Delaware Board of Dentistry

The Delaware Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene operates within the state's Division of Professional Regulation (DPR). Under 24 Del. C. § 1100, the Board's primary objective is to protect the general public from unsafe and unprofessional dental practices; its secondary objectives are to maintain minimum standards of practitioner competency and service delivery. To meet these goals, the Board develops standards for professional competence, promulgates rules and regulations, and adjudicates complaints against licensed professionals — imposing disciplinary sanctions when warranted.

The Board's statutory authority is established in 24 Del. C., Chapter 11. Under 24 Del. C. § 1102(b), the Board consists of 9 members appointed by the Governor: 5 dentists who have actively practiced in Delaware for at least 5 years, 1 dental hygienist with the same practice history, and 3 public members who have no financial or family ties to the dental profession. Members serve 3-year terms and may generally serve no more than 2 consecutive terms.

A separate Dental Hygiene Advisory Committee — 3 licensed dental hygienists appointed by the Governor — participates with the Board in voting on dental hygiene licensure qualifications, the hygiene practical examination, hygiene license renewal requirements, and disciplinary actions involving hygienists (24 Del. C. § 1105).

Unless notified otherwise, the Board meets in January, March, May, June, August, October, and December, on a Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Meetings are held in the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, and are open to the public.

The Delaware Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene issues licenses and permits to the following credential types:

• Dentist — the standard license for general dentists practicing outside a federally qualified health center (FQHC) or government-operated clinic
• Dentist Academic — for a full-time director, chairperson, or attending faculty member of a CODA-accredited, hospital-based residency program in Delaware; practice is limited to the designated institution and to academic/teaching settings
• Dentist-Community Health — for dentists under contract with an FQHC or government-operated dental clinic
• Dentist Limited-Resident (Dental Resident Limited License) — for dentists in a residency program; practice is limited to the sponsoring hospital or institution, under the direction of a licensed dentist
• Dental Hygienist
• Dental Interstate Telehealth Registration
• Restricted Permit I, Restricted Permit II, and Unrestricted Permit — three anesthesia permit types for dentists and dentist academics who administer anesthesia; the Unrestricted Permit is issued as either an Individual or Facility permit depending on who administers anesthesia at the location

Delaware does not require licensure for dental assistants.

All applications are submitted through the DELPROS online portal. After creating a DELPROS account, applicants review the licensure requirements under 24 Del. C., Chapter 11 and the Board's Rules and Regulations, gather required documents, and upload or acknowledge each item on the Attachments page. Documents from third parties — such as school transcripts, employment verifications, and license verifications from other states — must be sent directly to the Board office.

Required examinations

All dentist applicants, regardless of years in practice, must pass both the Delaware Practical Board Examination and the Delaware Jurisprudence Examination. Delaware does not waive the practical exam for dentists already licensed and practicing in another state.

• The Jurisprudence Examination is an open-book, multiple-choice test on Delaware's dental license law and Board rules — 30 questions for dentists, 20 questions for dental hygienists. It must be passed before a license is issued.
• The Practical Board Examination in dentistry is offered twice a year (early January and early June) and is limited to 18 candidates per sitting.
• The Practical Board Examination in dental hygiene is offered in January (18 candidates) and May (36 candidates).
• Applicants have two years from their DELPROS application date to pass the practical exam, or they must reapply from scratch.
• A State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check (through IdentoGO) and current CPR certification are required of all applicants.

Dental hygienists: reciprocity vs. examination

Dental hygienists may apply by reciprocity — skipping the practical exam and sitting only for the Jurisprudence Examination — if they currently hold a license in another state, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia and have practiced at least 3 of the past 5 years. Hygienists who do not meet both conditions must apply by examination and pass the Delaware Practical Examination in Dental Hygiene in addition to the Jurisprudence Examination.

Foreign-trained dentists

Under 24 Del. C. § 1122(a)(1), applicants must hold a DDS or DMD from a dental college accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association. CODA has not accredited any dental schools outside the United States and Canada, so graduates of non-CODA-accredited foreign dental programs are not currently eligible for a Delaware dental license.

Delaware's continuing professional education (CPE) requirements are set out in Section 6.0 of the Board's Rules and Regulations and apply to the two-year renewal period running June 1 through May 31 of even-numbered years (e.g., 2024–2026).

