Colorado Dental Hygienist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Colorado dental hygienists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Colorado Dental Board (Division of Professions and Occupations, Department of Regulatory Agencies). All Dental Hygienist licenses expire on February 28 of even-numbered years, or February 29 in a leap year, on the same schedule as dentists, and renew for two years. Renewals open about four to five weeks before the expiration date through the DPO Online Services account. A new applicant licensed within 120 days of the upcoming expiration date is issued a license carrying the next expiration date instead. Colorado also mandates specific subjects. Infection control education covering the CDC guidelines listed in board rule: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Training: required every renewal cycle. Basic Life Support for healthcare providers: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. No more than 15 contact hours may be self-study or online.

Colorado Dental Hygienist renewal and continuing education rules

"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.

The Colorado Dental Board's CE page names dental hygienists alongside dentists, academic dentists and dental therapists in a single sentence requiring at least 30 hours of continuing education during each two year license period. This is one of the rare cases where a state genuinely sets one figure for both credentials, and it was read as such rather than inferred: the sentence lists hygienists explicitly. At least 16 of the 30 hours must be clinical or science-based. At least 50 percent of the required hours must be live and interactive, which at 30 hours is 15; web-based courses count as live and interactive if participants can ask questions in real time and the instructor can answer in real time. First renewal is scaled: a licensee licensed 12 months or less before the first expiration date owes no CE, and one licensed more than 12 but less than 24 months owes 15 hours, of which 8 must be clinical or science-based. Because the outcome depends on how long the license has been held, exempt_first_renewal is left null. Where hygienists differ from dentists is the opioid mandate, which the board scopes to dentists and academic dentists only, and the accepted provider list, which for hygienists also takes in ADHA constituents and component societies and non-accredited dental, dental hygiene, dental assisting or medical-related organizations and study groups with a sound scientific basis, proven efficacy and public safety. All non-accredited CE courses must be pre-approved by the board in writing. The anesthesia and sedation permit CE carve-in applies to dentists renewing a permit and is not a hygienist allowance.

Required CE topics for Colorado dental hygienists

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Colorado RDH need to renew?

Colorado dental hygienists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Colorado Dental Board (Division of Professions and Occupations, Department of Regulatory Agencies). The Colorado Dental Board's CE page names dental hygienists alongside dentists, academic dentists and dental therapists in a single sentence requiring at least 30 hours of continuing education during each two year license period. This is one of the rare cases where a state genuinely sets one figure for both credentials, and it was read as such rather than inferred: the sentence lists hygienists explicitly. At least 16 of the 30 hours must be clinical or science-based. At least 50 percent of the required hours must be live and interactive, which at 30 hours is 15; web-based courses count as live and interactive if participants can ask questions in real time and the instructor can answer in real time. First renewal is scaled: a licensee licensed 12 months or less before the first expiration date owes no CE, and one licensed more than 12 but less than 24 months owes 15 hours, of which 8 must be clinical or science-based. Because the outcome depends on how long the license has been held, exempt_first_renewal is left null. Where hygienists differ from dentists is the opioid mandate, which the board scopes to dentists and academic dentists only, and the accepted provider list, which for hygienists also takes in ADHA constituents and component societies and non-accredited dental, dental hygiene, dental assisting or medical-related organizations and study groups with a sound scientific basis, proven efficacy and public safety. All non-accredited CE courses must be pre-approved by the board in writing. The anesthesia and sedation permit CE carve-in applies to dentists renewing a permit and is not a hygienist allowance.

How often does a Colorado RDH license need to be renewed?

Dental Hygienist licenses in Colorado renew every two years. All Dental Hygienist licenses expire on February 28 of even-numbered years, or February 29 in a leap year, on the same schedule as dentists, and renew for two years. Renewals open about four to five weeks before the expiration date through the DPO Online Services account. A new applicant licensed within 120 days of the upcoming expiration date is issued a license carrying the next expiration date instead.

What specific CE topics are required for Colorado dental hygienists?

Infection control education covering the CDC guidelines listed in board rule: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Training: required every renewal cycle. Basic Life Support for healthcare providers: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle.

Do Colorado dental hygienists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 4 years. For dental hygienists the board automatically accepts any course it accepts for dentists (ADA CERP, AGD PACE, the American Medical Association, CODA accredited institutions, ADHA, the Colorado Dental Hygienists' Association, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, and CDC provided ANSI courses) and additionally courses sponsored or recognized by ADHA constituents and component societies or by non-accredited local, state, regional, national or international dental, dental hygiene, dental assisting or medical-related professional organizations or study groups with a sound scientific basis, proven efficacy and assured public safety. All non-accredited courses must be pre-approved by the board in writing.

Sources

Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Colorado Dental CE, Colorado Dental Board, Division of Professions and OccupationsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• Colorado Dental Applications and Forms, including license expiration datesState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• Colorado Dental Homepage, Colorado Dental BoardState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

Colorado uses one Colorado Dental Board for dentists, academic dentists, dental therapists and dental hygienists, with hygienists sitting on both board panels. The 30 hour total, the 16 hour clinical or science-based minimum, the 50 percent live and interactive rule, the 2 hour infection control mandate, the BLS condition and the scaled first renewal are written once on the board's CE page for all four credentials and name dental hygienists explicitly, so the same figures are recorded for both records and that shared wording is stated rather than assumed. The one genuine split is the opioid and substance use prevention hour, which the board's page limits to dentists and academic dentists and which is therefore absent from this record. All values were read on dpo.colorado.gov, which returns HTTP 403 to automated clients but rendered in a browser; the CE page's tabbed panels had to be opened to read their contents. The board's rule text in 3 CCR 709-1 was not opened, so rule citations are null. Carryover is not addressed. Topic keys cpr_bls and bloodborne_pathogens are not on the canonical list and are used because no canonical key covers Basic Life Support or the board's separate OSHA bloodborne pathogen mandate.