Best Free Behaviour Management CPD Courses

Updated 2026

Written by Dr Sam — practising dentist, Australia, and the clinician behind this directory. About the author →

Behaviour management CPD has quietly become some of the most useful chairside education available free, because the evidence base has moved. Tell-show-do still matters, but the better modern courses cover graded exposure, non-pharmacological anxiety techniques, and realistic conversations about when inhalation sedation or referral is kinder than persistence. The difference shows up most with paediatric patients and adults whose fear presents as cancellation patterns rather than visible distress.

One filter I’d apply: be wary of courses that treat behaviour management purely as a compliance-getting toolkit. The sessions that changed my practice framed it as reading what the behaviour is communicating — pain history, past trauma, loss of control — and adjusting the environment before the patient. That reframing also makes the techniques stick with your whole team, not just whoever attended the webinar.

A snapshot of the current directory: the strict topic matcher identifies 6 courses relevant to Behaviour Management across 5 providers. 6 are marked as having certificates, and 1 run two CPD hours or longer.

FreeDentalCPD brings together free courses that support behaviour management across children, anxious adults, special care settings and general practice. The live directory section below highlights relevant courses when they are available in the repository.

Browse free behaviour management courses

What to look for in behaviour management CPD

The best course is the one that changes what you do in practice. For this topic, useful CPD should be relevant to your role, clearly presented and easy to record for your continuing professional development requirements.

• Check whether a certificate is available after completion.
• Look for content that is directly relevant to your patients and daily responsibilities.
• Prioritise practical guidance rather than purely promotional material.
• Keep a record of the provider, course title, date completed and CPD hours.

Providers and courses worth comparing

Relevant courses may appear across several education platforms rather than one single provider. These are the types of sources worth checking in the FreeDentalCPD directory.

• Colgate Oral Health NetworkHelpful for prevention, paediatric education, family communication and patient motivation.
• Philips Oral Healthcare LearningUseful for patient coaching and encouraging positive oral health behaviours.
• Viva LearningA broad source of webinars across paediatrics, communication, anxiety and practice systems.
• Septodont LearningRelevant for pain control, local anaesthesia and reducing fear around dental procedures.
• J Morita LearningHelpful where diagnosis, imaging and explanation of findings support patient understanding and cooperation.

How to choose the right course

Look for courses that match the patient groups you see most often. A clinician working with children may need different skills from a practitioner focused on anxious adults, special care patients or complex restorative treatment.

For most dental professionals, it is sensible to combine focused learning in this area with broader CPD in prevention, communication, clinical updates and compliance.

Latest courses from the directory

• Behavior Management for the Pediatric Dental PatientAir Techniques · Paediatric Dentistry · ~1 CPDCE hr · Certificate
• Managing the Challenging Case: Pediatric Patients with Autism ADHD and Anxiety DisordersViva Learning · Paediatric Dentistry · ~1 CPDCE hr · Certificate
• Special Care for Special NeedsGC America · General Dentistry · ~1 CPDCE hr · Certificate
• Management of Fear and Anxiety in DentistryViva Learning · General Dentistry · ~1 CPDCE hr · Certificate
• Managing Anxiety Within Ourselves and Our PatientsVOCO Learning · Oral Medicine · ~1 CPDCE hr · Certificate
• Dental Anxiety: Recognition and ManagementDentalcare.com (Crest + Oral-B) · Practice Management · ~2 CPDCE hrs · Certificate

Showing 6 of 6 relevant courses from the directory. 6 are marked as having certificates. Search the directory for this topic.

Frequently asked questions

Who benefits from behaviour management CPD?

The whole dental team can benefit, particularly clinicians and support staff working with children, anxious patients or people who need extra time and reassurance.

Is behaviour management only for paediatric dentistry?

No. Paediatric dentistry is a major part of behaviour management, but the same principles are useful for anxious adults, special care dentistry and preventive care.

What should a good behaviour management course cover?

Useful courses usually cover communication, empathy, appointment planning, reducing distress, consent, reinforcement and practical approaches to common clinical situations.

Related guides