Foreign-trained dentist license in North Dakota
In short, North Dakota requires a CODA-accredited advanced-standing degree (no residency-only route found).
Pathway
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.
Required exams
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.
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.
Residency pathway
No residency-only route found: the sourced state record generally points foreign-trained dentists toward a CODA-accredited DDS/DMD or advanced-standing pathway, not a residency-only route.
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