Licensure, Registration, Renewal, and Continuing Education
License categories and pathways
Minnesota issues licenses to dentists, dental hygienists, and licensed dental assistants, each with its own application, education, and examination requirements. Limited or restricted credentials (student, faculty, temporary, volunteer) carry narrower authority and expire on their own terms - an examinee who treats a limited license as equivalent to an unrestricted one is making a scope error, not a paperwork error.
Renewal mechanics
Renewal is periodic and tied to an attestation of continuing education plus current hands-on CPR certification. The exact cycle length, total hours, and mandated topic hours are set in rule and Board guidance - verify the numbers in effect rather than memorizing a stale figure. CE must be relevant to dentistry and from acceptable providers, and licensees must be able to document it on audit. Address changes must be reported to the Board. Practicing on a lapsed license is unlicensed practice even if the renewal is later accepted, and reinstatement after a long lapse can require extra CE and an explanation.
Traps
Carrying excess hours forward; counting an online CPR course; counting a course whose provider cannot produce a certificate with dates, hours, and topic; assuming a renewal reminder from the Board excuses a late renewal; assuming an "inactive" status permits any patient care.
Worked example: A hygienist completes 30 hours in one cycle, 12 of them from a free webinar series with no certificates. On audit, only documented hours count, so she may fall short. Rule of thumb: if you cannot produce a certificate showing provider, date, hours, topic, and format, the hour does not exist.