N.J. Admin. Code § 13:30-5.1 - Continuing dental education requirements for dentists
(a)
Continuing education shall be a mandatory requirement for license renewal,
except that the Board shall not require completion of continuing dental
education credits for initial registration of dentists. All licensed dentists
holding active licenses shall submit a certification verifying completion of 40
hours of continuing dental education every two years at the time of
registration renewal, including the 10 mandatory hours of continuing dental
education specified at (e) below, except for the following:
1. Except as set forth in (a)2 below, a
licensee who was initially licensed during the first year of the preceding
biennial period shall submit a certification verifying the completion of 40
credits of continuing dental education. A licensee who was initially licensed
during the second year of the preceding biennial period shall submit a
certification verifying the completion of 20 credits of continuing dental
education; and
2. An individual who
graduates from a dental school and is licensed in the first year of the
biennial period shall complete 20 credits of continuing education. An
individual who graduates from a dental school and is licensed in the second
year of the biennial period shall be exempt from continuing education
requirements for that biennial period.
(b) One hour of continuing education credit
shall be granted for each hour of instruction at lectures, seminars, clinical
or laboratory participatory courses, the program portion of dinner and other
meetings of national, constituents, and components of dental professional
associations recognized by the Board, or other educational methods as may be
approved by the Board, excluding time spent at meals, breaks or business
sessions. Credit shall be granted only for full instructional hours, but not
for less than one instructional hour. Successful completion of an entire course
or segment of course instruction is required in order to receive any continuing
education credit. Unless otherwise provided, only in class participation, not
student time devoted to preparation, shall be counted toward continuing dental
education.
(c) It shall be the
responsibility of each licensee to maintain a record of all continuing
education activity completed and to be prepared to submit evidence of
completion of the credit requirements to the Board upon request. Records shall
be maintained for two full biennial periods from the date of completion of the
continuing education activity. Each licensee shall obtain from the continuing
education course sponsor a record of attendance which shall include, at a
minimum, the following:
1. The participant's
name;
2. The title or subject area
of the course;
3. The instructor's
name;
4. The course
sponsor;
5. The date and location
of the course;
6. The number of
hours; and
7. Verification of
successful completion by the course sponsor.
(d) The Board shall monitor compliance with
the mandatory continuing dental education requirement by requesting some
licensees, at the discretion of the Board, to provide documentary proof of
successful completion of continuing education credits.
(e) All continuing education activities to be
accepted for credit shall have significant intellectual or practical content,
which deals primarily with matters directly related to the practice of
dentistry or with the professional responsibilities or ethical obligations of
licensees.
1. The following 10 hours of
continuing education shall be completed by each licensee during each biennial
renewal period, as required at (a) above:
i.
Three hours of continuing education with practical hands-on certification for
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which meets the American Heart Association
certification standards for healthcare providers. The training shall include
the use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED), unconscious and conscious
choking, and rescue breathing. Webinars and electronic media distance learning
courses shall not satisfy this requirement;
ii. Three hours of continuing education of
pharmacology and internal medicine, which includes the appropriate use of
analgesics, antibiotics, local anesthesia and agents to control anxiety, drug
(medication) knowledge and interactions, prescription writing, abuse of
prescriptions by patients, taking complete medical histories, and the use of
the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP);
iii. Two hours of continuing education in
preventing and controlling infectious diseases and managing personnel health
and safety concerns related to infection control in dental settings. Examples
of such education include: modes of disease transmission and the chain of
infection; strategies that can prevent occupational exposures to blood and
bodily fluids; methods to ensure that patient-care items and environmental
surfaces are safe for use; selection and use of safe dental devices and dental
water quality assurance and practice monitoring; and evaluation of dental
infection control programs;
iv. One
hour of continuing education in professional ethics and New Jersey law
concerning the practice of dentistry. Examples of such education include:
dental ethics, professionalism, New Jersey jurisprudence, ethical issues
concerning the abuse of prescriptions by patients, child abuse, competence and
judgment, and patient confidentiality. The online New Jersey Jurisprudence
orientation shall not satisfy this continuing education requirement;
and
v. Pursuant to
P.L.
