Foreign-trained dentist license in Pennsylvania
In short, Pennsylvania requires a CODA-accredited advanced-standing degree (no residency-only route found).
Pathway
Advanced-standing CODA DMD/DDS only. A candidate educated outside the U.S. at a nonaccredited (non-CODA) school must submit credentials to a CODA-accredited (or provisionally accredited) dental school and obtain additional preclinical and clinical training leading to the award of a D.M.D. or D.D.S. degree by that school (49 Pa. Code 33.102(a)(2)). A CODA GPR/AEGD residency alone does NOT satisfy the education requirement.
Required exams
National Board Dental Examination (NBDE Parts I & II / iNBDE); a Board-approved clinical/practical examination administered by an approved testing agency (ADEX, CDCA, CRDTS, CITA, SRTA — WREB legacy). Also required at initial licensure: DEA/opioid safe-prescribing training and child-abuse recognition CE. (WREB retired Dec 31, 2022.)
Notes
PA recognizes CODA (US) and CDAC (Canada) accreditation. Certification of graduation from a foreign program does NOT meet PA educational qualifications; the mandatory route for a non-CODA foreign graduate is a CODA advanced-standing DMD/DDS (49 Pa. Code 33.102(a)(2), read with the accreditation requirement in 33.103/33.103b).
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.
View residency pathwayCompare advanced-standingCompare no-repeat pathsView licensure examsReferences
- https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/department-and-offices/bpoa/boards-commissions/dentistry/dentist-licensure-snapshot
- https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/049/chapter33/subchapBtoc.html&d=reduce
- https://www.ada.org/~/media/Project/ADA%20Organization/ADA/ADA-org/Files/Education/Licensure%20by%20State/Pennsylvania_Licensure