Colorado Dentist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Colorado dentists 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 Dentist, Academic Dentist, Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist licenses expire on February 28 of even-numbered years, or February 29 in a leap year, 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. Opioid and substance use prevention training: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle (dentists and academic dentists, regardless of licensure date; exempt if the licensee holds a national board certification requiring equivalent training or attests to the board that they do not prescribe opioids). 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 Dentist 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 requires at least 30 hours of continuing education during each two year license period for every dentist, academic dentist, dental therapist and dental hygienist with an active license. At least 16 of the 30 hours must be clinical or science-based, which is what category_1_minimum records. 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. The 15 hour figures for live minimum and self-study maximum are the board's own 50 percent rule applied to its own 30 hour total, not an independent limit. First renewal is scaled rather than uniform: 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 licensee has held the license, exempt_first_renewal is left null. Non-accredited CE courses must be pre-approved by the board in writing.

Required CE topics for Colorado dentists

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 DDS/DMD need to renew?

Colorado dentists 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 requires at least 30 hours of continuing education during each two year license period for every dentist, academic dentist, dental therapist and dental hygienist with an active license. At least 16 of the 30 hours must be clinical or science-based, which is what category_1_minimum records. 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. The 15 hour figures for live minimum and self-study maximum are the board's own 50 percent rule applied to its own 30 hour total, not an independent limit. First renewal is scaled rather than uniform: 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 licensee has held the license, exempt_first_renewal is left null. Non-accredited CE courses must be pre-approved by the board in writing.

How often does a Colorado DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?

Dentist licenses in Colorado renew every two years. All Dentist, Academic Dentist, Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist licenses expire on February 28 of even-numbered years, or February 29 in a leap year, 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 dentists?

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. Opioid and substance use prevention training: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle (dentists and academic dentists, regardless of licensure date; exempt if the licensee holds a national board certification requiring equivalent training or attests to the board that they do not prescribe opioids). Basic Life Support for healthcare providers: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle.

Do Colorado dentists 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 dentists, academic dentists and dental therapists the board automatically accepts courses recognized by ADA CERP, AGD PACE, the American Medical Association, CODA accredited institutions, the American Dental Hygienists' Association, the Colorado Dental Hygienists' Association, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, and CDC provided ANSI continuing education courses. 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 regulates dentists, academic dentists, dental therapists and dental hygienists through one Colorado Dental Board inside the Division of Professions and Occupations. Every value here was read on dpo.colorado.gov, the board's own site, which returns HTTP 403 to automated clients but renders in a browser; the CE page is built from tabbed panels whose content had to be opened to read. Colorado is unusual in setting the same 30 hour total for dentists and hygienists, so the totals genuinely match rather than one being scaled from the other; the real difference is the opioid and substance use prevention hour, which the board's page scopes to dentists and academic dentists only. The board's rule text in 3 CCR 709-1 was not opened, so rule section citations are null where the page did not give them. Carryover is not addressed on the board's pages, so those fields are null. Two topic keys are not on the canonical list: cpr_bls, because no canonical key covers Basic Life Support, and bloodborne_pathogens, because the board states OSHA bloodborne pathogen training as a mandate separate from its 2 hour infection control requirement.