Dental Hygiene Board places Cababrio College on probation, fines program $5,000 and requires students to make up missing clinical hours

The Dental Hygiene Board of California on March 28 ordered sanctions against Cababrio College’s dental hygiene program after staff documented repeated regulatory violations during an unannounced site visit.

Board staff reported the program had eight violations, the most serious of which was failing to ensure students completed required clinical hours and competencies set by the program, the board and the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The board voted to require the Cababrio College class of 2026 to finish all deficient clinical requirements before graduating, impose a $5,000 citation and fine, and place the program on a three‑year probationary period with quarterly reporting to document corrective actions. During probation the program may be subject to announced and unannounced site visits by board staff.

"They came here to give excuses. And so I am uneasy about letting a program like this continue because I think it really does endanger our consumers," said Nicholas Kitquatch, a board member who voiced support for the sanctions.

Julie Elgener, who moved the formal motion, told the board the action is intended to protect patients and ensure graduates are competent. "I move for the full board to require the Cababrio College dental hygiene educational program's class of 2026 to complete all deficient clinical hours, issue a citation and fine of $5,000 and place Cababrio on three years probation," she said during the motion.

Board staff said the discipline follows a site‑visit report attached to the meeting materials and stems from a complaint that triggered the unannounced inspection on Feb. 12, 2026. The board recorded its vote after a roll call and approved the motion by majority vote.

Next steps: Cababrio must submit quarterly reports describing corrective measures; board staff will reassess the program at the end of probation and may conduct additional site visits to verify compliance. The board’s action does not specify graduations already completed prior to the board’s order; the directive applies to the class of 2026 and requires the program to document and remediate deficiencies before students are advanced to graduation.

The board identified the regulatory context for penalties in Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, and the sanction package combines student remediation requirements, monetary penalty and monitoring to encourage systemic corrective action.