Last updated July 2026 · all courses free at the point of access
Written by Dr Sam — practising dentist, Australia, and the clinician behind this directory. About the author →
Primary source: American Dental Association — directory of state dental boards. Your state board is the authority on your CE requirements — each state guide below links directly to its board.
American CE is fifty-plus rulebooks pretending to be one system: totals range from roughly 24 to 70+ hours across one-, two- or three-year renewal cycles, mandatory topics differ state to state (opioid prescribing is near-universal now; jurisprudence, infection control and cultural competency come and go by jurisdiction), and several states cap how much can be self-instruction. A useful starting point is an ADA CERP-recognized or AGD PACE-approved provider, but recognition does not guarantee that every board will accept every course or delivery format. Your state board remains the final authority.
That’s what makes the free platforms genuinely useful for US licensees. CDEWorld, Viva Learning, Dentalcare.com and the manufacturer academies (VOCO, Ivoclar, 3M/Solventum, Bisco, Ultradent and others) carry CERP or PACE recognition — the same recognition your paid CE carries — and issue certificates stating the credit hours. Practical workflow: confirm your state’s total and its self-instruction cap on your board’s website, knock out the state-specific mandatory topics wherever your board requires, then fill the general clinical balance from the free pool below. Many licensees can legitimately cover half or more of a renewal cycle this way.
Browse all certificated CE in the directory →Free CE from recognized providers — a sample
- Spotlight on Erosive Tooth Wear - Part 2: Impact of Fluoride at the Enamel Level
- Treating Dental Patients with Nutrition-Related Chronic Disease
- Compendium's Complex Cases: Engaging the Non-Compliant Dental Patient
- Treating Tethered Oral Tissues: Laser Frenectomy Solutions for Pediatric Patients
- Early Intervention, Greater Production: A Modern Strategy for Team Buy-In and Growth
- Er:YAG Laser Periodontal and Peri-Implant Microsurgical Applications
- Simplified Resin Techniques
- Universal Composites: Predictable, Profitable, and Practice-Ready Restorations
- Chairside Challenges, Lifelong Smiles: Dental Care for the Aging Adult
- Keys to Master Anterior Composites
- Everyday Composites Made Extraordinary
- Strength and Beauty² - Elevating Chairside Restorations
- An Overview of Dental Anatomy
- Oral Embryology and Histology
- Oral Pathology: Mucosal Abnormalities
- Learning to Trust Bulk Filling for Class II Restorations
- Fluoride: Bridging the Gap Between In Office and Take Home Prevention Methods
- Creating Micro-Esthetics in Direct Composite: One Simple Tool, Multiple Functions
- Unlocking Adhesive Excellence in Zirconia Bonding
- Modern Pulpal Therapy and Practical Strategies for Success
- Bonding to Primary Teeth: Why It's Harder and How to Make It Work
- Achieving Predictable Results with Dental Whitening
- Advanced Layering with Composites Part 1
- Advanced Layering with Composites Part II
- Test-Drive Mock-Up
- Minimally Invasive Smile Enhancing Techniques
- The Builder and The Carver
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How CE requirements vary by state
There is no national CE quota for US dentists — each state board sets its own. The spread is wide: Texas asks for 24 hours per biennial renewal, Ohio 40 per biennium, California 50 units over two years, and New York 60 contact hours across a three-year registration period. Mandatory topics differ just as much, from opioid prescribing and infection control to state-specific jurisprudence, and several boards cap how much can come from self-instructed or recorded formats. The state pages below carry the verified figure, the board that sets it, and any topic mandates for all 50 states.
ADA CERP and AGD PACE in one minute
Most state boards do not approve individual courses. Instead they accept CE from providers recognised under one of two national programmes: ADA CERP (the American Dental Association's Continuing Education Recognition Program) and AGD PACE (the Academy of General Dentistry's Program Approval for Continuing Education). A course from a recognised provider that issues a completion certificate will satisfy most boards — but acceptance rules are set state by state, so confirm the detail against your own board's terms, especially for self-instruction caps and mandatory-topic hours.
Track it against your state's target
Every state on this page has a matching preset in the free tools here: the CPDCE calculator takes your renewal date and shows the pace you need, and the CPDCE tracker keeps a running record you can export as a signed statement listing your board by name. Both run in your browser with no account.
Free dental CE by state
State boards set their own hours, cycles and online-study rules. These guides now cover all fifty states — the headline requirement, what can be done online, the mandatory topics, and free certificated courses that fit:
Frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do US dentists need?
It depends entirely on the state: requirements range from 24 hours per biennium in Texas to 60 contact hours over three years in New York, with most states falling between 30 and 50 hours per two-year cycle. Each state page here lists the verified figure and the board that sets it.
Are free online CE courses accepted by state boards?
Generally yes, when the provider is recognised under ADA CERP or AGD PACE and the course issues a completion certificate — but many boards cap the share of a cycle that can come from self-instructed formats, so check your state's limit before planning a whole cycle online.
What is the difference between ADA CERP and AGD PACE?
Both are national recognition programmes for CE providers rather than for individual courses. CERP is run by the American Dental Association, PACE by the Academy of General Dentistry. Most state boards accept CE from providers recognised under either programme.
How do I prove the CE I completed?
Keep the completion certificate from each course, and keep a running log of dates, titles, providers and hours. The free tracker on this site records all of that and exports a signed Continuing Education Statement listing your state board by name.