Licensure, Renewal, and Continuing Education Requirements
What this domain tests
This domain covers how a hygienist lawfully gets and keeps a Georgia license: the examination pathway, licensure by credentials, biennial renewal, continuing education, and the consequences of a lapsed license.
Pathways to licensure
- Examination pathway: graduation from a dental hygiene program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, a passing score on the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, passage of a Board-approved clinical examination, and compliance with the Board's jurisprudence requirements.
- Credentials pathway: the Board may license an applicant already licensed in another jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially equivalent, subject to the Board's rule and any refresher or examination conditions it imposes.
- Reinstatement: a lapsed or surrendered license is restored only on Board-approved application, fee, and evidence of continued competence.
Renewal mechanics
- Licenses renew on a biennial cycle set by Board rule, with a renewal fee and continuing education hours. Hygienists generally complete a smaller biennial hour total than dentists, plus required content such as infection control.
- Most cycles also require current CPR certification at the healthcare-provider level.
- Inactive or retired status must be affirmatively requested; it does not authorize any patient care.
Continuing education discipline
Keep certificates for the audit window. Programs must be Board-approved or from recognized providers, and hours must relate to the practice of dental hygiene. Falsifying a CE certificate is a separate disciplinary ground, not a paperwork error.
Worked example
A hygienist takes two years off, misses the renewal deadline, and returns to work for six weeks while the application is pending because "I only owed a fee." Analysis: the license expired, so every one of those appointments was unlicensed practice, regardless of intent. The correct order is reinstatement first, then employment. The supervising dentist who permitted the schedule is separately exposed for aiding unlicensed practice.
Traps
- Believing a grace period exists; there is no lawful practice window after expiration.
- Assuming CE earned for another state's renewal automatically satisfies Georgia's content requirements.
- Treating inactive status as a part-time license.
- Forgetting that CPR and jurisprudence requirements are conditions of licensure, not optional extras.