Dentistry Schools and Programs in The United States

Dentistry Studies in The United States

You can study dentistry in the US at the prestigious Harvard University

Dentistry in the United States is a graduate-entry profession. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dentists diagnose and treat problems with patients' teeth, gums and related parts of the mouth, and they typically need a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from an accredited dental programme. The two titles lead to the same licence. SpainExchange lists 30 schools in the United States for dentistry, from university dental schools to community colleges that train dental hygienists and dental assistants.

How the degree is organised

There is no undergraduate dentistry degree. Students first complete a bachelor's degree, which usually takes four years; BLS notes that most dental programmes require at least a bachelor's degree and certain science courses, such as biology or chemistry, and that no specific undergraduate major is required. Dental school itself is described by the American Dental Association (ADA) as a traditional four-year DDS or DMD programme. Coursework covers subjects such as local anaesthesia, anatomy, periodontics and radiology, and every programme includes clinical experience in which students treat patients under the supervision of a licensed dentist.

General dentists need no further training after dental school. Dentists who want to practise a specialty, such as orthodontics, periodontics or paediatric dentistry, complete a residency that usually lasts two to four years and often ends in a postdoctoral certificate or a master's degree.

Two shorter routes lead to other jobs in the dental team. Dental hygienists typically need an associate degree in dental hygiene; BLS states that these programmes typically take three years and are often found in community colleges, technical schools and universities. Dental assisting programmes are mostly offered by community colleges, take about one year and lead to a certificate or diploma.

Accreditation and the licence

The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) is the national programmatic accrediting agency for dental and dental-related education. It reviews more than 1,400 programmes: predoctoral (DDS/DMD), advanced and allied dental programmes.

Dentists must be licensed in the state where they work, and each state board of dentistry sets its own requirements. The ADA lists three requirements that apply everywhere: graduation from a CODA-accredited dental programme, the written Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE), which all US licensing jurisdictions require, and, in most jurisdictions, a clinical assessment. All states also license dental hygienists.

Dentists trained outside the United States

A foreign dental degree does not give direct access to a US licence. According to the ADA, holders of a dental degree from an institution not accredited by CODA may apply to advanced standing programmes, which admit internationally trained dentists into a DDS or DMD programme at a later stage and are typically shorter than the four-year programme. The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) runs a centralised application for these programmes, called CAAPID, and most dental schools ask international dentists for the TOEFL. Temple University and the University of Alabama - Birmingham are among the schools on the list that mention a programme for international dentists or advanced standing students.

Admission and language

ADEA counts 12,491 dental school applicants in 2024 and 6,719 first-time, first-year students enrolled in DMD and DDS programmes in the United States. All US dental schools require the Dental Admission Test (DAT), a multiple-choice test in English that takes five hours and 15 minutes and has four parts: natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading comprehension and quantitative reasoning. Schools also weigh grade point average, interviews and recommendations. Each dental school has its own admission process and criteria.

Teaching is in English, and universities require an English proficiency test. International students need a student visa: once accepted by a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the international student office issues the Form I-20 used in the visa application. For fees, the reference is each dental school's own cost of attendance page.

Where to study dentistry

Philadelphia has two universities on the list, Temple University, whose Kornberg School of Dentistry offers the DMD, and the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Alabama - Birmingham has a School of Dentistry that dates from 1948 and awards the DMD. West Virginia University in Morgantown offers the DDS and a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene, and Creighton University in Omaha has a School of Dentistry with its own dental clinic. The list also includes the University of Michigan, Harvard University, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, the University of Washington and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as community and technical colleges such as Greenville Technical College, Clark College and Kirkwood Community College.

Careers

BLS counts about 161,400 dentist jobs in 2025, of which 141,900 are general dentists, and projects employment to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,800 openings a year. Offices of dentists employ 78% of dentists and 12% are self-employed.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to become a dentist in the United States?

Usually eight years after secondary school: a four-year bachelor's degree followed by a four-year DDS or DMD programme. A specialty adds a residency of two to four years or more.

What is the difference between a DDS and a DMD?

They are two names for the same qualification. State licensing rules treat a DDS and a DMD from an accredited dental programme in the same way.

Can a dentist with a foreign degree practise in the United States?

Not directly. According to the ADA, graduates of programmes not accredited by CODA usually need to complete an advanced standing programme and obtain a DDS or DMD, pass the INBDE and meet the state's clinical assessment rules.

Is the DAT required?

Yes. The ADA states that all US dental schools require applicants to take the Dental Admission Test as part of the admission process.