Continuing Education Requirements for Renewal of License or Permit

Pursuant to Title 16, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Section 1015 all holders of licenses granted by the Dental Board of California (Board) are required to continue their education after receiving a license.

Continuing Education Units Required

For the purposes of renewal of a license or permit, the following total unit requirements shall apply:

License type
Units

Dentist
50

Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Permit
50

General Anesthesia Permit
24

Conscious Sedation Permit
15

Oral Conscious Sedation Permit
7

License type
Units

Registered Dental Assistant
25

RDA in Extended Functions
25

Dental Sedation Assistant Permit
25

Orthodontic Assistant Permit
25

Special Permit
25

Continuing Education Requirements

To complete the continuing education requirements as outlined in Title 16, California Code of Regulations, Sections 1016 and 1017 for renewal of a license or permit, the following conditions must be met:

• The provider offering the courses must be a Continuing Education (CE) Registered Provider licensed by the Board, or a provider approved by the American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP) or the Academy of General Dentistry’s Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE). Each individual course is not approved by the Board.
• 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.

    * In order for the mandatory course certificates to be accepted by the Board, you must ensure that you have taken the course from an approved mandatory course provider. To identify if a provider is approved to teach the mandatory courses, please see the section titled, Mandatory Course Provider Lookup.

• No more than 50% of the total required units may be taken as non-live or correspondence courses.
  • Interactive courses such as live video conferencing, live webinar, live lecture and live workshop demonstrations may be considered as a live course.
• No more than eight (8) units per day can be applied to the total unit requirement.
• Licensees are required to retain certificates of course completion that were issued to him/her at the time he/she attended a continuing education course for a period of three (3) renewal periods.
• Dental licensees renewing for the first time are exempt from continuing education requirements.

Out-Of-State Courses Offered by a Provider Not Approved By The Board

To petition the Board for consideration of a continuing education course presented outside of California by a provider not approved by the Board, PACE, or CERP must submit a completed Application for Continuing Education Approval for Out-of-State Course Offered by an Unregistered California Provider, including the course content, course duration, and evidence from the provider of course completion. The application must be submitted and approved before the renewal cycle ends.

Registered Provider Lookup

To determine if a provider is approved, you will need to utilize the online DCA BreEZe License Search tool. You may use this webpage to look up a company or individual who has a license/permit issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs for the professions listed.

The Registered CE Provider must have a “Current-Active” permit that is not “expired” in order to be valid.

EXAMPLE:

Mandatory Course Provider Lookup

To determine if a provider is approved to teach the mandatory courses, you would utilize the online DCA BreEZe License Search tool. You may use this webpage to look up a company or individual who has a license/permit issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs for the professions listed.

Once you have located a provider, you will need to click on the button “More Detail.” This will open the Licensing Details page.

The Registered CE Provider must have a “Current-Active” permit, that is not “expired,” and in the “Qualification” section it must have the mandatory course title listed, in order to be valid.

EXAMPLE:

Continuing Education Audits

Effective January 1, 2009, the Board shall conduct random continuing education audits of its dental licensees.

To avoid any enforcement action being taken against your license including, but not limited to, the issuance of a citation and fine, you must complete the required number of continuing education units biennially for your license/permit type. As outlined in Title 16, California Code of Regulations, Sections 1016 and 1017.

Licensees are required to retain certificates of course completion that were issued to him/her at the time he/she attended a continuing education course for a period of three (3) renewal periods.

For more information, call (916)-263-2300 or email DentalBoard@dca.ca.gov.