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The objective of continuing education (CE) is to promote competence and professionalism at all stages of a dentist, dental therapist, or CDA’s career. Practice improvement and professional growth are the ultimate goals of CE.
BCCOHP’s QA Program provides the CE requirements for applicants to BCCOHP and for annual renewal of registration or certification.
While you may find value in a CE session, be advised that some sessions may not fulfil the QA Program objectives and, therefore, will not be eligible for CE credits. To be eligible for credit, CE activities must have significant intellectual and/or practical content related to the practice of dentistry and/or the management of your dental practice. Activities can also be related to your professional responsibilities and ethical obligations as a dental professional.
Registrants and certified dental assistants are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria for continuing education credits.
More information about the continuing education program can be viewed below.
The CE submission process must be completed in its entirety by the registrant or certified dental assistant and cannot be delegated. If you are not the named registrant or certified dental assistant, you must not complete this process, in whole or in part, on behalf of the registrant or certified dental assistant.
As a registrant or certified dental assistant, it is your ethical responsibility to ensure that your CE credit reporting is accurate. Failure to do so is a breach of BCCOHP’s Code of Ethics and could be subject to disciplinary action.
Registrants and certified dental assistants are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria for continuing education credits on the profession-specific webpages.
BCCOHP accepts CE credit submissions via the online portal, or via our contact form. Submission instructions separated by method (online and contact form) are included below.
Please note: BCCOHP does not accept group CE submissions for attendees of study clubs. All CE submissions must be submitted by the individual attending the continuing education session.
If there is a discrepancy on your transcript, such as a duplicate submission, ineligible session, etc., your credits will be adjusted.
If you are not able to submit through the online portal, complete the form linked below (and include any supporting documents) and send it through our contact form.
Tip for submitting credits: Use your smartphone
You can log in to your personal account and submit credits from your smartphone or tablet. If you have a certificate from your course, an easy way to submit your proof of course completion is by taking a picture of the certificate with your device and uploading it directly on to the website!
Following are descriptions of the categories under which registrants may earn CE credits and the maximum number of credits allowed in each category over a three-year cycle.
| Category/ Modality | Description | Max Credits Per Cycle | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dentists | CDAs | Dental Therapists | ||
| Clinical Dental | Relates directly to the provision of patient care and treatment | No limit | ||
| Dental Practice Management | Relates directly to the operation and management of a dental practice (does not include courses related to personal financial or retirement planning, or marketing products or services to patients) | 30 | 18 | 18 |
| Dental/ Medical Emergencies | First aid, CPR, ACLS, and management of dental/medical emergencies | 24 | 12 | 12 |
| Non-Clinical Dental | Topics that are applicable to the registrant’s or CDA’s practice of dentistry | 15 | 12 | 12 |
| Other Dental | E.g. CDA modules, lecturers/ presenters/mentors/supervisors, university/college courses, examinations, publication authorship, and learning contract/directed study | Variable See pages 6-7 of Continuing Education Requirements (PDF) document | ||
Note: There are credit limits associated with the various CE learning categories and modalities (e.g. live lecture versus self-study). For more information, read the Continuing Education Requirements (PDF) document.
Registrants are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria for continuing education credits, which is available on this page.
Registrants and certified dental assistants are encouraged to consider the following eligibility criteria before submitting a continuing education course for credit.
To be eligible for CE credits the activity must include at least one of the following criteria:
Activities eligible for CE credit must align with BCCOHP Standard and Guidance Documents. Activities should be taught or led by a person with the appropriate credentials and/or experience related to the subject matter. In the case of teaching restricted activities, the presenter must be permitted (either currently or previously) to perform the specific restricted activity being taught. Information presented at courses should be based on sound scientific principles.
CE activities are not eligible if they:
Dentists, dental therapists and CDAs are required to maintain a minimum number of hours of mandatory continuing education (CE) in order to renew registration or certification to practise each year.
Your CE cycle is assigned at the date of registration and runs on a three-year calendar cycle, e.g. January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2022.
Minimum required credits during a three-year cycle:
| Dentists | Certified Dental Assistants | Dental Therapists |
|---|---|---|
| 90 credits | 36 credits | 75 credits |
| One hour = 1 credit | ||
Detailed requirements, including course eligibility, are outlined in the Continuing Education Requirements (PDF) document.
Note: The Quality Assurance Committee has extended the removal of the self-study maximum for dentists, dental therapists and CDAs until Dec 31, 2024. Registrants and CDAs can claim up to a maximum of 10 credits per day.
Registrants and certified dental assistants earn credits in three-year cycles. Credits should be reported as they are earned. They cannot be carried forward to the next three-year cycle.
It is each oral health professional’s responsibility to maintain documentary evidence of program completion (for example, course descriptions, receipts, certificates, course syllabi, QAP Reflection Template Forms, and QAP Volunteer Contract Forms). Registrants and certified dental assistants may be asked to provide any of these records to BCCOHP. For multiple-day courses/seminars, proof of attendance and/or a course outline may be required.
If there is a discrepancy on your transcript, such as a duplicate submission, ineligible session, etc., your credits will be adjusted.
BCCOHP has implemented an audit process for continuing education submissions. This audit process occurs daily and involves a random selection of CE submissions from the online CE portal.
Learn more about the audit process on this page below.
Registrants and certified dental assistants are reminded that it is your ethical responsibility to ensure that all reporting of CE credits is accurate. Failure to do so is a breach of BCCOHP’s Code of Ethics (PDF) and could be subject to disciplinary action by BCCOHP.
Registrants and certified dental assistants are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria for continuing education credits.
When viewing your CE transcript, submission statuses* will appear as one of the following:
*Effective October 20, 2020, we implemented changes to the terminology used on CE transcripts. The statuses listed above are reflected in CE transcripts from 2018 onward. Transcripts dated prior to 2018 display previous terminology.
For further information and/or assistance, please contact us.
BCCOHP accepts CE submissions through the online portal or by contact form. BCCOHP randomly audits a percentage of CE submissions in the online portal to reduce turnaround time for processing submissions. Details about the audit process are included below:
Study clubs are groups of oral health professionals that meet regularly under the guidance of a mentoring oral health professional.
Study club sessions may be eligible for CE credits. CE eligibility is assessed on an individual basis.