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State dental renewal

Pennsylvania dental license renewal

For dental license renewal in Pennsylvania, use the official board for filing forms, fees, deadlines, and final instructions. Dentovio summarizes the renewal CE signals: dentists need 30 hours / 2 years (biennial); dental hygienists need 20 hours / 2 years (Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner also 20 hrs, of which 5 must be public-health related); dental assistants: 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.. Renewal-cycle notes: 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).

Official board sourceCE trackerState CE page

Dentist

30 hours / 2 years (biennial)

Dental hygienist

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

Dental assistant

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.

Before filing renewal

  1. Open the official board source and confirm the current filing window, fee, form, and license status.
  2. Check CE hours, mandatory topics, approved-provider rules, and live or self-study caps.
  3. Keep completion certificates and audit documentation for the period required by the board.
  4. Use Dentovio as a planning reference, not as a renewal filing system.
Open official board source

Renewal cycle and mandatory-topic notes

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 renewal forms, fees, approved providers, deadlines, and audit rules with the Pennsylvania board before filing.