*Last Updated - 5/26/2023
| State | Renewal Cycle | CE Requirements for Dentists | Notes | State Governing Agency | Online Limit |
| Alabama | Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama | ||||
| Alaska | A dental assistant’s restorative function certificate must be renewed biennially on or before February 28 of odd- numbered years | An applicant for renewal of a dental assistant restorative function certificate shall complete two hours of continuing education approved under 12 AAC 28.410(a) relating to materials or techniques used for restoration of teeth | Alaska Board of Dental Examiners Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing | ||
| Arizona | Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners | ||||
| Arkansas | Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners | ||||
| California | Biennal - last day of month of birth | All Registered Dental Assistants in the State of California who wish to maintain an active license are required to complete 25 hours of continuing education for license renewal. | Completion of the mandatory courses: 1. Basic Life Support (BLS) course provided by the American Red Cross (ARC), American Heart Association (AHA), or a provider approved by PACE or CERP. A maximum of 4 credits will be awarded for completion of this course. Online courses will not be accepted for the BLS requirement. The course must include a live, in-person skills practice session, a skills test and a written examination. 2. California Infection Control* – This course must be 2-units and be taken through a Registered Provider approved by the Board to offer this mandatory course. 3. California Dental Practice Act* – This course must be 2-units and be taken through a Registered Provider approved by the Board to offer this mandatory course. | Dental Board of California | |
| Colorado | Colorado Dental Board | ||||
| Connecticut | Connecticut State Dental Commission Department of Public Health | ||||
| Delaware | Delaware Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene | ||||
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Florida | Florida Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Georgia | Georgia Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Hawaii | Hawaii Board of Dentistry Professional and Vocational Licensing Division | ||||
| Idaho | Idaho Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Illinois | Illinois Department of Professional Regulation | ||||
| Indiana | Indiana State Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Iowa | The registration of all dental assistants expires on August 31 of each odd-numbered year | Dental Assistants: 20 Hours required every 2 years | • CPR Required for renewal – can claim up to 3 hours • Infection Control - Must complete a minimum of 1 hour every 2 years in the area of infection control standards as required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Iowa Jurisprudence - Must complete a minimum of 1 hour every 2 years • Abuse Identification and Reporting Training -Effective July 1, 2019, licensees and registrants who practice in Iowa, must complete training through the Department of Human Services and renew the training every 3 years thereafter. Prior to July 1, 2019, the training was valid for 5 years. • 2 hours for dental assistants with an added qualification in dental radiography. | Iowa Dental Board | |
| Kansas | Kansas Dental Board | There is no limit on the number of CE hours that may be taken online. | |||
| Kentucky | Kentucky Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Louisiana | Louisiana State Board of Dentistry | ||||
| Maine | The license term begins the day the license is issued and ends in five years on the last day in the month in which the license was issued | Expanded Function Dental Assistants: Fifty (50) Credit Hours Required for License Renewal | • Current CPR certification | Maine Board of Dental Practice | There is no credit hour limit on Distance learning activities such as online courses or webinars with verification and passage of an exit examination. No more than ten (10) credit hours can be claimed in any one activity or any combination of activities including Distance learning without exit examination. A licensee may claim continuing education credit for distance learning activities such as online courses and webinars in which an exit examination was not taken. |
| Massachusetts | Dental assistants must have their CEUs completed by October 31st in odd-numbered years | Dental assistants must complete a minimum of 12 CEUs each 2-year renewal cycle | Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry | A dental assistant may earn a maximum of six CEUs per renewal cycle by completing an individual study course (home study, on-line, correspondence, audio or video). All such courses must include a test, which the licensee shall pass to obtain credit. | |
| Michigan | Dentistry licenses expire every 3 years | Every dental hygienist and dental assistant is required to complete, during the 3-year period prior to the date of application for renewal of the license, not less than 36 hours of continuing education | The 36 hours of continuing education must include all of the following: At least 2 hours in pain and symptom management. One hour in dental ethics and jurisprudence with inclusion of delegation of duties to allied dental personnel. One hour in infection control, which must include sterilization of hand pieces, personal protective equipment, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s infection control guidelines. |
