Licensure Requirements

College of Dental Medicine-Arizona

Dental graduates of U.S. dental schools can obtain full practice rights in all 50 states as well as many foreign countries. To obtain licensure, dental clinicians must meet the requirements established by individual states. Typically, states grant licensure in one of two ways:

1. State accepts a certificate issued by the written National Board Dental Examination and a certificate issued by a regional clinical dental testing agency.

2. The state honors a formal, or informal, reciprocity agreement with another state(s) or issues a license by credentialing the certificate from another state.

Licensure requirements vary among states. For further information concerning licensure, please contact the American Dental Association, the American Association of Dental Boards, or the individual state licensing board.