German Dental Practices Face July Deadline as ECC Encryption Replaces Older RSA Certificates
01.07.2026 - 01:51:20 | boerse-global.de
A quiet but sweeping change took effect on July 1 for dental practices and labs across Germany: all electronic health professional cards (eHBAs) must now carry certificates based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). The older RSA-based certificates lost their validity for secured applications at midnight on June 30, ending a transition period that had given practices several months to upgrade.
The switch is part of a broader tightening of IT security rules under § 390 of the German Social Code (SGB V), which became binding for dental practices back in January. That updated directive lays down technical and organizational measures designed to protect patient data and keep practices operational. Alongside it, new line items for early dental checkups—Z1 through Z6—were written into the Yellow Book (the standard documentation for statutory health insurance patients) at the start of the year.
While practices grapple with the new encryption standards, a ruling from the Darmstadt State Social Court has drawn attention for a different reason: the lunch-break walk in a home-office setting can qualify as a workplace accident. The court found that the path to a snack bar during a midday break is protected under accident insurance if the employee’s home has been formally designated as their place of work and the trip serves to maintain their ability to continue working. In the case decided, an employee who slipped on the way to a takeaway was granted legal recognition of the incident.
But not every claim succeeds. The State Social Court of North Rhine-Westphalia rejected a physiotherapist’s attempt to have a “frozen shoulder” recognised as an occupational disease. The condition does not appear on the official list of occupational diseases, and the bid to classify it as a “quasi-occupational disease” failed because multiple factors—including age and weight—can also contribute to the ailment.
Digital tools are making inroads into occupational medicine, but the current consensus remains cautious. Recent synopses of DGUV Regulation 2 and the occupational medical rule AMR 3.4 stress that any digital care arrangement must offer a safety level comparable to in-person visits. On-site supervision is still the gold standard. Business owners with up to 50 employees must regularly update their training—a basic seminar was held in Saarbrücken on July 1 exactly to address this. The regulation requires a refresher every five years.
Just as German practices must stay on top of changing security certificates, UK businesses face their own compliance challenges under health and safety law. Without up-to-date risk assessments and checklists, you could be exposed to penalties or fail an inspection. A free Health & Safety Toolkit provides ready-to-use templates that help you meet your obligations under current UK regulations. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit
A separate ruling from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court underscores the importance of proper qualifications in dental practice. The court upheld the withdrawal of a practice’s operating license in Appenzell Ausserrhoden after an administrative leader without the appropriate training repeatedly performed prophylaxis treatments. Compounding the problem were expired medications and a disregard for official orders.
On the research front, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI) have developed a substance that specifically blocks the growth of the periodontitis pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. A microbiome toothpaste that leaves healthy oral flora untouched is already being marketed by a spin-off company. Separately, the current S3 clinical guideline on bruxism now describes for the first time the use of botulinum toxin to reduce muscle activity, with effects lasting three to six months.