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regularoty Affairds Michigan Board Of Dentistry | |
| Minnesota | The initial cycle for each licensee begins on the date of initial licensure and ends on the last day of the licensee's birth month in either an even-numbered or odd-numbered year that corresponds with the licensee's year of birth. A biennial professional development cycle coincides with the biennial licensure periods for each dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist, or licensed dental assistant. Each biennial renewal cycle consists of a 24-month period beginning on the first day of the month following expiration of the previous professional development cycle. | Licensed Dental Assistants must complete 25 total hours every 2 years (15 Minimum Fundamental Hours and 10 max Elective Hours) | Licensees must maintain continuous CPR certification. Course must be a healthcare provider level course (BLS) taken through only the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association. Each licensee must complete an infection control course during each biennial cycle period. The self-assessment is based on the core subject areas. This activity is required for each biennial cycle and is worth one (1) fundamental credit. | Minnesota Board of Dentistry | |
| Nebraska | On or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year, a licensed dental assistant must complete continuing education | Each licensed dental assistant holding an active license must complete at least 30 hours of acceptable continuing education hours during the preceding 24-month period | A minimum of 2 hours in a renewal period must be obtained in infection control continuing education A minimum of 2 hours in a renewal period must be obtained in each area for which a licensee holds an expanded function permit |
Nebraska Board of Dentistry | |
| New Jersey | Regardless of the date that you earned your own license, all RDA licenses expire on December 31st of every even year | All registered dental assistants and limited registered dental assistants in orthodontics shall submit a certification verifying the completion of 10 hours of continuing education every two years at the time of registration renewal | New Jersey State Board of Dentistry | ||
| New Mexico | After the initial license period, licenses expire every three years on June 30 | Dental Assistants: 30 hours of continuing education are required during each triennial renewal cycle Expanded Function Dental Auxilliary: 36 hours of continuing education are required during each triennial renewal cycle |
3 hour Radiation Health & Safety (RHS course) At least 1 hour of INFECTION CONTROL Current CPR/BLS (cannot be on-line) |
New Mexico Board of Dental Health Care | Dental Assistants: A max of 30 hrs can be online, webinars or self study. EFDA: A max of 12 hrs can be online, webinars or self study. |
| North Dakota | Renewal deadline for all registered dental assistants is December 31 of EVEN numbered years | Registered Dental Assistants are required to take 16 hours of continuing education during each biennial renewal cycle | A cardiopulmonary resuscitation course; webinar CPR courses must have a hands-on component. A minimum of two hours of infection control education. A minimum of two hours of ethics and/or jurisprudence. General anesthesia and moderate or minimal sedation permit holders must include four hours related to sedation or anesthesia. Registered dental assistants and dental hygienists holding a permit for Dental Anesthesia Assistant or Restorative Functions must include two hours related to the permit. |
North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners | Self-study: One half of the required hours for renewal of license and registration may be obtained thru self-study. Self-study is defined as an education process designed to permit a participant to learn a given subject without involvement of a proctor or interaction of a third party. Self-study programs may be pre-recorded audio programs, self-paced digital courses, or self-paced printed material. Payment for a course and the certificate of completion are required in the event of an audit. Continuing education hours may consist of a maximum of one-half self-study and the remainder must come from online webinars (recorded, not live) or classroom style education. Live Webinars: The Board determined that a live webinar is equivalent to classroom education where CE is concerned. A live webinar is not considered equivalent to online/self-study education because live webinars allow for interaction with the presenter and ability to ask questions. Live webinars are by the nature of the experience, the existence of a third party and the inclusion of proof of attendance. CPR may be obtained via a webinar but the course must include an actual hands-on component. |
| Ohio | Each person who is certified as a dental assistant radiographer shall on or before the first day of January of each odd-numbered year, register with the state dental board | Dental assistant radiographers are required to obtain continuing education 2 hours of CE in order to renew their Ohio licenses | At least two hours of continuing education in radiation technology | Ohio State Dental Board | |
| Oklahoma | Effective January 1, 2020 the CE hours will be changing to the following: The reporting period is changing from a 3 year reporting period to a 2 year. The current reporting period is July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021 |
OMS assistants shall complete eight (8) hours | Dental assistants shall have two (2) hours of infection control | Oklahoma Board of Dentistry | |
