Foreign-trained dentist license in South Carolina
In short, South Carolina requires a CODA-accredited advanced-standing degree (no residency-only route found).
Pathway
Advanced-standing CODA DDS/DMD only. SC Code Title 40, Ch. 15 (§40-15-140) requires 'satisfactory evidence of graduation from a dental college... accredited by the Commission [on Dental Accreditation]'. There is no statutory GPR/AEGD residency pathway to initial licensure for a non-CODA degree — a foreign-trained dentist must obtain a CODA-accredited DDS/DMD (advanced-standing program). (A narrow discretionary provision lets the Board require additional education 'in an ADA approved dental school or residency' only after 3 failed clinical exam attempts, not as a general foreign-grad pathway.)
Required exams
National Board (JCNDE) — NBDE Parts I & II or the iNBDE; plus a regional clinical exam. SC accepts ADEX, CDCA-WREB-CITA, CRDTS+SRTA. (WREB was retired Dec 31, 2022.) SC jurisprudence exam also required.
Notes
Non-CODA foreign graduates cannot license on the foreign degree alone and cannot use a GPR/AEGD residency; they must complete a CODA-accredited advanced-standing DDS/DMD program to meet the education requirement. Verify current specifics with the Board.
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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