Licensure, Renewal, Continuing Education, and Unprofessional Conduct
Licensure pathway
Graduation from a Board-approved dental hygiene program, passage of the required national and clinical/regional examinations, fingerprint clearance, and application. Licenses renew every two years. Practicing on a delinquent or expired license is unlicensed practice; the Board also maintains inactive and other statuses that do not permit practice.
Continuing education
Hygienists must complete a set number of Board-accepted CE hours each renewal cycle, including mandated hours in infection control and the Dental Practice Act. Providers must be Board-registered and certificates retained for audit. Falsifying a CE certificate is unprofessional conduct even if the hours were actually earned elsewhere.
Unprofessional conduct
The statutory list includes incompetence, gross negligence and repeated negligent acts, dishonesty or fraud in obtaining a license, false or misleading advertising, practicing beyond scope, aiding unlicensed practice, substance abuse impairing practice, failure to maintain adequate records, violating infection-control regulations, abandoning patients, and failing to make required reports. A violation of the Act or its regulations is generally unprofessional conduct in itself.
Ongoing obligations
Notify the Board of a change of address and of any criminal conviction within the statutory window, report settlements or arbitration awards as required, and cooperate with Board investigations.
Traps
Assuming a CE lapse alone revokes a license (it typically triggers a citation, fine, or renewal hold); confusing "delinquent" with "expired"; assuming CE from any provider counts; overlooking that discipline follows the licensee, not the employer.
Worked example: A hygienist completes the total hours but never obtains the mandatory infection-control hours. The audit fails and the Board may cite and fine her, with renewal held until the deficiency is cured.