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Louisiana

Foreign-trained dentist license in Louisiana

In short, Louisiana accepts a residency (GPR/AEGD) pathway.

Pathway

CODA postgraduate program (residency) pathway ACCEPTED — no repeat DDS/DMD required. An applicant who did NOT attend an accredited (CODA) dental school/college must successfully complete a post-graduate CODA-approved program in either general dentistry OR one of the board-approved specialties, consisting of at least two consecutive years at the same institution (the Board does not accept an accumulation of shorter programs to meet this). This is a residency/postgraduate pathway, not an advanced-standing undergraduate DDS/DMD.

Required exams

National board exam (NBDE / iNBDE) + the ADEX clinical examination (must be completed within 5 years of applying for licensure by examination) + the Louisiana jurisprudence exam. (WREB retired 12/31/2022; ADEX is administered via CDCA/CITA.)

Notes

The '2 consecutive years, same institution, general dentistry or board-approved specialty' postgraduate CODA program requirement for non-accredited-school graduates is well-supported by the ADA Louisiana Laws & Rules compilation and the LA Administrative Code (Title 46, Part XXXIII). Confidence held at medium because the exact controlling section number could not be quoted from a clean official source in this pass (the LSBD site and LII pages were partly non-parseable / directory-only). Verify the specific LAC 46:XXXIII citation and current wording with the Board (iris@lsbd.org / alexx@lsbd.org, 504-568-8574).

Residency pathway

Residency pathway found: the sourced state record indicates a CODA residency, GPR, AEGD, or advanced-education pathway may satisfy part of the licensure path under specific conditions.

View residency pathwayCompare advanced-standingCompare no-repeat pathsView licensure exams

Official source

Louisiana State Board of Dentistry

Visit the Louisiana board →

INBDE · written national board

Preparing for the INBDE?

The written national board is its own project alongside the state pathway. Dentovio builds INBDE prep specifically for internationally trained dentists — start with the international hub, the pass guide, or the free practice test.

References