Dentist Licensure Requirements in Georgia

The ADA lists three regional clinical examinations Georgia accepts: the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) examination as administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA, the Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS), and the Southern Regional Testing Agency (SRTA), each with its own accepted date windows.

ADEX and CRDTS are also accepted as manikin-based (no human subject) examinations taken on or after January 1, 2021; the source accepts SRTA results taken on or after that date without specifying a manikin-based option.

Older pathways still recognized by the rule include a Georgia Board of Dentistry patient examination taken before February 22, 1993 (no retake provision stated), an SRTA exam taken between February 22, 1993 and December 31, 2005 with retake results accepted through December 31, 2006, and an NERB patient examination taken between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2009 with retake results accepted through June 30, 2010.

Regional examinations must include psychomotor patient-based or simulated patient-based (manikin) procedures assessing periodontics, endodontics, posterior class II amalgam or composite restoration, anterior class III composite restoration, crown preparation, prosthetics, oral diagnosis, and oral surgery.

Applicants must hold a D.D.S. or D.M.D. from a dental school accredited by the ADA's Commission on Dental Accreditation, or, for graduates of non-accredited schools, complete the last two years of a predoctoral program at an accredited school and obtain the dean's certification of equivalent competency.

Rule 150-3-.01 requires passing all sections of the National Board Theory Examinations Part I and Part II with a score of 75 or higher, or a passing score on the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE); a jurisprudence exam on Georgia dental law and rules with a score of 75 or higher, valid for one year; and all sections of a clinical exam administered by the board or an approved testing agency with a score of 75 or higher.

A candidate who fails one, two, or a combination of up to three clinical exam sections three times must complete a board-approved remedial course before one further attempt; a candidate who fails three or more sections three times must complete a one-year ADA-accredited course of study before one further attempt.

After a fourth failure, no further attempts are authorized.

Applicants must also pass a criminal background check, at their own expense, and submit a citizenship affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1.

A dentist licensed and in good standing in another state may apply for a Georgia provisional license by credentials if they hold a D.D.S. or D.M.D. from a CODA-accredited school (or meet the same non-accredited-school pathway as general licensure), come from a state with a credentialing law similar to Georgia's, and have spent each of the five years immediately before applying in full-time clinical practice (at least 1,000 hands-on treatment hours per 12-month period), full-time clinical faculty practice, or a combination of both — training or residency time does not count.

Applicants must submit a certification letter from a dental board or regional testing agency (not the applicant's dental school) showing a passing score of 75 or higher, or its equivalent, on a clinical exam substantially equivalent to Georgia's.

The certification must show the exam included human-subject procedures, with periodontics, posterior class II, and anterior class III restoration specifically requiring human-subject clinical testing; endodontics and crown preparation requiring clinical abilities testing; and prosthetics, oral diagnosis, and oral surgery allowed as written or clinical testing.

Applicants must also pass a jurisprudence exam with a score of 75 or higher.

The board may waive a specific human-subject testing requirement for an applicant who qualifies as a specialist, whose exam omitted human-subject testing in that specialty, and who has practiced the specialty for at least 10 years.

The provisional license is valid for two years and renewable; the holder must establish active practice in Georgia — defined as at least 500 hands-on treatment hours per 12-month period — within two years or the license is automatically revoked.

Active-duty military dentists and contract employees at Georgia federal installations are exempt from the state-of-practice requirement, and credentialed licensees must attest to maintaining full-time Georgia clinical practice for their first five biennial renewals.

The Georgia Board of Dentistry recognizes twelve dental specialties: Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral or Maxillofacial Radiology, Dental Anesthesiology, Oral Medicine, and Orofacial Pain.

A dentist may only represent themselves as a specialist, or advertise a specialty designation, in an area where they have completed the educational requirements in the American Dental Association's specialty practice guidelines current when the representation is made; the rule does not stop a non-certified dentist from performing specialty procedures, only from claiming the specialist title.

Dental licenses register biennially, and the board requires a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education each biennium.

Rule 150-3-.09 requires at least 30 of those 40 hours to be clinical courses in the actual delivery of dental services, including 2 hours on infection control (covering dental unit water lines, effective January 1, 2024), 1 hour on opioid abuse and prescription writing, and 1 hour on legal ethics and professionalism (effective January 1, 2022); 4 hours of an in-person CPR course (BLS or ACLS) may count toward the total.

At least 20 of the 40 hours must be earned in person at an on-site course or seminar — not all hours may be completed online.

Current CPR certification is a separate prerequisite for every renewal under § 43-11-46(c) and Rule 150-3-.08.

Failing to complete the required CE or maintain CPR certification can be grounds to deny renewal and may result in discipline; the board may waive the CE requirement for hardship, disability, or illness.