Dentist Licensure Requirements in Missouri

Effective January 1, 2021, competency examinations may be administered by the Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS), the Commission on Dental Competency Assessments (CDCA), the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB), the Southern Regional Testing Agency (SRTA), the Council of Interstate Testing Agencies (CITA), or by an individual state dental board, with tested procedures patient based, manikin based, or both.

Applicants must score at least 75% in each of six clinical skills areas: periodontics, endodontics, posterior class II amalgam or composite preparation and restoration, anterior class III composite preparation and restoration, anterior single-unit crown preparation, and posterior tooth preparation for a three-unit bridge abutment.

Applicants must also pass written or didactic competency testing on removable prosthetics, diagnosis and treatment planning, and oral surgery.

Competency exam scores must be less than five years old from the date of the licensure application.

Section 332.131 requires an applicant to be of good moral character and reputation and to hold a degree in dentistry from an accredited dental school.

Section 332.141 requires a written application under oath with an accompanying examination fee, and Section 332.151 requires the applicant to appear before the board for examination, with completion of the National Board theoretical examination a prerequisite. 20 CSR 2110-2.010 sets out the full pathway: a DDS or DMD from an accredited dental school, passage of the National Board Examination, passage of a state or regional competency examination within the previous five years, a written jurisprudence examination on Missouri dental laws and rules with a score of at least 80%, and current certification in the American Heart Association's Basic Life Support for the Healthcare Provider (BLS) or an equivalent Board-approved certification (online-only BLS courses are not accepted).

Applicants must submit a completed application, a nonrefundable application/examination fee, a photograph, an official transcript sent directly from the dental school, proof of BLS certification, National Board Examination certification sent directly from the sponsoring body, competency examination scores sent directly from the testing agency, and license-verification forms from any state where the applicant currently holds or has ever held a dental license; all materials must be completed within one year of submission or the application becomes invalid.

Section 332.181 requires a license to practice, renewed every two years with 50 hours of continuing education in the preceding two-year period, and allows a lapsed license to be renewed within four years of expiration on payment of renewal and penalty fees and submission of the required continuing education hours for each expired renewal period.

The board shall grant a certificate of registration and license without examination to a dentist licensed in another state for at least five consecutive years immediately before applying, provided the board is satisfied the applicant's qualifications are at least equivalent to Missouri's initial registration requirements, the applicant is at least 21 years old, and the applicant is of good moral character and reputation.

The board may by rule require the applicant to take an examination on Missouri laws given to dentists initially seeking licensure, and may require a practical examination if the applicant's licensure in any state was ever denied, revoked or suspended for incompetency or inability to practice safely, or if the applicant failed a practical licensure examination in any state.

The applicant must pay a fee not greater than the standard dental examination and license fees, and must thereafter renew the license under Section 332.181.

The board issues a specialist's license, on payment of the required fee, to any currently licensed Missouri dentist certified in an ADA-recognized specialty by a recognized examining board, or, alternatively, to a dentist who completed an accredited specialty program but is not eligible under that certification pathway, under minimum requirements the board sets by rule.

A dentist certified or licensed and practicing a specialty in another state or territory can also obtain a Missouri specialty license if they hold or obtain a Missouri dental license, meet Missouri's educational requirements for original specialty applicants, and meet other board-required minimums.

Under 20 CSR 2110-2.090, an applicant for specialty certification in endodontics, oral pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, public health, or any other ADA-recognized specialty must be a currently licensed Missouri dentist and either a current diplomate of a recognized American specialty board or a graduate of a CODA-accredited specialty training program, and must submit an application, fee, photograph, and transcript sent directly from the accredited program.

Section 332.181 sets a two-year renewal cycle (effective with the licensing period beginning December 1, 2002) requiring satisfactory evidence of 50 hours of continuing education in the two years preceding renewal, with the board able to waive or extend the requirement for health, military service, foreign residency or other good cause. 20 CSR 2110-2.240 details the rule: each dentist must complete 50 hours per two-year time block, of which at least 40 hours must directly relate to updating and maintaining knowledge and skills in the treatment, health and safety of the individual dental patient; up to 25 hours beyond the requirement may carry forward into the next time block.

One continuing education hour is granted per 50-60 minutes of contact instruction, hours must come from a board-approved sponsor, and records must be retained for at least six years.

A credential licensee who became licensed during the second year of a time block need only obtain 25 hours to renew; a licensee who obtains a license by competency examination is exempt from continuing education for the remainder of that time block; full-time instructors receive 10 hours per year and part-time instructors 5 hours per year; residents or fellows are exempt through the time block containing their graduation date; and a licensee who obtains ADA-recognized specialty diplomate status during the reporting period is deemed to have obtained all 50 hours.

A dentist who fails to renew has up to four years to renew an expired license by submitting the continuing education hours required for each expired renewal period, after which the license becomes void and the person must reapply and be examined as an original applicant.