Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) All registered dental assistants and limited registered dental assistants in orthodontics shall submit a certification verifying the completion of 10 hours of continuing education every two years at the time of registration renewal, including the six mandatory continuing education hours set forth at (f) below. No more than one-half of the required continuing education hours in the two-year period may be obtained through written or electronic media distance learning courses. Webinars shall not be considered electronic media distance learning courses if they are live (not previously recorded) and synchronous (the instructor and registrant interact with each other in real time).
(b) The following shall be considered acceptable forms of continuing education:
1. Scientific courses applicable to the delivery of dental care by dental auxiliaries, including preventive services, radiography, dental photography, nutrition, patient counseling, community health, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification, and infection control;
2. Courses which directly relate to or concern the practice of dentistry, including organization and office management, office design, communication skills, behavioral science, dental-legal matters and methods of health care delivery; and
3. Teaching and research appointments:
i. A registrant 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 two hours of continuing education credit annually for each full day of teaching or research up to a maximum of four hours of credit per biennial period and one credit annually for each half day of teaching or research up to a maximum of two hours of credit per biennial period.
(c) The Board shall recognize as acceptable the courses of study and amount of hours credited in continuing education programs approved by the following, provided that the courses satisfy the minimum requirements set forth in this subchapter:
1. The American Dental Association and its constituents and components;
2. The Academy of General Dentistry and its constituents and components;
3. The American Dental Hygienists Association and its constituents and components;
4. The American Dental Assistants' Association and its constituents and components;
5. The American Academy of Dental Hygiene and its constituents and components; and
6. Accredited colleges or universities.
(d) A registrant shall maintain a record of all continuing education activity completed and shall submit a certification verifying the completion of the continuing education 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 registrant 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.
(e) The Board may inspect the registrant's records upon request as may be necessary to insure that the continuing education requirements have been satisfied.
(f) The following six hours of continuing education shall be completed by each registrant during each biennial renewal period:
1. 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;
2. One hour 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;
3. One hour of continuing education in professional ethics and New Jersey law concerning the practice of dental assisting. 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
4. One hour of continuing education in educational programs or topics concerning prescription opioid drugs, including the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion.
(g) Consistent with the provisions of this subsection, the Board shall waive up to two of the required biennial continuing dental assistant education hours set forth at (a) above for a registrant who renders volunteer services as a clinician to eligible persons as defined at N.J.A.C. 13:30-5.1(n).
1. One half-hour of one continuing dental assisting education credit hour shall be waived for each hour of volunteer clinician service. "Volunteer clinician service" means clinician services provided, without charge, to an eligible person, as defined at N.J.A.C. 13:30-5.1(n), 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 1 of P.L. 1951, c. 199 (N.J.S.A. 45:6-15.1), consistent with the requirements of this subsection.
2. The six mandatory continuing education hours set forth at (f) above shall not be eligible for waiver.
3. As part of the biennial renewal, a registrant 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.
