Texas Dental CE

Texas Dental Continuing Education Requirements (Click Here):

All Texas Dental licensees holding an active license to practice in Texas must biennially collect a minimum of twenty four (24) hours of appropriate continuing education, as required by the Occupations Code at Section 257.005, and the TSBDE Rules and Regulations at Chapter 104 after your first biennial renewal and before each subsequent renewal.  

 Click here for the list of approved continuing education course providers.

The following conditions and restrictions shall apply (As per TSBDE Rule 104.1):

At least 16 hours of coursework must be either technical or scientific as related to clinical care. The terms “technical” and “scientific” as applied to continuing education shall mean that courses have significant intellectual or practical content and are designed to directly enhance the practitioner’s knowledge and skill in providing clinical care to the individual patient.

Up to 8 hours of coursework may be in risk-management courses. Acceptable “risk management” courses include courses in risk management, record-keeping, and ethics.

Up to 8 hours of coursework may be self-study. These self-study hours must be provided by those entities cited in TSBDE Rule 104.2 of this title (relating to Providers). Examples of self-study courses include correspondence courses, video courses, audio courses, and reading courses. Hours of coursework in the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may not be considered in the 24-hour requirement.

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training may be used towards continuing education hours.

Hours of coursework in practice finance may not be considered in the 24-hour requirement.

Each licensee shall complete the jurisprudence assessment every four (4) years. Completion of the TSBDE Jurisprudence Assessment may not be considered in the 24-hour requirement.

Each dentist who is permitted by the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe controlled substances shall complete every three years a minimum of two hours of continuing education in the abuse and misuse of controlled substances, opioid prescription practices, and/or pharmacology. This continuing education may be utilized to fill the continuing education requirements of annual renewal.

New CE Requirements. NEW – Pain Management (104.1)(B) Effective January 1, 2021,

A licensed dentist whose practice includes direct patient care must complete not less than 2 hours of continuing education annually, and not less than 4 hours for each biennial renewal, regarding safe and effective pain management related to the prescription of opioids and other controlled substances. These 4 hours may be used to satisfy the 16-hour technical and scientific requirement. The courses taken to satisfy the safe and effective pain management requirement must include education regarding:

(i) reasonable standards of care;

(ii) the identification of drug-seeking behavior in patients; and

(iii) effectively communicating with patients regarding the prescription of an opioid or other controlled substance.

NEW- Prescribing and Monitoring Controlled Substances (111.1)

Effective until September 1, 2020, each dentist who is permitted by the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe controlled substances shall complete every three years a minimum of two hours of continuing education in the abuse and misuse of controlled substances, opioid prescription practices, and/or pharmacology. This continuing education may be utilized to fill the continuing education requirements of annual renewal.(b)