South Carolina Board of Dentistry (LLR)

South Carolina dentist CE requirements

The published continuing-education requirements for a South Carolina dental license, laid out clearly so you can see the whole picture before your renewal.

What the board requires

• 28 hrsTotal per biennial cycle.
• 2 hrsSterilization and infection control, counted within the total.
• 2 hrsPrescribing and monitoring controlled substances (licensees with prescribing authority only), counted within the total.
• Up to 14 hrsNo more than 50 percent of CE hours (14 of 28) may be earned via online computer seminars; live interactive webinars count as live CE.
• Up to 7 hrsTeaching a CODA course or approved CE seminar capped at 25 percent (7 of 28 hours) per renewal cycle, combined (single-extractor sourced, verify).
• RequiredCPR recertification every two years, live and in-person; biennial recertification does not count as CE hours (does not count toward CE hours).

Common questions

Source: South Carolina Board of Dentistry (LLR) (https://llr.sc.gov/bod/ce.aspx). RECONCILIATION SUMMARY. (a) FULL AGREEMENT. Both blind extractors agree on the core numeric spine: biennial 24-month cycle, 28 total CE hours for a general dentist (14 per year), a 2-hour sterilization/infection-control subject (mapped to infection_control), a 2-hour prescribing-and-monitoring-controlled-substances subject (mapped to opioid_pain as closest controlled-vocabulary fit), a 50 percent ceiling (14 of 28 hours) on online computer seminars (online_selfstudy, with live interactive webinars counting as live CE), no carryover/rollover (maxHours 0), and CPR recertification every two years as a non-counting mandatory credential placed in requiredCredentials. Both cite primary .gov sources: the llr.sc.gov Board CE document dated Feb 20, 2025 and scstatehouse.gov S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 39 / Reg 39-5(F). (b) WITHIN vs ADDITIVE. Both mandatory subject topics are WITHIN the 28-hour total, not additive. The board CE document lists them as components of the 28 hours ("Two hours must be in sterilization and infection control" and "If licensed to prescribed controlled substances ... two hours must be in prescribing and monitoring controlled substances"). Neither is described as on top of the general total, so counting is "within" for both. (c) WHY FLAGGED (flagged_ambiguous). (1) Infection-control hours conflict between sources: Extractor B flagged that codified Reg 39-5(F)(1)(b) reportedly states "at least one (1) hour" of sterilization/infection control, while the Board's current Feb 20, 2025 CE document states "Two hours must be in sterilization and infection control." This doc adopts 2 hours to match the Board's current published guidance, but a human must confirm which controls. (2) The extractors DISAGREE on formatCaps: Extractor B added a teaching cap (teaching capped at 25 percent, 7 of 28 hours, per renewal cycle) sourced to codified Reg 39-5(F)(1)(f); Extractor A did not capture it. This doc INCLUDES the teaching cap because it is backed by the primary code, but it is single-extractor-sourced and must be verified. (3) The extractors DISAGREE on provider.accepts: Extractor B mapped ADA sponsorship to CERP and AGD to PACE and added those codes; Extractor A used state_approved only. Both extractors note the Board names sponsoring organizations directly and does NOT name the ADA CERP or AGD PACE programs as such, so this doc adopts the more faithful state_approved-only reading and drops the CERP/PACE inference. strict is false in both extractors and here. (4) The 2-hour controlled-substance topic is CONDITIONAL: it applies only to licensees licensed to prescribe controlled substances (tied to Section 40-15-145); nearly all practicing dentists qualify, so it is listed as a within-total topic, but a non-prescribing dentist would not owe those 2 hours. (5) opioid_pain is an approximate closest-fit slug for "prescribing and monitoring controlled substances"; no exact controlled-vocabulary term exists. (6) All citations are verified:false and nothing was independently re-fetched during reconciliation. EXTRACTION FLAGS (human reviewer must check): 1. Infection control 1 hour (codified Reg 39-5(F)(1)(b)) vs 2 hours (Board Feb 2025 CE document) - which controls? 2. Teaching cap (25 percent / 7 hours, Reg 39-5(F)(1)(f)) captured by only one extractor - confirm existence, scope, and format partition. 3. Provider CERP/PACE acceptance was an Extractor B inference, not board text - confirm whether ADA CERP / AGD PACE are named or only the sponsoring organizations. 4. Controlled-substance topic is conditional on prescribing authority (Section 40-15-145) - confirm applicability model. 5. opioid_pain slug is an approximate map for controlled-substance prescribing/monitoring. 6. Extractor B notes an annual CPR recert from an approved provider may optionally count up to 4 CE hours - confirm. 7. Cycle runs March 2 to March 1 of odd years, reported via CE Broker; exemptions noted for first relicensure period, active-duty US military, and CODA residents. 8. Not verified live; operator sign-off required before go-live. This is an hours requirement extracted from primary board and code sources; it is not represented as verified or complete. These are the published requirements as we read them, not legal or board advice, and CEChart does not certify compliance. Confirm your requirements with South Carolina Board of Dentistry (LLR) before you rely on them.