Missouri Dentist license renewal and CE requirements
Missouri dentists must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Missouri Dental Board.
Every Missouri dental license renews on a two-year cycle that runs December 1 through November 30, and the license expires on November 30 of each even-numbered year. The renewal application must be postmarked on or before that date; if November 30 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day counts. Not receiving a renewal notice does not excuse a late renewal. Renewal also requires current basic life support or advanced cardiac life support certification. A dentist newly licensed during a cycle gets an initial license good only to the end of that cycle. An expired license can still be renewed within four years, with extra continuing education, after which it is void.
Summary
Missouri dentists must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Missouri Dental Board. Every Missouri dental license renews on a two-year cycle that runs December 1 through November 30, and the license expires on November 30 of each even-numbered year. The renewal application must be postmarked on or before that date; if November 30 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day counts. Not receiving a renewal notice does not excuse a late renewal. Renewal also requires current basic life support or advanced cardiac life support certification. A dentist newly licensed during a cycle gets an initial license good only to the end of that cycle. An expired license can still be renewed within four years, with extra continuing education, after which it is void. Up to 25 excess contact hours carry over to the next cycle and the first renewal is exempt.
Missouri 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, 11/30 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 50 contact hours |
| Category 1 minimum | 40 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Yes, up to 25 contact hours |
| First renewal exempt | Yes |
| Other accepted activities | Full-time instruction at an accredited dental or dental hygiene program, 10 hours per year; Part-time instruction at an accredited dental or dental hygiene program, 5 hours per year; Giving a presentation through a board-approved sponsor, 2 hours for each hour of the original presentation and hour for hour for repeats, up to 16 hours per year; Obtaining diplomate status through an ADA-recognized specialty board during the reporting period, deemed to satisfy all 50 hours |
Section 332.181.4, RSMo, requires each dentist to submit satisfactory evidence of 50 hours of continuing education completed during the two-year period immediately preceding the renewal period. Dental hygienists owe a different total, 30 hours, under their own statute at section 332.261.4. Of the dentist's 50 hours, not less than 40 must relate directly to updating and maintaining knowledge and skills in the treatment, health and safety of the individual dental patient; the hygienist rule sets 25 of 30 the same way. One hour of credit is granted for every 50 to 60 minutes of contact instruction. Up to 25 hours beyond the requirement carry forward into the next two-year time block for dentists, against 15 for hygienists. The rule sets no cap on self-study, online or correspondence formats and no live or interactive minimum. Basic life support or advanced cardiac life support certification, or an equivalent, is a condition of renewal under 20 CSR 2110-2.071(5), but neither the renewal rule nor the continuing education rule says the certification counts toward the 50 hours, so it is not recorded as CE. The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross are both board-approved sponsors. A dentist licensed by examination is exempt from continuing education for the rest of the time block in which the license was granted, and a dentist licensed by credential during the second year of a time block owes 25 hours instead of 50. Residents and fellows are exempt through the end of the time block containing their graduation date. Continuing education ordered as part of discipline does not count.
Required CE topics for Missouri dentists
The Missouri Dental Board pages and rules we read do not mandate specific subject areas for this license type. Hours may be in any approved subject.
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 6 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Hours must come from a board-approved sponsor. 20 CSR 2110-2.240(1)(C) lists the American Dental Association and its constituent and component societies, the Academy of General Dentistry and its affiliates, ADA-recognized specialty organizations, the National Dental Association, the American Dental Hygienists' Association, the National Dental Hygienists' Association, the American Medical Association and American Osteopathic Association and their societies, the American Nurses Association, CODA-accredited dental, dental hygiene and dental assisting schools, the ADA continuing education recognition program, AGD national sponsor approved programs, federal and state government agencies including the military, Joint Commission accredited hospitals, the Missouri Public Health Association, the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, regional clinical testing services the board accepts, the Dental Assisting National Board, the American Dental Assistants Association, the American Association of Dental Boards, the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health, and any other sponsor the board approves. An entity not on that list can be approved for a specific program through a sponsor recognized by the rule. CE Broker is the board's official continuing education management system and documentation must be reported there before the license expires or during renewal. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Missouri DDS/DMD need to renew?
