# Tennessee dental assistant online dental CE

> Role-specific live, online, correspondence, webinar, home-study, and self-study CE signals for dental assistants renewing in Tennessee.

URL: https://dentovio.com/online-dental-ce/tennessee/dental-assistant

Last verified: 2026-07-08

Research confidence: high

Educational summary only, not compliance advice. CE course-format and provider rules can change. Confirm current dental assistant online, live, webinar, correspondence, home-study, self-study, provider, and audit rules with the Tennessee dental board before enrolling.

## Direct answer

Dental assistants in Tennessee: Registered Dental Assistants: 24 hours / 2 years (at least 2 hours chemical dependency education). Applies to registered dental assistants.. Online/live-course signal from Dentovio's sourced CE notes: CPR: current CPR/BLS certification required, must be in-person with a hands-on skills exam. Live-vs-self-study cap: for dental hygienists, no more than 50% of the CE requirement may be earned from online/web-based courses (a live interactive webinar counts as in-person, not online). Confirm the current dental assistant live, webinar, correspondence, home-study, self-study, provider, and audit rules with the Tennessee dental board before enrolling.

## Dental assistant CE snapshot

Registered Dental Assistants: 24 hours / 2 years (at least 2 hours chemical dependency education). Applies to registered dental assistants.

## Online and live-course notes

CPR: current CPR/BLS certification required, must be in-person with a hands-on skills exam. Live-vs-self-study cap: for dental hygienists, no more than 50% of the CE requirement may be earned from online/web-based courses (a live interactive webinar counts as in-person, not online).

## Full renewal-cycle note

CE cycle = two calendar years, January 1 of an odd-numbered year through December 31 of the following even-numbered year, preceding the renewal year (Rule 0460-01-.05). Mandatory topics: at least 2 hours in chemical dependency education for dentists, hygienists, AND registered dental assistants (per rule 0460-01-.05; note the statutory topic is worded 'chemical dependency' — some CE vendors describe it as controlled-substance/opioid prescribing). Dentists holding sedation/anesthesia permits need an additional minimum 4 hours in anesthesia/sedation within the 40. CPR: current CPR/BLS certification required, must be in-person with a hands-on skills exam. Live-vs-self-study cap: for dental hygienists, no more than 50% of the CE requirement may be earned from online/web-based courses (a live interactive webinar counts as in-person, not online). No general jurisprudence CE for renewal (jurisprudence is an initial-licensure exam). New licensees exempt during initial cycle. Records retained 3 years.

## Official board source

- <https://www.tn.gov/health/licensure/den.html>

## References

- <https://www.tn.gov/health/licensure/den.html>
- <https://www.ada.org/en/education/licensure>

## Related

- [Tennessee online dental CE](https://dentovio.com/online-dental-ce/tennessee/index.html.md)
- [Tennessee dental assistant CE requirements](https://dentovio.com/ce-requirements/tennessee/dental-assistant/index.html.md)
- [Tennessee dental license renewal](https://dentovio.com/dental-license-renewal/tennessee/index.html.md)
- [All online dental CE pages](https://dentovio.com/online-dental-ce/index.html.md)
- [Dental CE hours tracker](https://dentovio.com/tools/ce-tracker/index.html.md)