| Pennsylvania | Licenses expire on March 31 of each odd-numbered year, regardless of the date of issuance | An Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA) shall complete 10 hours of continuing education credit hours during the preceding biennial period | Of those 10 hours, 2 hours must be Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting. Expanded Function Dental Assistants shall complete 3 of the 10 required hours of continuing education in the area of coronal polishing |
Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry | A maximum of 50% of the required credit hours may be taken through individual study. |
| Rhode Island | Effective beginning in the calendar year 2006, every dentist, dental hygienist, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant licensed to practice within the state of Rhode Island, on or before the first day of May in each even numbered year, shall apply to the Rhode Island board of examiners in dentistry for a biennial license with the board | Certified maxillofacial surgery assistant licensees shall obtain a total of twenty (20) continuing education credits every two years | All DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistants practicing in a dental setting shall receive a minimum of one (1) hour per year of training on the CDC Infection Control Guidelines All DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistants practicing in a dental setting shall hold a current certificate of completion of an approved course in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) for the Healthcare Provider that includes a hands-on skill component and conforms to the current American Heart Association Guidelines Update for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) offered by any accredited agency approved by the Board. |
Rhode Island Board of Examiners in Dentistry | |
| South Carolina | Continuing education (CE) is a requirement of renewal per S.C. Regulation 39-5(F). Licensees renewing for the first time are exempt from the CE requirements. Current CE cycle is January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 | All dental technician will need eight (8) hours of continuing education (CE) completed for biennial renewal | South Carolina Board of Dentistry | ||
| South Dakota | Every five years of licensure or registration, each licensee or registrant shall provide the board evidence, of a nature suitable to the board that a licensee or registrant has attended, or participated in an amount of board approved continuing education or continuing competency as shall be required by the board | Registered Dental Assistants must earn 60 hours of continuing education in every 5-year CE cycle. | A person who is certified in dental radiography must have documented at least five hours of continuing education in dental radiography in a five-year period. Registered Dental Assistants must maintain a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) card. | South Dakota State Board of Dentistry | Home Study: Limited to 30 hours maximum in a 5-year CE cycle Home study courses or lectures completed on one’s own time without leaving your home or office. You must demonstrate your participation and knowledge of the course or lecture through a certificate of completion from the continuing education provider. If the course you are taking utilizes technology in any way that is interactive, you may consider that course to fall under the appropriate category- Clinical, Radiography, Practice Management, etc. This includes all courses that are conducted with an instructor via webinar, Skype, Zoom, Go To Meeting or other technology that allows for participant interaction. If your course consists of a DVD or video that you view and does not include the ability to interact or ask questions of the instructor, this should be entered as Home Study. |
| Tennessee | All registered dental assistants are required to complete continuing education during the two calendar year cycle (January 1 of an odd year - December 31 of an even year) | All registered dental assistants are all required to fulfill 24 hours of continuing education during the two calendar year cycle | Current CPR A minimum of 2 of the required 24 biennial hours must be obtained in the area of chemical dependency education |
Tennessee Board of Dentistry | |
| Texas | The expiration date will be based on the licensee's birth month and will be staggered to a biennial renewal affecting licensees due to renew by 10/31/2018 and there after | A dental assistant must complete six (6) hours of continuing education each year in areas covering dental assistant duties. At least three (3) of these six (6) hours must be clinical continuing education. | CPR As part of the 12-hour requirement, a course in human trafficking prevention approved by the executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission must be completed. |
Texas State Board of Dental Examiners | CE can be self-study, interactive computer courses, or classroom lecture courses. |
| Vermont | Vermont Dental licenses expire every two years, on September 30 of odd-numbered years | All dental assistants shall as a condition of every registration renewal complete a course in emergency office procedures | Vermont Board of Dental Examiners | ||
| Washington | Expanded function dental auxiliaries must renew their license every year. Credentials expire on the credential holder’s birthday. | There are no continuing education requirements. | Washington State Department of Health |
