# North Carolina dental CE requirements

> Continuing education requirements in North Carolina: dentists 15 hours / year (annual; ~30 per 2 years), hygienists 6 hours / year (annual; ~12 per 2 years), assistants No general CE requirement for basic dental assistants; DA II must maintain CPR and complete CE as needed to retain expanded functions.

URL: https://dentovio.com/ce-requirements/north-carolina

Last verified: 2026-07-08

Research confidence: medium

Educational summary only, not compliance advice. CE rules change; confirm current requirements, approved providers, and deadlines with the North Carolina board before renewing.

## Role requirements

- Dentist: 15 hours / year (annual; ~30 per 2 years)
- Dental hygienist: 6 hours / year (annual; ~12 per 2 years)
- Dental assistant: No general CE requirement for basic dental assistants; DA II must maintain CPR and complete CE as needed to retain expanded functions

## Renewal cycle and mandatory topics

Annual renewal (license year ends March 31; CE measured per calendar year). Hygienists: 6 clock hrs/year; per rule 21 NCAC 16I .0102 ALL 6 hrs may be self-study if a post-course test and certificate are obtained, and courses must relate to clinical patient care from a Board-approved sponsor; current CPR certification required IN ADDITION to the 6 hrs (CPR hours do NOT count toward the 6). Hygienists administering local anesthetics: maintain CPR plus 2 hrs/year covering local-anesthetic technique, contraindications, complications, and dental office emergencies. Dentists: 15 hrs/year (secondary sources indicate at least ~8 must be live/interactive and cite a ~1 hr jurisprudence and opioid-prescribing component for DEA registrants). Dentist-specific self-study cap and mandatory-topic detail are set in dentist rule 21 NCAC 16B .0102, which could not be retrieved from a primary source in this pass (board/OAH PDFs returned TLS/connection errors) — hence medium confidence on dentist caps and mandatory topics; hour totals are high-confidence.

## Official board source

- <https://www.ncdentalboard.org/continuing_education.htm>

## References

- Source 1: <https://www.ncdentalboard.org/continuing_education.htm>
- Source 2: <https://ncdentalboard.org/PDF/21ncac16i.0102.pdf>
- Source 3: <http://ncrules.elaws.us/code/21ncac16i.0102>
- Source 4: <https://www.toothnerd.com/post/north-carolina-dental-ce-requirements-for-license-renewal-complete-2026-guide>

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- [All dental CE requirements by state](https://dentovio.com/ce-requirements/index.html.md)
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