- Missouri dentists must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Missouri Dental Board. Section 332.181.4, RSMo, requires each dentist to submit satisfactory evidence of 50 hours of continuing education completed during the two-year period immediately preceding the renewal period. Dental hygienists owe a different total, 30 hours, under their own statute at section 332.261.4. Of the dentist's 50 hours, not less than 40 must relate directly to updating and maintaining knowledge and skills in the treatment, health and safety of the individual dental patient; the hygienist rule sets 25 of 30 the same way. One hour of credit is granted for every 50 to 60 minutes of contact instruction. Up to 25 hours beyond the requirement carry forward into the next two-year time block for dentists, against 15 for hygienists. The rule sets no cap on self-study, online or correspondence formats and no live or interactive minimum. Basic life support or advanced cardiac life support certification, or an equivalent, is a condition of renewal under 20 CSR 2110-2.071(5), but neither the renewal rule nor the continuing education rule says the certification counts toward the 50 hours, so it is not recorded as CE. The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross are both board-approved sponsors. A dentist licensed by examination is exempt from continuing education for the rest of the time block in which the license was granted, and a dentist licensed by credential during the second year of a time block owes 25 hours instead of 50. Residents and fellows are exempt through the end of the time block containing their graduation date. Continuing education ordered as part of discipline does not count.
- How often does a Missouri DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?
- Dentist licenses in Missouri renew every two years. Every Missouri dental license renews on a two-year cycle that runs December 1 through November 30, and the license expires on November 30 of each even-numbered year. The renewal application must be postmarked on or before that date; if November 30 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day counts. Not receiving a renewal notice does not excuse a late renewal. Renewal also requires current basic life support or advanced cardiac life support certification. A dentist newly licensed during a cycle gets an initial license good only to the end of that cycle. An expired license can still be renewed within four years, with extra continuing education, after which it is void.
- Does Missouri require specific CE topics for dentists?
- The Missouri Dental Board does not list mandated subject areas for DDS/DMD renewal on the pages we verified; the 50 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do Missouri dentists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 6 years. Hours must come from a board-approved sponsor. 20 CSR 2110-2.240(1)(C) lists the American Dental Association and its constituent and component societies, the Academy of General Dentistry and its affiliates, ADA-recognized specialty organizations, the National Dental Association, the American Dental Hygienists' Association, the National Dental Hygienists' Association, the American Medical Association and American Osteopathic Association and their societies, the American Nurses Association, CODA-accredited dental, dental hygiene and dental assisting schools, the ADA continuing education recognition program, AGD national sponsor approved programs, federal and state government agencies including the military, Joint Commission accredited hospitals, the Missouri Public Health Association, the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, regional clinical testing services the board accepts, the Dental Assisting National Board, the American Dental Assistants Association, the American Association of Dental Boards, the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health, and any other sponsor the board approves. An entity not on that list can be approved for a specific program through a sponsor recognized by the rule. CE Broker is the board's official continuing education management system and documentation must be reported there before the license expires or during renewal.
- Is the first Missouri DDS/DMD renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. Missouri does not require continuing education for a DDS/DMD's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Section 332.181 RSMo, License to practice dentistry, application, fee, renewal, requirementsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Section 332.261 RSMo, License as dental hygienist, application, fee, renewalStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Dental Board, Missouri Division of Professional RegistrationState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- 20 CSR 2110-2.240, Continuing Dental Education (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- 20 CSR 2110-2.071, License Renewal, Dentists and Dental Hygienists (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
Missouri runs one regulator, the Missouri Dental Board, for both credentials, but the two hour totals sit in two separate statutes: section 332.181.4 for dentists at 50 hours and section 332.261.4 for dental hygienists at 30 hours. Both were read on revisor.mo.gov, the state's official statute site, so the core hours and the two-year cycle rest on an official host. The Missouri Secretary of State publishes the Code of State Regulations only as PDF, which was not fetched, so 20 CSR 2110-2.240 and 20 CSR 2110-2.071 were read on the Cornell LII mirror and are cited as supporting third party sources for the category minimum, the carryover caps, the retention period, the November 30 even-year expiration and the basic life support condition. The board's own site confirms CE Broker as the official continuing education management system and cites 20 CSR 2110-2.071(4) for it; the Cornell text of that subsection is an older version that instead cross-references 20 CSR 2110-2.040, so the CE Broker duty is taken from the board page rather than the mirror. Missouri mandates no continuing education subject for dentists: no jurisprudence, infection control, opioid or cultural competency requirement appears in the statutes, the renewal rule or the continuing education rule, so mandatory_topics is empty.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Missouri Dental Board before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.