2017 , c. 28 , one hour
of continuing education in educational programs or topics concerning
prescription opioid drugs, including responsible prescribing practices,
alternatives to opioids for managing and treating pain, and the risks and signs
of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. This one credit shall not be
eligible for carry-over as described at (k) below.
2. In accordance with
P.L.
2017 , c. 28 , if the
Board deems it appropriate, on an individual basis, the Board may waive the
specific one credit continuing education requirement concerning prescription
opioid drugs. Any such waiver request shall be filed pursuant to (m)
below.
3. Notwithstanding the
exemption from the completion of continuing education credits as set forth at
(a)2 above, the applicant, once licensed by the Board, shall complete, within
24 months of becoming licensed, one credit in educational programs or topics
concerning prescription opioid drugs, including responsible prescribing
practices, alternatives to opioids for managing and treating pain, and the
risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion.
4. The Board shall not accept the following
topics for continuing education credit:
i.
Estate planning;
ii. Financial or
investment/tax planning; or
iii.
Personal health.
(f) If a continuing education sponsor desires
prior approval for a course of acceptable subject matter and seeks to be
assigned a designated number of continuing education credits by the Board, the
program sponsor shall provide, in writing and on a form provided by the Board,
the curriculum vitae of all instructors and/or discussion leaders, the outline
of the course, the course objectives and information to document that the
course meets the following requirements:
1.
The course is offered in a subject matter and in a format permissible pursuant
to the provisions of this section;
2. The course is conducted by a qualified
instructor or discussion leader; and 3. The course is at least one hour in
length.
(g) Applications
for pre-approval of continuing education programs shall be submitted by the
program sponsor on the form provided by the Board at least 45 days prior to the
date the continuing education program is to be offered. Incomplete applications
shall be returned to the sponsor and may result in an inability to grant
approval prior to commencement of the program. Although an inability to obtain
prior approval may not preclude acceptance of the program, there is no
assurance that the Board will grant approval retroactively.
(h) Continuing education course approval
granted pursuant to this section shall be valid for two years from the date of
approval provided that the course subject matter, course instructor and course
length remain unchanged from the initial application.
(i) A licensee may obtain continuing
education credits from any of the areas of study listed below. A licensee shall
not receive credit for more than the maximum number of hours permitted in each
area of study for each biennial period, as set forth at (i)1 through 4 below.
1. Educational and scientific courses related
to the practice of dentistry .
i. A licensee
may obtain 40 hours of continuing education in this category.
ii. The following shall satisfy the
requirement of 40 hours of continuing education, including the 10 mandatory
hours required at (e) above, for a biennial registration period:
(1) Completion of an accredited one-year
dental residency program; or
(2)
Attendance at, or completion of, an approved advanced education program leading
to certification in endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral and
maxillofacial pathology, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics,
prosthodontics, public health, or oral and maxillofacial radiology.
iii. A maximum of five hours of
continuing education credit shall be given to a student or an instructor for
basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation courses and a maximum of 15 hours of
continuing education credit shall be given to a student or an instructor for
Advanced Cardiac Life Support courses.
iv. A maximum of 20 hours of continuing
education credit shall be given for any form of written or electronic media
distance learning courses. A written or electronic media distance learning
course shall include a written post-test, and such test shall be retained by
the licensee as an additional record of completion of the course. Webinars
shall not be considered electronic media distance learning courses if they are
live (not previously recorded) and synchronous (the instructor and licensee
interact with each other in real time).
v. A maximum of seven hours of continuing
education credit shall be given for practice management/managed care
courses;
2. Papers,
publications and scientific presentations:
i.
A licensee may obtain a maximum of 20 hours of continuing education credit in
this category.
ii. A maximum of 10
hours of continuing education credit shall be given for each original
scientific paper authored by the licensee and published in a refereed journal.
At the discretion of the Board, the 10 hours may be divided among co-authors
based upon the length of the scientific paper and the contributions of each
author.
iii. For each original
presentation of a paper, essay or formal lecture to a recognized group of
fellow professionals as part of a course or program eligible for Board approval
for credit pursuant to this section, a licensee shall receive two hours of
continuing education credit for every hour of presentation;
3. Teaching and research
appointments:
i. A licensee involved in
teaching or research activities at least one full day or the equivalent of one
full day per week per academic year and who holds at least a part-time faculty
or research appointment shall receive five hours of continuing education credit
annually for each full day of teaching or research activity up to a maximum of
10 hours of credit per biennial period or two and one-half hours annually for
each half day of teaching or research activity up to a maximum of five hours of
credit per biennial period.
