The FDA has not yet granted Emergency Use Authorization to any COVID-19 rapid tests that dental professionals may eventually be able to administer in their offices.
The California Dental Association (CDA) is warning dental professionals to beware of emails offering rapid COVID-19 test products and services claiming to help dental practices implement billing strategies for in-office testing. The association is advising dental professionals to ignore these email offers for now.
As the CDA points out, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet granted Emergency Use Authorization to any COVID-19 rapid test for asymptomatic individuals. Dentists may eventually be able to administer this type of COVID-19 test in their office to patients and staff.
Currently, California state law prohibits dentists from obtaining the needed lab licensure to perform and process rapid COVID-19 tests in the dental office. CDA is working with the governor’s office, state legislature, and California Department of Public Health to allow dentists to obtain the required licensure to administer tests once they receive FDA approval and are available to the market.
Last month, CDA released its COVID-19 Laboratory Testing Toolkit to prepare dentists once they are eligible to apply for laboratory licensure and to help them determine whether administering rapid COVID-19 tests will be appropriate for their practice.
