Here's how to become a dentist in the U.S.: earn a bachelor's degree with science prerequisites, take the Dental Admission Test (DAT), complete four years of dental school for a DDS or DMD, pass the national board exam (the INBDE), and get a state dental license.
That takes roughly eight years after high school, and specialties add a residency on top.
Below is each step, when to take it, and what it involves.
The short answer: what it takes to become a dentist
The route into dentistry is well defined but demanding.
You finish a bachelor's degree with the required science courses, take the DAT, earn a DDS or DMD at an accredited dental school, pass the INBDE, and obtain a license from your state's dental board.
Most new dentists then start as associates.
There's no shortcut around dental school and licensure, but the steps are the same for everyone, so knowing them early lets you line up prerequisites, shadowing, and the DAT at the right time.
This is the domestic path.
If you already hold a dental degree from outside the U.S., see foreign-trained dentists: US licensure & advanced standing instead.
Licensure requirements vary by state
The step-by-step path, from college to license
Seven steps take you from undergraduate student to licensed dentist.
The first four happen in college; the last three happen in and just after dental school.
Earn a bachelor's degree with prerequisites
Dental schools expect a strong science foundation — typically coursework in biology, general and organic chemistry, physics, and often biochemistry, with labs — plus a competitive GPA. You don't need a specific major, but you must complete the prerequisite courses, and each school sets its own list.Build clinical and service experience
Shadow dentists, volunteer, and take on activities that show you can work with people and with your hands. Admissions committees read this alongside your grades.Take the Dental Admission Test (DAT)
The DAT covers the natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. Take it after the core science courses — timing and prep are covered below.Apply through ADEA AADSAS
Applications run through AADSAS, the American Dental Education Association's centralized application service, followed by school-specific secondary applications and interviews.Complete dental school (four years)
A program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) awards a DDS or DMD — the same degree under two names. The first years are heavy on biomedical science; the later years are clinical, treating patients under supervision.Pass the INBDE
The Integrated National Board Dental Examination is the national written board exam that replaced the former NBDE Parts I and II, and it's the written piece of state licensure. Most students sit for it during dental school — our guide to the INBDE explains the exam in full.Get your state dental license
Apply to the dental board in the state where you'll practice. Licensure typically requires the INBDE plus a clinical licensure exam and a state jurisprudence exam — see the licensure section below.
General dentists can start practicing once they're licensed; specializing comes after dental school and is covered further down.
The eight-year path to a dental career, year by year
The standard path is four years of college followed by four years of dental school.
Here's roughly what each stage holds if you apply to dental school during college and enroll right after graduating; if you take time off in between, the application steps shift later but the order stays the same.
| Stage | What you're doing |
|---|---|
| College, years 1–2 | Start the science prerequisites, meet your college's health professions advisor, join a pre-dental club if there is one, and begin shadowing |
| College, year 3 | Finish the core sciences the DAT tests, keep building shadowing and volunteer experience, line up letter writers, and prepare for the DAT |
| Summer before senior year | Take the DAT if you haven't yet, write your personal statement, and submit your AADSAS application early in the cycle |
| College, year 4 | Complete secondary applications and interviews, and finish your bachelor's degree |
| Dental school, years 1–2 | Biomedical sciences plus preclinical lab work, building hand skills on manikins and typodonts |
| Dental school, years 3–4 | Supervised patient care across the clinical disciplines, the INBDE, license applications and, if you're specializing, residency applications |
| After graduation | Clinical exam and state license, then practice as a general dentist or start an optional or specialty residency |
Before you apply: undergraduate courses, shadowing, and experience
You can major in anything, as long as you complete the prerequisite courses.
What dental schools want to see beyond your transcript is evidence that you understand the profession and have the hands and the people skills for it.
A few things make the undergraduate years count:
- A health professions advisor: if your college or university has a pre-health advisor, meet them early. They track prerequisites and can tell you whether your school writes a committee letter for dental applicants.
- Pre-dental clubs and programs: a pre-dental society or summer enrichment program is a practical way to meet dental students, hear from admissions staff, and find shadowing contacts.
