Alabama Administrative Code › Title 270 - BOARD OF DENTAL EXAMINERS OF ALABAMA › Chapter 270-X-4 - MISCELLANEOUS › Section 270-X-4-.04 - Mandatory Continuing Education for Dentists and Dental Hygienists

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) NUMBER OF
			 HOURS.
(a) Dentists shall complete twenty
			 (20) hours of continuing education every year as a condition of licensure
			 renewal. No more than one-half (1/2) of the hours can be completed or satisfied
			 by analog and/or digital media, journals, publications, internet courses,
			 correspondence courses, or distance-based education whether by video or audio
			 format. It shall be the responsibility of each dentist to submit on an annual
			 basis an affidavit or other form approved and provided by the Board of Dental
			 Examiners of Alabama to demonstrate compliance with this requirement. The
			 required hours must be completed in the twelve (12) month period beginning
			 October 1 of each year and ending September 30 of the next year. The period
			 shall begin on the date of the initial certification or on the date of any
			 subsequent recertification. The specific dental continuing education
			 requirements are as follows:
(i) Dentists
			 must maintain current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at
			 the basic or advanced support level through the American Heart Association,
			 American Red Cross, or an equivalent program. During the two-year CPR
			 certification term, a dentist may apply only four (4) hours of CPR training to
			 their annual twenty (20) hour requirement in the renewal period during which
			 they were earned.
(ii) Dentists
			 must maintain current certification in infectious disease control as it relates
			 to the dental office or to the practice of dentistry. Dentists must achieve a
			 minimum of one (1) hour of Continuing Education in the subject of infectious
			 disease control every two (2) years.
(iii) Dentists must achieve a minimum of one
			 (1) hour of Continuing Education in the subject of prescribing controlled
			 substances every two (2) years.
(iv) Beginning with the Continuing Education
			 cycle that begins on October 1, 2023, Dentists must achieve a minimum of one
			 (1) hour of Continuing Education in the subject of ethical considerations in
			 the practice of dentistry each year. The criteria for approval of ethics
			 Continuing Education are set forth below in subsection (5)(g) of this
			 Rule.
(v) Dentists who hold an Oral
			 Conscious Sedation Permit must also complete a minimum of two (2) hours of
			 Continuing Education in the subject of sedation and/or anesthesia every two (2)
			 years.
(vi) The combined number of
			 hours of continuing education training in the course areas of insurance,
			 governmental regulations, and tort liability and/or risk management shall not
			 exceed a total of four (4) hours for the annual renewal period.
(vii) Practice management courses shall not
			 exceed a total of three (3) hours for the annual renewal period. At least half
			 of all continuing education must be attributed to the practice of dentistry.
			 All hours earned for continuing education must be submitted in the renewal
			 period during which they were earned.