How often must a dental hygiene license be renewed?

• A. Every two years.
• B. Every year.
• C. Every four years.
• D. Never.

Answer: (D)

Licenses are kept active through a periodic renewal process to ensure practitioners stay current with standards and continuing education requirements. In Louisiana, the typical renewal cycle for dental hygienists is every two years, and renewal is contingent on meeting specified continuing education and fee requirements by a set deadline. If the license isn’t renewed on time, it expires and the practitioner cannot legally provide patient care until it’s renewed. The notion of a license that never expires would bypass ongoing competency checks and regulatory oversight, which is why renewal on a fixed schedule is required rather than perpetual validity.