Role-specific online CE
Dental assistants in District of Columbia: Dental assistants: ~10 hours / 2 years per DC Dental Society summary (infection control 2 hrs, LGBTQ cultural competency 2 hrs, ethics 1 hr, public-health-priority hours, CPR/BLS 2 hrs); not confirmed against official DCMR. Online/live-course signal from Dentovio's sourced CE notes: LIVE/SELF-STUDY: as of the 12/31/2021 renewal all hours (incl. CPR) may be completed via approved online courses (no live minimum). Confirm the current dental assistant live, webinar, correspondence, home-study, self-study, provider, and audit rules with the District of Columbia dental board before enrolling.
Dental assistant CE snapshot
Last verified 2026-07-08. Research confidence: medium.
LIVE/SELF-STUDY: as of the 12/31/2021 renewal all hours (incl. CPR) may be completed via approved online courses (no live minimum).
2-year cycle; licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years (e.g., 12/31/2025). Common mandatory topics across dentists/hygienists/assistants: infection control 2 hrs; ethics 1 hr; cultural competency/LGBTQ 2 hrs. PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITY: 10% of total required hours must be on DOH-designated public-health-priority topics (dentists 3 hrs; hygienists ~2-3 hrs). OPIOID/CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE: DEA/controlled-substance-registered dentists must complete 2 hrs on abuse/misuse of controlled substances and opioid prescribing. CPR required. LIVE/SELF-STUDY: as of the 12/31/2021 renewal all hours (incl. CPR) may be completed via approved online courses (no live minimum). NOTE: dentist figure (30 hrs) is well corroborated; hygienist (15 vs 20) and assistant (10) figures conflict across sources and were not verified against the official DCMR Title 17, so confidence is medium.