- Job shadowing: observing in a dental office — ideally a general practice and at least one specialist — shows you understand the day-to-day work and gives you material for your essay and interviews. It's also the cheapest way to find out whether you want this career at all.
- Volunteering and leadership: community service, especially in health settings, and leadership in campus organizations round out the file. Sustained involvement in a few activities says more than a long list.
- Manual dexterity: dentistry is precise, hands-on work. Hobbies that train fine motor control, such as drawing, sculpting, model building, or playing an instrument, are worth mentioning, and they're good practice for the DAT's spatial section.
Some universities also offer combined BS/DDS or BS/DMD programs that link undergraduate study to a dental-school seat.
Terms, admission requirements, and length vary by program, so read each one closely; they suit students who are sure about dentistry early.
Preparing for and taking the DAT
The Dental Admission Test is the standardized exam U.S. dental schools require, administered by the American Dental Association (ADA).
It's computer-based, taken at a testing center, and has four parts: the Survey of the Natural Sciences (biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry), the Perceptual Ability Test, Reading Comprehension, and Quantitative Reasoning.
When to take it. Take the DAT once you've finished the biology and chemistry courses it tests, and early enough that your score is in hand when your application cycle opens.
For students going straight from college to dental school, that usually means junior year or the summer after it.
Taking it before the coursework means learning the material twice.
How to prepare. Build a study plan backward from your test date and give yourself enough weeks to review all four sections rather than cramming the sciences.
Start with the ADA's official DAT guide and practice materials so you know the current format, then use timed practice tests to find your weak sections.
Give the Perceptual Ability Test real practice time: it's a spatial-reasoning section with no equivalent on the MCAT, and it rewards repetition more than recall.
How schools use it. Scores are reported by section along with an academic average, and admissions committees read them next to your GPA, prerequisites, experience, letters, and interview.
A strong DAT won't rescue a weak transcript, and the reverse is also true.
Retakes are allowed within limits the ADA sets, so check the current retake rules before you register for a first attempt you aren't ready for.
For a closer look at each section and how the DAT fits into admissions, see dental school: length, cost, and the DAT.
Applying to dental school: AADSAS, letters, essays, and interviews
Applications run through AADSAS, the centralized application service operated by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).
You submit one application with your coursework, DAT scores, experiences, and personal statement, and it goes to the dental schools you choose.
Schools then send their own secondary applications and invite applicants to interview.
Many review files on a rolling basis, so submitting early in the cycle generally helps.
Letters of evaluation. Schools ask for letters from people who can speak to your academics and your fit for dentistry — commonly science faculty, and a dentist who knows your shadowing work can add a view the others can't.
Some colleges send a single committee letter instead.
Each school sets its own letter requirements, so check them before you ask anyone to write.
The personal statement. Your essay should explain why you want to be a dentist, using specifics from shadowing, service, and your own experience rather than general statements about helping people.
Interviews. Formats vary by school and may be in person or online.
Be ready to talk through your motivation, what you learned from shadowing, a challenge you've handled, and why that school.
Interview day is also your chance to ask how early students start seeing patients and how much clinical experience they get.
What admissions committees weigh. Your overall and science GPA, DAT scores, prerequisite coursework, shadowing and other experience, letters, and interview are read together.
We don't publish acceptance rates or average GPA and DAT figures: they change every cycle, and ADEA publishes the official applicant and enrollee data.
Choosing a school. Apply to programs accredited by CODA.
State licensure rules are built around accredited education — Alabama and Arkansas, for example, require graduation from a CODA-accredited dental school to license a dentist.
Our list of dental schools by state shows the accredited programs near you; beyond accreditation, the real differences between schools are cost, location, and how the curriculum is sequenced.
Inside dental school: curriculum and cost
Dental school is four years at nearly every U.S. school.
The first two years focus on biomedical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, with preclinical lab work where you build hand skills before treating anyone.
Years three and four move into the clinic, where you treat patients under faculty supervision across restorative dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, and other disciplines.
Cost varies enormously by school, by public versus private status, and by residency status, and it covers far more than tuition: instrument kits, lab and clinic fees, exam fees, and living expenses.
