Oregon Dental Hygienist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Oregon dental hygienists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Oregon Board of Dentistry. A dental hygienist renews every two years, and the deadline is September 30, not the March 31 date that applies to dentists. Hygienists licensed in odd numbered years apply for renewal in odd numbered years and those licensed in even numbered years apply in even numbered years. The Board mails a courtesy notice before expiration. A hygienist may complete the renewal before finishing all continuing education but is still responsible for completing it before the deadline, and may not work on an expired license. Oregon also mandates specific subjects. Medical emergencies in a dental office: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Infection control: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Cultural competency: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle.

Oregon 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.

A dental hygienist owes 24 hours of continuing education every two years, related to direct clinical patient care or the practice of dental public health. This is a hygienist figure read in OAR 818-021-0070(1), not a scaled version of the 40 hours OAR 818-021-0060 sets for dentists. A hygienist who holds an Expanded Practice Permit owes 36 hours instead of 24. No more than two hours of Practice Management and Patient Relations may be counted in a renewal period, against four hours for a dentist. The Board's continuing education page states that all licensees must maintain at least a current Healthcare Provider BLS or CPR equivalent certification; that is a certification condition rather than a counted subject. The one hour Oregon pain management course required of dentists by OAR 818-021-0060(5) does not appear in the hygienist rule and the Board's page does not list it under dental hygienists. The rule states no cap on self study or distance learning, no carryover provision and no first renewal exemption.

Required CE topics for Oregon 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 Oregon RDH need to renew?

Oregon dental hygienists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Oregon Board of Dentistry. A dental hygienist owes 24 hours of continuing education every two years, related to direct clinical patient care or the practice of dental public health. This is a hygienist figure read in OAR 818-021-0070(1), not a scaled version of the 40 hours OAR 818-021-0060 sets for dentists. A hygienist who holds an Expanded Practice Permit owes 36 hours instead of 24. No more than two hours of Practice Management and Patient Relations may be counted in a renewal period, against four hours for a dentist. The Board's continuing education page states that all licensees must maintain at least a current Healthcare Provider BLS or CPR equivalent certification; that is a certification condition rather than a counted subject. The one hour Oregon pain management course required of dentists by OAR 818-021-0060(5) does not appear in the hygienist rule and the Board's page does not list it under dental hygienists. The rule states no cap on self study or distance learning, no carryover provision and no first renewal exemption.

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

Dental Hygienist licenses in Oregon renew every two years. A dental hygienist renews every two years, and the deadline is September 30, not the March 31 date that applies to dentists. Hygienists licensed in odd numbered years apply for renewal in odd numbered years and those licensed in even numbered years apply in even numbered years. The Board mails a courtesy notice before expiration. A hygienist may complete the renewal before finishing all continuing education but is still responsible for completing it before the deadline, and may not work on an expired license.

What specific CE topics are required for Oregon dental hygienists?

Medical emergencies in a dental office: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Infection control: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Cultural competency: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Citations: medical emergencies in a dental office (OAR 818-021-0070), infection control (OAR 818-021-0070), and cultural competency (OAR 818-021-0070).

Do Oregon 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. The Board does not require a Board approved provider. Continuing education must relate to direct clinical patient care or the practice of dental public health, and self study must carry a completion certificate. Dental hygienists must keep documentation for at least four licensure years consistent with the licensee's licensure cycle. The Board's continuing education page states it audits about 15 percent of licensees annually after the renewal period closes.

Sources

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

• OAR 818-021-0070, Continuing Education, Dental Hygienists (Oregon Secretary of State, Oregon Administrative Rules Database)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• OAR 818-021-0080, Renewal of License (Oregon Secretary of State, Oregon Administrative Rules Database)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Continuing Education Requirements, Oregon Board of DentistryState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• Renewal, Oregon Board of DentistryState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

Oregon runs one board for both credentials but a separate continuing education rule and a separate renewal date for each. Every hygienist figure here was read in OAR 818-021-0070 and on the dental hygienist section of the Board's continuing education page, and none of it was derived from the dentist rule. The September 30 hygienist deadline against the March 31 dentist deadline is stated in OAR 818-021-0080, and the Board's renewal page currently announces renewal for hygienists and dental therapists with a September 30, 2026 expiration date. The Expanded Practice Permit raises the total to 36 hours; that permit is a separate credential and its extra hours are noted rather than folded into hours_per_cycle. No pain management, opioid or jurisprudence mandate reaches hygienists in the rule. The rule states no carryover and no first renewal exemption, so those fields are null rather than false.