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As a prerequisite to the biennial renewal of a dental or dental
hygiene license, proof of completion of 24 hours of acceptable continuing
education is required.
(1)Each licensee shall select and participate in the
continuing education courses endorsed by the providers identified
in §104.2 of this title (relating to Providers). A licensee,
other than a licensee who resides outside of the United States, who
is unable to meet education course requirements may request that alternative
courses or procedures be approved by the Licensing Committee.
(A)Such requests must be in writing and submitted
to and approved by the Licensing Committee prior to the expiration
of the biennial period for which the alternative is being requested.
(B)A licensee must provide supporting documentation
detailing the reason why the continuing education requirements set
forth in this section cannot be met and must submit a proposal for
alternative education procedures.
(C)Acceptable causes may include unanticipated financial
or medical hardships or other extraordinary circumstances that are
documented.
(D)A licensee who resides outside of the United States
may, without prior approval of the Licensing Committee, complete all
required hours of coursework by self-study.
(i)These self-study hours must be provided by those
entities cited in §104.2 of this title. Examples of self-study
courses include correspondence courses, video courses, audio courses,
and reading courses.
(ii)Upon being audited for continuing education compliance,
a licensee who submits self-study hours under this subsection must
be able to demonstrate residence outside of the United States for
all periods of time for which self-study hours were submitted.
(E)Should a request to the Licensing Committee be
denied, the licensee must complete the requirements of this section.
(2)Effective September 1, 2018, the following conditions
and restrictions shall apply to coursework submitted for renewal purposes:
(A)At least 16 hours of coursework must be either
technical or scientific as related to clinical care. The terms "technical"
and "scientific" as applied to continuing education shall mean that
courses have significant intellectual or practical content and are
designed to directly enhance the practitioner's knowledge and skill
in providing clinical care to the individual patient.
(B)Effective January 1, 2021, a licensed dentist whose
practice includes direct patient care must complete not less than
2 hours of continuing education annually, and not less than 4 hours
for each biennial renewal, regarding safe and effective pain management
related to the prescription of opioids and other controlled substances.
These 4 hours may be used to satisfy the 16-hour technical and scientific
requirement. The courses taken to satisfy the safe and effective pain
management requirement must include education regarding:
(i)reasonable standards of care;
(ii)the identification of drug-seeking behavior in
patients; and
(iii)effectively communicating with patients regarding
the prescription of an opioid or other controlled substance.
(C)Up to 8 hours of coursework may be in risk-management
courses. Acceptable "risk management" courses include courses in risk
management, record-keeping, and ethics. Dentists may complete continuing
education courses described by §111.1 of this title (relating
to Additional Continuing Education Required) to satisfy a portion
of the risk-management requirement.
(D)Up to 8 hours of coursework may be self-study.
These self-study hours must be provided by those entities cited in §104.2
of this title. Examples of self-study courses include correspondence
courses, video courses, audio courses, and reading courses.
(E)Hours of coursework in the standards of the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) annual update course or in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) basic life support training may
not be considered in the 24-hour requirement.
(F)Hours of coursework in practice finance may not
be considered in the 24-hour requirement.
(3)As part of the 24-hour requirement, a course in
human trafficking prevention approved by the executive commissioner
of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission must be completed.
(4)Each licensee shall complete the jurisprudence
assessment every four (4) years. This requirement is in addition to
the twenty-four (24) hours of continuing education required biennially
for the renewal of a license.
(5)A licensee may carry forward continuing education
hours earned prior to a renewal period which are in excess of the
24-hour requirement and such excess hours may be applied to subsequent
years' requirements. Excess hours to be carried forward must have
been earned in a classroom setting and within the one year immediately
preceding the renewal period. A maximum of 24 total excess credit
hours may be carried forward.
(6)Examiners for The Commission on Dental Competency
Assessments-The Western Regional Examining Board-The Council of Interstate
Testing Agencies (CDCA-WREB-CITA), States Resources for Testing and
Assessments (SRTA), and Central Regional Dental Testing Services Inc.
(CRDTS) will be allowed credit for no more than 12 hours biennially,
obtained from calibration and standardization exercises associated
with the examinations.
(7)Any individual or entity may petition one of the
providers listed in §104.2 of this title to offer continuing
education.
(8)Providers cited in §104.2 of this title will
approve individual courses and/or instructors.
(9)A consultant for the SBDE who is also a licensee
of the SBDE is eligible to receive up to 12 hours of continuing education
credit biennially to apply towards the biennial renewal continuing
education requirement under this section.
(A)Continuing education credit hours shall be awarded
for the issuance of an expert opinion based upon the review of SBDE
cases and for providing assistance to the SBDE in the investigation
and prosecution of cases involving violations of the Dental Practice
Act and/or the Rules of the SBDE.
(B)The amount of continuing education credit hours
to be granted for each consultant task performed shall be determined
by the Executive Director, Division Director, or manager
that authorizes the consultant task to be performed. The award of
continuing education credit shall be confirmed in writing and based
upon a reasonable assessment of the time required to complete the
task.
(10)A course instructor who offers
continuing education through a provider listed in §104.2 of this
title is eligible to receive 2 hours of continuing education credit
for every 1 hour of instruction provided. This credit applies per
course, per renewal period.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on May 22, 2024
TRD-202402319 Lauren
Studdard
General Counsel
State Board of Dental Examiners
Earliest possible date of adoption: July 7, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 305-8910
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