Dental CE Courses

The Need for Dental CE

Dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants are in need of constant updating of their clinical skills and didactic understanding of the latest dental research. Treatment protocols and techniques are changing constantly, and to keep abreast of the current standard of care is a constant challenge. Keeping current also provides patients with greater safety and options for treatment so that the public is protected and better served by well-informed and educated dental professionals.

Purpose of CE credit hours

Dental continuing education courses are assigned credit hours so that license renewal standards can be maintained. State dental boards set standards for both the number of credits required to maintain licensure, and the areas of study that are mandated. Minimum standards of CE hours completed are established by individual state dental boards. They usually include repeated mandatory areas of study such as Dental Infection Control , Dental Law , OSHA Review , and HIPAA Standards These study hours help protect the public and uphold the standards of the profession by documenting that dental professionals are receiving adequate continuing education.

"Live" Contact Hours vs. Online CE Distance Learning

State dental boards differentiate between CE hours that are earned from a "live" course where hands-on clinical experience can be acquired, and online didactic distance learning (self-instruction). Online distance learning allows practitioners to gain relevant didactic instruction without having to travel to a distant location (such as a regional dental school) to attend classes. The majority of states allow one half of dental CE hours to be acquired for license renewal through distance learning, with at least half of the required CE hours obtained in a "live" venue.