As part of its mandate to protect the public, the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP) sets standards for the delivery of safe and patient-centred oral health care.
Under BC’s Health Professions and Occupations Act, oral health professionals must meet ethics and practice standards. They are accountable and responsible for understanding and interpreting any limits or conditions that might appear in Ministry Regulations and BCCOHP Bylaws regarding restricted titles and scope of practice.
Have questions related to your professional practice? Please reach out to BCCOHP’s Professional Practice team.
BCCOHP’s standards framework includes standards and practice resources:
Standards are the minimum requirements for conduct and competence for oral health professionals in BC.
Practice resources provide information and resources to facilitate compliance with the standards.
Standards and practice resources support oral health professionals in the delivery of safe oral health care while also providing patients a reference for what to expect from oral health professionals.
It is mandatory for regulated oral health professionals to comply with BCCOHP’s standards. Failure to comply with the standards may be considered misconduct. A finding of misconduct can only be made after an investigations process determines a breach of a standard or standards. The process assesses an oral health professional’s compliance with the HPOA and all applicable legal, regulatory and professional requirements.
Below, you will find standards and practice resources for all oral health professionals, as well as for specific professions.
Following the initial rollout of the unified Standards for the Oral Health Team last June, BCCOHP has been working to build out and modernize the remaining elements of our standards framework. It was determined that all unified standards (including practice standards) should exist in the overarching Standards for the Oral Health Team document rather than being drawn out into standalone documents. The standards will then be supported by practice resources documents as necessary.
The unified documents below apply across all six oral health professions. This list will grow as further profession-specific resources are consolidated and rescinded.
BCCOHP’s Standards for the Oral Health Team establish the minimum requirements for conduct and competence of all oral health professionals in BC, while allowing discretion to use their professional judgment to provide safe care in their patient’s interest. They are designed to support professional accountability and help ensure consistent, competent care across the professions.
Background and more information
Information for patients related to the Standards for the Oral Health Team is here >>
The first unified practice resource to roll out was the Recordkeeping Practice Resource.
With the recent revisions, the Standards for the Oral Health Team document now includes all practice standards for recordkeeping. This new Recordkeeping Practice Resource provides additional information and resources to facilitate understanding of (and compliance with) the Standards for the Oral Health Team.
For more background, refer to the March 2026 announcement
In addition to meeting the requirements of Standards for the Oral Health Team, oral health professionals must meet profession-specific practice standards. Legacy documents and requirements (developed by BC’s four legacy oral health regulatory colleges prior to amalgamation in 2022) are still in force as they undergo review.
The Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines provide oral health care providers with the knowledge of principles and standards to inform and properly implement necessary infection prevention and control measures in a safe and effective manner.
Documentation: Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines and Infection Prevention and Control – Wall Poster
The purpose of the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Standards and Guidelines document is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of dentists and physicians in the diagnosis and management of snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea.
Dentists who rent or provide home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) equipment to patients, through limited business corporations or otherwise, are reminded that the prescription or direction for the provision of overnight home sleep testing equipment must come from a registered medical practitioner. The Ministry of Health requires that anyone doing HSAT must be accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons’ Diagnostic Accreditation Program (DAP).
Documentation: Prescribing and Dispensing Drugs Standards and Guidelines
The Controlled Prescription Program sets the requirements for prescribing controlled substances and was established to prevent forgeries and reduce inappropriate prescribing of selected drugs.
Duplicate prescription pads
Order a duplicate prescription pad >>
Dentists who wish to prescribe any of the monitored drugs must order their duplicate prescription pads through BCCOHP. Dentists without these pads cannot prescribe the monitored drugs. Prescription pads are personalized and numerically recorded, the prescription pad must be maintained intact in chronological order. Some practitioners may require multiple pads due to the nature of their practice, if so, you must advise BCCOHP in writing.
Dentists practising in more than one office are not required to have their practice address imprinted on the prescription scripts; however, your name and BCCOHP licence number must be imprinted. when writing the prescription you must add the practice address and phone number of the practice where the prescription is being written.
Returning prescription pads
Dentists must return all partially and fully unused prescription pads to BCCOHP offices (by XpressPost or courier) for shredding if any of the following occur:
Lost or stolen prescription pads
In the case of lost, stolen or forged prescription pads registrants must:
Learn more about lost or stolen prescription pads >>
Additional prescription information
Resources
Wellness program The wellness program (see the Health Matters page) assists licensees who are facing addiction or any health issues that could affect their ability to provide safe patient care. Questions about a health matter? |
The Blood-Borne Pathogen Policies addressed the legacy oral health colleges’ requirements for oral health professionals who are infected/affected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV.
Read legacy CDSBC’s Blood-Borne Pathogen Policy (PDF).
These policies encourage a safe working environment and maximizes the use of measures to prevent blood-borne viral transmission to patients. The determining factor between what actions a registrant must take and whether they can safely practise is whether they are providing, or assisting with, “exposure-prone” procedures.
Critical incidents related to blood-borne pathogens must immediately be reported to BCCOHP’s Registrar by phone (672-202-0448, toll-free within Canada: 1-888-202-0448).
The Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines provide oral health care providers with the knowledge of principles and standards to inform and properly implement necessary infection prevention and control measures in a safe and effective manner.
Documentation: Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines
A dental hygienist who owns a private dental hygiene practice must meet the applicable standards in Practice Standards for Private Dental Hygiene Practice.
A dental hygienist applies ionizing radiation and interprets radiographs as appropriate for the patient and for the sole purpose of the dental hygiene process of care.
The Blood-Borne Pathogen Policies addressed the legacy oral health colleges’ requirements for oral health professionals who are infected/affected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV.
Read legacy CDHBC’s Dental Hygienists Infected with Blood-borne Pathogens: Reporting for Prevention of Transmission of Infection
These policies encourage a safe working environment and maximizes the use of measures to prevent blood-borne viral transmission to patients. The determining factor between what actions a registrant must take and whether they can safely practise is whether they are providing, or assisting with, “exposure-prone” procedures.
Critical incidents related to blood-borne pathogens must immediately be reported to BCCOHP’s Registrar by phone (672-202-0448, toll-free within Canada: 1-888-202-0448).
The dental laboratory environment is potentially a source of many infectious diseases.
Health professionals working in a dental laboratory environment may be exposed to hepatitis, aids, herpes or other infectious diseases through contact with blood, saliva and debris on impressions, dentures, crowns, bridges, appliances and other items or, in some instances, through direct patient contact.
Awareness of infectious disease control is the responsibility of the health professional. Dental technician registrants should be aware of the potential risk to themselves, or the potential loss of income or legal action that may occur if they spread infectious diseases to someone else. There are many sources of information and education regarding appropriate infection control measures for the commercial laboratory.
BCCOHP does not promote or support any specific product or system to address infection control. It does however currently recommend that:
Registrants observe minimal standards of infection control and ensure there is a system in place to disinfect:
The College recommends that all dental technicians have the following MINIMUM program in place:
Note: The legacy College of Denturists of BC referred to the Denturist Association of Canada’s infection prevention and control guidelines.
Eventually, all legacy practice standards and guidelines will be rescinded and replaced. Learn more and review the inventory of documents replaced by these new standards here>>
If you have questions about standards or practice resources, please contact BCCOHP’s Professional Practice team.
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