CPE hours by license type

• Dentist, Dentist Academic, and Dentist-Community Health: 50 hours of approved CPE per renewal period
• Dental Hygienist: 24 hours of approved CPE per renewal period
• At least 2 hours of the required CPE must come from a course covering infection control
• All licensees must also provide evidence of a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, in addition to their CPE hours

First-renewal proration

If this is your first renewal, the amount of CPE required depends on how long you've held the license within the current period:

• Licensed less than one year: no CPE required
• Licensed more than one year but less than two years: one-half of the required CPE hours

Tracking and audits

CE is logged in the CE Tracker inside DELPROS — licensees add each course, its provider, dates, and hours as they complete it. After renewal, a percentage of licensees are randomly selected for audit. Do not upload CPE documentation to DELPROS unless you are notified you've been selected; if selected, you must upload the certificate of attendance for each course and your current CPR card, each showing your name, course name, provider, dates, and hours of attendance.

Delaware dental practice is governed by 24 Del. C., Chapter 11, which defines the "practice of dentistry" and "practice of dental hygiene" and gives the Board authority to define supervision levels and permit requirements by rule.

Dental hygienists

Beyond traditional duties — removing calculus, plaque, and stains; performing prophylactic and preventive procedures; and assembling diagnostic information for the treating dentist — recent legislation has expanded hygienists' authorized functions:

• Local anesthesia — under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist, per standards the Board adopted in final regulations effective March 1, 2026 (24 Del. C. § 1106(a)(17); Senate Bill 131)
• Topical agents and fluoride — administering and dispensing topical agents, and prescribing, administering, and dispensing fluoride, under a dentist's standing order and general supervision (Senate Bill 283, signed July 29, 2026)
• Preventive services without a same-visit exam — SB 283 allows hygienists to provide certain preventive services (such as cleanings, sealants, and topical agents) without a prior same-visit dentist examination if the patient has seen a dentist within the preceding 12 months

Because SB 283's implementation was tied to Board regulations still being developed as of this writing, licensees should confirm the current rules before relying on the expanded scope.

Other license types

• Dentist Academic — practice limited to the CODA-accredited residency program and institution named on the license, and only for teaching purposes on patients in an academic setting
• Dental Resident Limited License — practice limited to the sponsoring hospital or institution, under the direction of a dentist employed there
• Anesthesia permits — Restricted Permit I, Restricted Permit II, and Unrestricted Permit (Individual or Facility) each authorize different combinations of conscious sedation, deep sedation, and general anesthesia, as defined in Section 7.0 of the Board's Rules and Regulations

Complaints against Delaware dental licensees are handled by the Division of Professional Regulation's Investigative Unit, not the Board directly.

Before you file

You may wish to confirm the practitioner's license status and disciplinary history using the DELPROS License Look-Up tool. If you'd like to discuss your concerns with an investigator before submitting a complaint, call (302) 744-4500 and ask to speak with one.

How to file

You may file a complaint if a licensed professional or business has violated laws or regulations, or if an unlicensed person or business is practicing a profession that requires a license. Each complaint must include:

• The name and contact information of the person filing the complaint (the complainant) — DPR may keep this confidential when appropriate
• The name and location of the person or business the complaint is against (the respondent)

File online through DELPROS: File a Complaint.

What happens next

Within 15 days of receiving a complaint, DPR sends an acknowledgment letter to the complainant and forwards the complaint information to the respondent. The respondent has 20 calendar days to file an answer. DPR advises the complainant of progress at least every 90 days until the matter is resolved.

To check on a complaint's status, you may:

• Call DPR's customer service line at (302) 744-4500
• Email investigations.dpr@delaware.gov
• Contact the assigned investigator directly via the Contact an Investigator page

License status and disciplinary history for Delaware dental professionals can be searched for free through the DELPROS License Look-Up tool at delpros.delaware.gov/OH_VerifyLicense. DPR describes these online lookups as primary-source verifications, drawn in real time from the DELPROS licensure database.

How to search

• Select Individual or Facility under the search options
• Choose Dentistry from the Profession dropdown, then enter a last name, first name, city, state, or license number — search terms must match the record exactly
• Click Search, then click the license number in the results to open the license detail page
• Click View More Info; if the Discipline column shows "Yes," scroll to the Discipline section and click View next to each Board Order document to download it

Bulk disciplinary data

A complete, filterable list of disciplinary actions across all Delaware professional and occupational licenses — including dentistry — is available at no cost through the Delaware Open Data Portal. Under Licenses and Certifications, open "Disciplinary Actions for Professional and Occupational Licensees," then filter by Profession ID ("Dentistry") to isolate dental licensees; results can be exported to Excel.

Written verification

If you need an official written license verification sent to another jurisdiction or employer, submit a Service Request in DELPROS ($35 standard, or $45 for a special verification that includes exam scores). All verifications are emailed — DPR no longer mails them.