# North Dakota dental licensure exams

> Dentist licensure exam signals for North Dakota, including national-board, clinical-exam, jurisprudence, and pathway-specific notes where sourced.

URL: https://dentovio.com/dental-licensure-exams/north-dakota

Last verified: 2026-07-08

Research confidence: high

Educational summary only, not legal, admissions, testing-vendor, or board advice. Exam acceptance, score windows, jurisprudence rules, endorsement routes, and foreign-trained dentist pathways can change. Confirm current instructions with North Dakota State Board of Dental Examiners before applying.

## Direct answer

For dentist licensure exams in North Dakota, Dentovio's sourced state record lists: Passing score on an exam administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (NBDE/iNBDE) or the National Dental Examining Board of Canada, plus a Board-approved clinical competency examination within five years of application. ND accepts ADEX (CDCA-WREB, incl. manikin-based) and CITA. Clinical exam components include periodontal, restorative (posterior composite/amalgam), Class III restorative, endodontic, and (after Apr 1, 2021) a fixed prosthetic component. Plus ND jurisprudence exam. WREB retired Dec 31, 2022. Confirm current iNBDE/NBDE, ADEX or other clinical exam, jurisprudence, law-and-rules, endorsement, and pathway-specific requirements with North Dakota State Board of Dental Examiners.

## Exam signals

Passing score on an exam administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (NBDE/iNBDE) or the National Dental Examining Board of Canada, plus a Board-approved clinical competency examination within five years of application. ND accepts ADEX (CDCA-WREB, incl. manikin-based) and CITA. Clinical exam components include periodontal, restorative (posterior composite/amalgam), Class III restorative, endodontic, and (after Apr 1, 2021) a fixed prosthetic component. Plus ND jurisprudence exam. WREB retired Dec 31, 2022.

## Pathway context

Advanced-standing CODA DDS/DMD required — residency/certificate alone is explicitly insufficient. The Board states a dentist educated outside the U.S./Canada must complete a CODA-accredited program and RECEIVE a DDS or DMD degree (or its equivalent); it expressly notes that completion of an education program, INCLUDING a certificate program, that does not result in a DDS/DMD (or equivalent) is insufficient for licensure. A GPR/AEGD residency alone does not qualify.

## Notes

ND's international-dentist page is explicit that a certificate/residency that does not yield a DDS/DMD (or Board-assessed equivalent) will not qualify; the Board may also require an independent equivalency assessment and additional education. Foreign grads therefore need a CODA advanced-standing DDS/DMD.

## Official board source

- North Dakota State Board of Dental Examiners: <https://www.nddentalboard.org/practitioners/Dentist/Initial/international.asp>

## References

- <https://www.nddentalboard.org/practitioners/Dentist/Initial/international.asp>
- <https://www.nddentalboard.org/practitioners/Dentist/Initial/index.asp>
- <https://www.ada.org/resources/careers/licensure/licensure-for-the-international-dentists>

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