South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 39 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION- STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY › Section 39-5 - Registration of Licenses or Certificates

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Every licensed dentist or dental hygienist
		  and every registered technician shall keep the Board informed of their current
		  mailing address.
B. The Board will
		  notify any dentist, dental hygienist or technician of the expiration of his/her
		  license or certificate.
C. Any
		  person whose license or certificate has expired and who wishes to have the same
		  reinstated must notify the Board of this in writing. Such notification must set
		  forth the reasons for seeking to have the same reinstated and the reasons why
		  the same has expired. Thereafter the Board may require a reexamination of the
		  person whose license or certificate has expired or may require the person to
		  appear before the Board and explain why the license or certificate has
		  expired.
D. In Section
		  40-15-170
		  of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, there is a requirement that
		  affects your license: "The license of a dentist or dental hygienist who does
		  not either reside or practice in South Carolina for a period of six successive
		  years shall be deemed inactive. Provided, that the time spent in active service
		  by any person in the armed forces or public health service of the United States
		  or with the Veterans' Administration shall not be construed as absence from or
		  failure to practice in the State. Relicensing after an absence of over six
		  years can be made at the discretion of the Board upon proof of high
		  professional fitness and moral character."
E. Relicensing can be made at the discretion
		  of the Board upon proof of high professional fitness and moral
		  character.
F. Each licensed
		  dentist, licensed dental hygienist and registered dental technician shall
		  complete as a requirement for relicensure the following accredited continuing
		  education on a two-year continuous cycle basis. The licensee/registrant shall
		  certify on the relicensure/registration form that he/she has taken and can
		  verify the required number of hours specified below. Verification shall be in
		  the form of a record of courses taken, continuing hours earned, the date,
		  sponsor and subject matter of the courses. This material shall be maintained
		  for a period of three years from the date of verification to the Board upon
		  licensure/reregistration and, upon request of the State Board or its
		  representative, the licensee/registrant shall provide documentation in the form
		  of certificates or attendance or letters from course sponsors as proof of
		  attendance.
(1) All dentists shall complete a
		  minimum of fourteen (14) continuing education hours per year or twenty-eight
		  (28) continuing education hours over two (2) years; dental hygienists shall
		  complete a minimum of seven (7) continuing education hours per year or fourteen
		  (14) over two (2) years; dental technicians shall complete a minimum of four
		  (4) continuing education hours per year or eight (8) continuing education hours
		  over two (2) years, in order to be eligible for relicensure or reregistration.
		  Upon licensure by examination of this State, dentists, dental hygienists and
		  dental technicians shall be exempt from continuing education requirements for
		  the first relicensure period. Fifty percent (50%) of the required continuing
		  education hours must be obtained via live, in-person attendance. Interactive
		  webinars are considered live or in-person continuing education hours. The
		  remaining fifty percent (50%) of the required continuing education hours can be
		  earned via online computer seminars.
(a) All
		  licensed dentists and dental hygienists must have at least two (2) hours of
		  their required continuing education be dedicated to sterilization and infection
		  control.
(b) It is the
		  responsibility of all dentists to ensure that their auxiliary staff who may be
		  exposed to blood and other body fluids require and provide two (2) hours
		  biennially of continuing education on sterilization and infection control and
		  maintain records of such training.