4. Table clinics and scientific exhibits:
i. A licensee may obtain a maximum of eight
continuing education hours in this category.
ii. A licensee may obtain up to one hour of
continuing education for each two hours of original presentation of a table
clinic or scientific exhibit at a professional meeting.
(j) Licensees who complete the
required 20 hours of continuing education credit pursuant to the requirements
for parenteral conscious sedation and/or general anesthesia permit holders as
set forth in
N.J.A.C.
13:30-8.2 and 8.3 shall be given credit for
all 20 hours so completed. Licensees who complete the required 20 hours of
continuing education credit pursuant to the requirements for enteral sedation
permit holders as set forth in
N.J.A.C.
13:30-8.4 shall be given credit for all 20
hours so completed.
(k) A maximum
of seven continuing education credits completed by a licensee in excess of the
40 credit hours required pursuant to (a) above may be credited to the
subsequent biennial registration period.
(l) Any continuing education courses taken by
a licensee at the direction or order of the Board as a remedial measure shall
not be used to fulfill the continuing education requirement set forth in (a)
above.
(m) The Board may, in its
discretion, waive all or a portion of the requirements for continuing education
on an individual basis for reasons of hardship such as illness or disability or
other good cause. Any licensee seeking a waiver of continuing education
requirements shall apply to the Board in writing and set forth with specificity
the reasons for requesting the waiver. The licensee shall also provide the
Board with such additional information as the Board may reasonably request in
support of the application.
(n)
Pursuant to
N.J.S.A.
45:6-10.4, consistent with the provisions of
this subsection, the Board shall waive up to one-half of the required biennial
continuing dental education hours set forth at (a) above for a licensee who
renders volunteer dental services to eligible persons.
1. For purposes of this subsection, the
following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
"Eligible person" means:
(1) Any person under the age of 19 whose
parent or guardian attests that he or she meets the eligibility requirements
for, and is enrolled in, the NJ FamilyCare Program established pursuant to
P.L.
2005 , c. 156 (N.J.S.A.
30:4J-8 et seq.);
(2) A child who
is in the custody of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the
Department of Children and Families; or
(3) Any person who attests that he or she
meets the eligibility requirements for, and is enrolled in, the Medicaid
program established pursuant to P.L. 1968, c. 413 (N.J.S.A.
30:4D-1 et seq.), the Pharmaceutical
Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program established pursuant to P.L. 1975,
c. 194 (N.J.S.A. 30:4D-20 et seq.), or the
Senior Gold Prescription Discount Program established pursuant to
P.L.
2001 , c. 96
(N.J.S.A.
30:4D-43 et seq.).
"Volunteer dental service" means dental care provided,
without charge, to an eligible person, or to a minor in a primary school,
secondary school, or other school setting, or to a patient through a dental
clinic as defined by
section
2. One half-hour of one continuing dental
education credit hour shall be waived for each hour of volunteer dental
service.
3. The 10 mandatory
continuing education hours set forth at (e) above shall not be eligible for
waiver.
4. As part of biennial
renewal, a licensee shall submit to the Board, on a form supplied by the Board
and available on the Board's website at
http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/den,
documentation evidencing the total number of credits that are eligible for the
waiver in accordance with this subsection.
Notes
See: 36 N.J.R. 3629(a), 37 N.J.R. 3432(a).
Added the last sentence in (i).
Amended by R.2005 d.309, effective
See: 37 N.J.R. 1149(a), 37 N.J.R. 3709(a).
Rewrote (a), (c) and (f), added (h); recodified former (h)-( l) as (i)-(m); rewrote (i).
Amended by R.2011 d.041, effective
See: 42 N.J.R. 2217(a), 43 N.J.R. 310(a).
In (i)2iii, inserted "as part of a course or program eligible for Board approval for credit pursuant to this section"; rewrote (i)3i; and deleted (i)3ii.
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