In the United States, a person must obtain a license to practice dentistry. In many states, one should graduate from an accredited or approved dental school per accreditation or approval requirements set by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA) of the American Dental Association (ADA).
Foreign dentists, graduated from dental schools outside the United States or Canada, have to go through the licensure procedure to practice dentistry in the USA. Twenty nine states require graduation from accredited or approved schools for licensure. In Minnesota, foreign dental degree can be evaluated to determine equivalency. Eighteen other states and D.C. require additional training in a CDA-accredited program for licensure.
However, approximately half of the accredited schools in the U.S. have provisions for foreign dental graduates to apply to transfer in with advanced standing. So, some of the credits earned abroad might be accepted against dental program in the US accredited school. In addition, D.C. will license a dentist after he or she has received a license in another state and has practiced dentistry for a certain time period.
