Kansas Dentist license renewal and CE requirements
Kansas dentists must complete 60 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board.
A Kansas dental license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled.
Summary
Kansas dentists must complete 60 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board. A Kansas dental license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled. Kansas also mandates specific subjects. Ethics: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle.
Kansas 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.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 12/01 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 60 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | No |
| Other accepted activities | Lecturing, presenting papers or clinics, or teaching subjects related to dentistry and dental hygiene, up to 10 hours annually; Authorship of a published dental article, up to 10 hours per article; Authorship of a dental book, up to 20 hours; Teaching an approved dental education course, up to 5 hours; Gratuitous services to medically indigent persons by a charitable healthcare provider, one hour of credit for two hours of service, up to 6 credits per licensure period |
K.A.R. 71-4-1(b) requires a dentist to submit at least 60 hours of qualifying continuing education with the renewal application, at least two of them in ethics, all completed in the 24 months immediately preceding the license expiration date. The dental hygienist requirement is set separately in K.A.R. 71-4-1(c) at 30 hours with one ethics hour, and neither figure was derived from the other. The board states on its dentist renewal page that a dentist needs 60 hours since the last renewal, or 30 hours if it is the first renewal. There is no cap on online hours: the board states that all CE hours may be acquired online and that there has never been a limit. A dentist who holds a specialist certificate must show that at least 40 of the 60 hours are in the certified specialty; the board's renewal page adds a first-renewal specialist sentence, quoted here as written because the regulation does not address it, that 40 of the 60 hours, or for first renewal 20 of the 40 hours, must be in the specialty. K.A.R. 71-4-2 waives the continuing education requirement for the first year after a licensee graduates and becomes licensed, and for licensees engaged full time in graduate study, an internship or a residency. Sedation permits under K.A.R. 71-5 carry their own requirements and are not part of the 60 hour license total.
Required CE topics for Kansas dentists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EthicsTwo of the 60 hours must be in ethics. The dental hygienist ethics requirement is one hour, set separately in K.A.R. 71-4-1(c). | 2 contact hours | Every renewal | All licensees | K.A.R. 71-4-1(b) |
| Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificateA current basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate from the American Heart Association, or a board approved equivalent, must be submitted with the renewal application. The regulation states that the continuing education hours for the certificate may be applied to the continuing education requirement, and the board's renewal page states that a licensee may claim four hours of CE for completing the course. All CPR courses must have a hands-on portion. A dentist holding a specialist certificate may count these hours toward the specialty hour requirement. The topic key basic_life_support is not one of the canonical keys. | 4 contact hours | Every renewal | All licensees | K.A.R. 71-4-1(a) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | K.A.R. 71-4-2(b) approves courses offered by any college or university, the American Dental Association and the National Dental Association and their component and constituent societies, the American Dental Hygienists Association and National Dental Hygienists Association and their components, academies and specialty organizations recognized by the board, local dental and dental hygiene society meetings, dental and dental hygiene study club meetings, and Veterans Administration or armed forces programs given at a United States government facility. The board also states that it automatically recognizes courses approved through ADA CERP or AGD PACE. Any person or organization may apply in writing to the board for approval of other courses. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Kansas DDS/DMD need to renew?
- Kansas dentists must complete 60 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board. K.A.R. 71-4-1(b) requires a dentist to submit at least 60 hours of qualifying continuing education with the renewal application, at least two of them in ethics, all completed in the 24 months immediately preceding the license expiration date. The dental hygienist requirement is set separately in K.A.R. 71-4-1(c) at 30 hours with one ethics hour, and neither figure was derived from the other. The board states on its dentist renewal page that a dentist needs 60 hours since the last renewal, or 30 hours if it is the first renewal. There is no cap on online hours: the board states that all CE hours may be acquired online and that there has never been a limit. A dentist who holds a specialist certificate must show that at least 40 of the 60 hours are in the certified specialty; the board's renewal page adds a first-renewal specialist sentence, quoted here as written because the regulation does not address it, that 40 of the 60 hours, or for first renewal 20 of the 40 hours, must be in the specialty. K.A.R. 71-4-2 waives the continuing education requirement for the first year after a licensee graduates and becomes licensed, and for licensees engaged full time in graduate study, an internship or a residency. Sedation permits under K.A.R. 71-5 carry their own requirements and are not part of the 60 hour license total.
- How often does a Kansas DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?
- Dentist licenses in Kansas renew every two years. A Kansas dental license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled.
- What specific CE topics are required for Kansas dentists?
- Ethics: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle. Citations: ethics (K.A.R. 71-4-1(b)) and basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate (K.A.R. 71-4-1(a)).
- Do Kansas dentists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. K.A.R. 71-4-2(b) approves courses offered by any college or university, the American Dental Association and the National Dental Association and their component and constituent societies, the American Dental Hygienists Association and National Dental Hygienists Association and their components, academies and specialty organizations recognized by the board, local dental and dental hygiene society meetings, dental and dental hygiene study club meetings, and Veterans Administration or armed forces programs given at a United States government facility. The board also states that it automatically recognizes courses approved through ADA CERP or AGD PACE. Any person or organization may apply in writing to the board for approval of other courses.
- Is the first Kansas DDS/DMD renewal exempt from CE?
- No. Kansas applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- License Renewals, Dentists, Kansas Dental BoardState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- K.S.A. 65-1431, Renewal of license; application; continuing education; biennial license renewal feeStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 71-4-1, Continuing education credit hours and basic cardiac life support certificate required for renewal of license of dentist and dental hygienist (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 71-4-2, Approved continuing dental education (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
The 60 hour total, the two ethics hours, the 30 hour first renewal figure, the absence of any online cap and the four hours of CE credit for CPR are all stated on the Kansas Dental Board's own dentist renewal page, which blocks automated clients and was read in a browser. The biennial cycle and the December 1 expiration come from K.S.A. 65-1431 on the Revisor of Statutes site. Kansas publishes the Kansas Administrative Regulations only as PDF volumes on the Secretary of State's site, so K.A.R. 71-4-1 and 71-4-2 were read on Cornell LII and are cited as supporting sources; the values they carry are also stated on the board's own pages. The dentist and hygienist figures come from separate subsections of K.A.R. 71-4-1 and from separate pages of the board's site, read separately. K.A.R. 71-4-2 still uses the phrase annual renewal, which the 2016 amendment of K.S.A. 65-1431 to a biennial cycle has overtaken; the board's own page and the statute both describe a two year cycle. The regulations state no carryover provision, no self-study cap and no record retention period, and the board's page does not describe an audit programme, so those fields are left null.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Kansas Dental Board before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.