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State CPR/BLS

Pennsylvania dental CPR/BLS requirements

For dental CPR/BLS requirements in Pennsylvania, Dentovio's sourced CE notes say: MANDATORY for dentists, hygienists, and EFDAs: 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting in the 2-year period preceding renewal (Act 31), and current CPR certification as a condition of renewal. Confirm current CPR, BLS, hands-on skills, provider, renewal-cycle, and audit rules with the Pennsylvania dental board before renewing.

Official board sourceCE trackerState dental board

Dentist CE

30 hours / 2 years (biennial)

Hygienist CE

20 hours / 2 years (Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner also 20 hrs, of which 5 must be public-health related)

Assistant CE

Expanded Function Dental Assistants (EFDAs): 10 hours / 2 years (of which 3 hours must be in coronal polishing, with limited exemptions). Non-EFDA dental assistants are not separately licensed and have no state CE requirement.

CPR/BLS notes

  • MANDATORY for dentists, hygienists, and EFDAs: 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting in the 2-year period preceding renewal (Act 31), and current CPR certification as a condition of renewal.

Before renewing

  1. Confirm whether the board requires CPR, BLS, or healthcare-provider BLS.
  2. Check whether an in-person or hands-on skills assessment is required.
  3. Verify whether CPR/BLS counts toward CE hours or is separate from CE.
  4. Keep cards, certificates, and audit records in the board-required format.
Open official board source

Full renewal-cycle note

Biennial cycle renewing Apr 1 of every odd-numbered year (State Board of Dentistry). MANDATORY for dentists, hygienists, and EFDAs: 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting in the 2-year period preceding renewal (Act 31), and current CPR certification as a condition of renewal. Prescribers of opioids/controlled substances must complete 2 hours of approved education in pain management, identification of addiction, or safe prescribing (Act 124) — required of DEA-registered dentists. Hygienists with a local-anesthesia permit: 3 of the 20 hours in local anesthesia administration. LIVE-vs-SELF-STUDY caps: individual/self-study capped at half the total — dentists max 15 hrs, hygienists max 10 hrs, EFDAs max 5 hrs. NOTE: the PA 'Dental Renewal Guide' PDF returned conflicting figures (30 hrs hygienist / 18 hrs EFDA); the binding regulation 49 Pa. Code §33.402 governs and states 20 (hygienist) and 10 (EFDA).

References

Last verified 2026-07-08 (research confidence: high). Educational summary only, not compliance advice. Confirm current CPR/BLS provider, hands-on, online-only, renewal-cycle, and audit rules with the Pennsylvania board before renewing.