The dental LMS for groups that train every office the same way

What the rules ask dental employers to keep

OSHA states that there are no specific OSHA standards for dentistry, so dental offices fall under the general industry rules. The one that sets the training calendar is the bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030. It requires training at initial assignment to exposure tasks and at least annually after that, within one year of the previous session, during working hours and at no cost to the employee. The session must include "an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with the person conducting the training session," and that person must know the subject as it relates to your workplace. Records (dates, content summary, trainer names and qualifications, attendee names and job titles) are kept for 3 years.

Online modules carry most of that. But in a 2008 interpretation letter, OSHA said computer-based training learners "must have direct access to a qualified trainer at the time the training is being conducted." A voicemail box does not meet that. A hotline or other real-time contact can.

OSHA's January 2026 final rule sets November 20, 2026 as the date employers update HazCom labels, programs and training for substances, with mixtures due by May 19, 2028. Separately, the CDC's Infection Prevention Checklist for Dental Settings expects infection prevention and bloodborne pathogens training at hire, every year and whenever new tasks change someone's exposure.

Then the states split. California's Business and Professions Code 1750 requires an unlicensed dental assistant to finish a board-approved 8-hour infection control course before any procedure with exposure to blood or saliva, and the employer keeps the evidence for the length of employment. Texas requires a Dental Assistant Radiology Certificate before an assistant positions or exposes x-rays. New York has dentists and hygienists complete approved infection control training every four years. Our training records retention table shows how long to keep each file.

Setting up a DSO or multi-location group

In 2024, 16% of US dentists were affiliated with a DSO, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute. Structure comes first. We model regions or brands as branches, each office as an organization, and roles as groups. Manager views and role permissions keep office managers on their own teams. Confirm in a demo how you want a regional manager who covers several offices scoped. Connect SAML SSO and SCIM so joiners and leavers flow from Entra ID or Okta, and turn on phone login for assistants without a company inbox. Then assign onboarding and annual courses with due dates and mandatory flags. Overdue reports show who is behind. See enterprise administration for branch permissions and our LMS migration checklist for moving acquired offices off old tools.

Running the annual refresher cycle

Build the bloodborne pathogens and infection control refresher from your own exposure control plan and give its certificate a 12-month validity. In the last 30 days the certificate shows as expiring soon, a certificate-expiring email automation can go out (confirm who receives it in a demo), and finishing the refresher renews it. For the Q&A, schedule live Zoom or Google Meet sessions led by your infection control coordinator and take attendance by hand, or by QR check-in when people are in the room. The AI Tutor answers from course content, but it is not the person conducting the training that the standard describes. See compliance training for the full assignment cycle.

Assistant academies and competency exams

A DSO academy or private assisting school can run sequential modules with lesson minimum time and chairside skills on interactive video. End-of-module exams go in the Test Center with question pools, image hotspot items on a radiograph or an instrument tray, and native proctoring: webcam and screen captures, AI checks for a missing or second face, lockdown, ID photo capture and an evidence trail. Essay and file-upload questions do not count toward the score. DANB exams stay with DANB, and LMS Advisor handles prep and your internal credentials.

Product training for dental companies

Manufacturers and labs train practice teams on their products. ADA CERP does not recognize a commercial interest, a company that produces or sells health care goods used on patients, as a CE provider, so check the credit route with a recognized provider before you promise CE. LMS Advisor runs the courses, proctored product exams and verifiable certificates.

How dental training options compare

Where LMS Advisor stops

LMS Advisor has no OSHA, HIPAA or infection control course library, so you author your own or license SCORM courses from a dental content vendor. It is not an ADA CERP or AGD PACE provider, keeps no CE-credit ledger and reports nothing to a state board. It does not track outside licenses or DANB certifications, and you should confirm in a demo whether certificates can show the approval numbers or signatures your board requires. It reaches practice management and HR systems only through the REST API and webhooks, and has no native checkout, store app or deadline-reminder emails. Exam certificates do not expire, so annual cycles run on course certificates. We hold no HIPAA, SOC 2 or other certification or attestation. A single office that wants a ready video library with PACE credit is better served by Dentlogics or Spear.