (1) Remove excess cement with an ultrasonic scaler from supragingival surfaces of teeth undergoing orthodontic treatment.
2. (2) The allowable duties of an orthodontic assistant permitholder as specified in Section 1750.3. A registered dental assistant shall not be required to complete further instruction in the duties of placing ligature ties and archwires, removing orthodontic bands, and removing excess cement from tooth surfaces with a hand instrument.
3. (3) The allowable duties of a dental sedation assistant permitholder as specified in Section 1750.5.
4. (4) The application of pit and fissure sealants.
(c) Except as provided in Section 1777, the supervising licensed dentist shall be responsible for ensuring completion of courses to perform additional duties and determining whether each authorized procedure performed by a registered dental assistant should be performed under general or direct supervision.
(d) The supervising dentist shall be responsible for determining whether each authorized procedure in subdivision (a) performed by a registered dental assistant should be performed under general or direct supervision.
(e) A registered dental assistant may perform the following duties under direct supervision and pursuant to the order, control, and full professional responsibility of a licensed dentist:
1. (1) Isolate, etch, bond, and attach composite buttons for orthodontic procedures.
2. (2) Size, fit, secure, and remove orthodontic bands using appropriate dental materials.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a registered dental assistant may perform a duty specified in this section using contemporary techniques and materials designed for use in the performance of that duty under the direct supervision and pursuant to the order, control, and full professional responsibility of a licensed dentist if the registered dental assistant has completed the appropriate education and training, and whose skill, knowledge, and education in the use of such contemporary technique or material has been determined clinically competent by the supervising licensed dentist.