Most students finance it with federal and private student loans.
We don't quote an average — pull the current cost of attendance from each school you're considering.
Our dental school guide covers the four years and what drives the cost in detail.
Getting licensed: the INBDE, clinical exam, and state dental license
A dental degree doesn't let you practice on its own.
Every state licenses dentists through its own dental board, and the common pattern has three pieces:
- The INBDE, the national written board exam, developed and administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE).
- A clinical licensure exam — a hands-on assessment of clinical skills. Which exams a state accepts varies; see state clinical licensure exams and reciprocity.
- State requirements, such as a jurisprudence exam on that state's dental law.
Some states add a residency or let one stand in for the clinical exam. New York requires a postdoctoral general practice or specialty residency of at least one year for initial licensure, while in Washington and Vermont a qualifying year of accredited residency can substitute for the clinical exam.
Check your own state early using our dentist licensure requirements by state, and confirm the details with that state's dental board.
If you'll prescribe controlled substances, DEA registration comes after the state license.
Keeping your license. Learning how to be a dentist doesn't end with the license.
Licenses must be renewed, and most states tie renewal to continuing education (CE).
The hours and cycle vary: New York requires 60 hours per three-year registration period, while Connecticut requires 25 contact hours in the preceding 24 months with annual renewal.
Each state's licensure page lists its CE rule.
Specializing: GPR, AEGD, and dental specialty residencies
General dentists can practice as soon as they're licensed, and most practice without a residency.
If you want more training, there are two kinds of postgraduate program.
GPR and AEGD. A general practice residency (GPR) or an advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD) program is optional training beyond dental school that deepens general-dentistry skills; neither makes you a specialist.
CODA accredits both as one-year programs, one-year programs with an optional second year, or two-year programs, and a GPR must be sponsored by or affiliated with a hospital.
Browse GPR and AEGD programs by state.
Specialty residency. To become a specialist, you complete a CODA-accredited residency in one of the 12 specialties recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards: dental anesthesiology, dental public health, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, orofacial pain, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics.
CODA sets a minimum length for each residency rather than a typical one:
| Specialty | CODA minimum length |
|---|---|
| Endodontics | 24 months of full-time study |
| Orthodontics | 24 months and 3,700 scheduled hours |
| Pediatric dentistry | 24 months of full-time formal training |
| Periodontics | Three consecutive academic years, with at least 30 months of instruction |
| Prosthodontics | 34 months (45 with integrated maxillofacial training) |
| Oral and maxillofacial surgery | Four years of full-time study, including at least 120 weeks of clinical OMS |
Source: CODA Accreditation Standards for each specialty. These are accreditation minimums, not typical program lengths; actual lengths vary by program.
Admission to the popular specialties is competitive, and several run through a formal match — see which dental specialty is hardest to match into.
After residency, most specialists pursue board certification.
For the full picture, read dental residency and board certification, the 12 dental specialties explained, and the specialist paths to becoming an oral and maxillofacial surgeon or a prosthodontist.
What dentists do and where they work
Dentists diagnose and treat problems of the teeth, gums, and mouth — exams and x-rays, fillings, crowns, extractions, root canals or referrals, and preventive care — while leading the hygienists and assistants on the clinical team.
Our dentist career guide covers the day-to-day work and core duties in depth.
Most new dentists start as an associate dentist in a private practice or a dental support organization (DSO), and some later buy into or open a practice; DSO vs. private practice is the first big fork.
Other settings include community health centers and public health programs, hospitals, the military and other federal service, and dental schools, where dentists teach and research.
General and pediatric dentists who serve at approved sites in shortage areas can qualify for NHSC loan repayment.
Pay and outlook. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $170,950 a year for general dentists (OEWS, SOC 29-1021, May 2025), and BLS employment projections show general dentist jobs growing 5.7% from 2025 to 2035 (Employment Projections, SOC 29-1021).
The dentist salary guide has the full breakdown.
When you're licensed and ready, browse dentist jobs.
This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. Education, admission, and licensure requirements vary by school and state and change over time — confirm current requirements with each school, the ADA, ADEA, and the dental board of the state where you plan to practice.