Attorney General: Accusations and adjudications involving dental hygienists rose in 2024–25

Carl Sani, senior assistant attorney general who oversees the licensing section, told the Dental Hygiene Board of California on March 27 that enforcement work handled by his office increased in fiscal year 2024–25 and that the board saw a notable rise in formal cases.

"The report published January 1, 2026 covering fiscal 2024–25 shows an increased workload," Sani said, noting that across all client agencies referrals rose from about 3,100 to nearly 3,500. He said the dental hygiene board’s accusations filed grew from 8 in 2023–24 to 23 in 2024–25, while cases adjudicated increased from 7 to 21.

The presentation traced how the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Office of Administrative Hearings measure enforcement activity under SB 467 and Business and Professions Code reporting requirements. Sani described the data-collection process (using the ProLaw case management system) and walked the board through several case-processing intervals: referral-to-filing, filing-to-hearing-request, and filing-to-settlement or default.

Sani told the board that while some processing intervals improved (for example, a substantial reduction in the average time from accusation filed to hearing-requested in the most recent year), the interval from referral to filing for a subset of cases rose closer to the OAG’s informal 90-day target. He emphasized the office’s preference to resolve cases by stipulated settlement when appropriate and explained that due process steps — discovery, expert reports and coordinated hearing dates — often lengthen timelines.

Board members pressed for explanations about the dental hygiene board’s 188 percent increase in accusations filed year over year. "It could be an increase in consumer complaints, changes in enforcement staffing or cases that now meet the threshold for accusation," Sani said, adding that the enforcement staff at the board are best placed to identify root causes.

Dr. Julie Elgener, a public member of the board, thanked Sani for making the data available to support board adjudication work. Member Nicholas Kit Quatt asked about the large number of matters outstanding between referral and adjudication across client agencies; Sani explained that cross‑fiscal‑year carryover and variability among agencies account for the apparent backlog.

The board did not take formal action on the report during the session; the presentation concluded with Sani urging continued cooperation between the board, DCA and the OAG to shorten intervals while protecting licensees’ due process rights.