Colorado Dental CE

Requirements and Additional Information

• Clinical/Science-Based:
  • At least 16 of the required 30 CE hours must be clinical or science-based, or 8 of the required 15 if licensed outside of one year of the license date.
• Live and Interactive:
  • At least 50% of the required CE hours must be live and interactive. This may include web-based courses. Courses meeting this requirement include the opportunity and ability for course participants to ask questions in real-time, and for the instructor to answer participant questions in real-time.
• Presenting:
  • A presenter of courses may submit course hours they presented, up to 6 total credits, towards their CE requirement. The presenter may receive credit one time for each course presented in a license period, up to 6 total credits for that license period.
• Anesthesia and Sedation Permit:
  • A Dentist renewing an anesthesia or sedation permit may apply CE credits specific to renewing their permit for anesthesia or sedation administration (17 hours every 5 years) to the 30 hours required to renew a license every 2 years. Anesthesia-related hours may only be applied to the license period in which they were completed.
• Residences:
  • All dental residencies that are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) may be used for CE credit.
    • 1 Academic Credit = 10 CE Hours.

Basic Life Support

Maintaining current Basic Life Support (BLS) for healthcare providers is required for all dental licenses. Licensees will receive a maximum of 2 hours of CE credit for successful completion.

• BLS hours cannot be applied towards the renewal requirements of an anesthesia permit.

BLS generally refers to the type of care first-responders, healthcare providers, and public safety professionals provide to anyone experiencing cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, or an obstructed airway. It requires knowledge and skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), using automated external defibrillators (AED), and relieving airway obstructions in patients of every age.

Basic Life Support (BLS) training courses must be consistent with the most current science and treatment recommendations from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), Consensus on Science and Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR), and the American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC):

• Initial training must include a minimum of 3 hours of training, including skills practice and skills testing.
• Renewal courses must include a minimum of 2 hours of training, including skills practice and testing.

Opioid/Substance Use Prevention Training

Every Dentist and Academic Dentist, regardless of the date of licensure, is required to complete at least 1 hour of training each license period to demonstrate competency on:

• Best practices for opioid prescribing.
• Potential harm of inappropriately limiting prescriptions to chronic pain patients.
• Best practices for prescribing benzodiazepines.
• Recognition of substance use disorders.
• Referral of patients with substance use disorders for treatment.
• Use of the electronic prescription drug monitoring program.

Substance Use Prevention Training includes, but is not limited to:

• Relevant continuing education courses;
• Self-study of relevant scholarly articles or relevant policies/guidelines;
• Peer review proceedings that involve opioid prescribing;
• Attendance at a relevant conference (or portion of a conference);
• Teaching a relevant class/course;
• Or participation in a relevant presentation, such as with your practice.

Dentists and Academic Dentists who meet one of the following conditions may be exempt from Substance Use Prevention Training:

• Maintain a national board certification that requires equivalent substance use prevention training.
• Attests to the Board that they do not prescribe opioids.

All Substance Use Prevention Training that also meets the CE requirements specified above may be applied to a licensee’s CE renewal requirements.

Documentation Requirements

Licensees must maintain their own CE records for at least 4 years. Documentation should be a certificate of completion, transcript, or written notice (by the CE provider) that includes:

• Licensee's name
• Dates of the CE program
• Hours in attendance
• A synopsis of the course content (course title)
• Name of the course sponsor/provider

Documentation should not be submitted to the Board unless specifically requested.

Exception Options for Continuing Education

Below is a list of exceptions that may be requested. These are limited circumstances and require board approval:

• Emergency Exemption: The Board may excuse a licensee from all or any part of the CE requirements or grant an extension because of an unusual circumstance, emergency, or special hardship.
  • A written request justifying the exception must be sent to the Board at dora_dentalboard@state.co.us. A request must be submitted at least 45 days before a license is renewed.
• Military Exemption: A licensee requesting a military exemption to their renewal fees and CE requirements may visit DPO’s Military License Renewal Information webpage for more information.