Dentist Licensure Requirements in Nebraska

For dental license applications completed between November 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025, the Nebraska Board of Dentistry accepts six examination administrations: the 2025-2026 CRDTS Dental Examination and the 2025-2026 CITA Dental Examination stand on their own; the 2025-2026 CDCA Dental Examination pairs with either the CDCA or the CRDTS patient-based Periodontal Examination; the 2024-2025 WREB Dental Examination pairs with a CRDTS, WREB, or CDCA Prosthodontic Manikin or patient-based Examination; the 2025-2026 SRTA Dental Examination pairs with the CRDTS Periodontal Examination; and ADEX, administered July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, pairs with a manikin or patient-based periodontal component and a passing score of 75.

ADEX was also accepted for applicants who signed up for the exam before November 1, 2022.

The department keeps its list of acceptable examinations on file for five years as a reference for applicants who do not apply for licensure the same year they test, and republishes the acceptable list by November 1 of each calendar year.

Section 38-1117 requires every applicant to hold a Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from an accredited school, pass the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (or both Part I and Part II of the prior National Board Dental Examination), pass a board-approved standardized psychomotor examination covering periodontal, restorative, prosthodontic and endodontic components with a remediation policy, and pass a jurisprudence examination on Nebraska's dental statutes and rules. 172 NAC Chapter 56 sets the passing score for the JCNDE licensure exam, the practical exam and the jurisprudence exam at 75 or above, and requires the practical exam to have been passed within the past five years.

An applicant who fails any part of the practical exam twice must complete a board-approved remedial course of at least 15 hours of didactic and clinical instruction, at least 10 of them under a faculty member's direct supervision.

Section 38-1120 lets an applicant licensed to practice dentistry in another state or territory, or the District of Columbia, apply on reciprocity if they meet the board's standards and have actively practiced dentistry for at least one year under that other license; time spent in an accredited postgraduate or residency program also counts toward that year. 172 NAC 56-03.02 requires a credential applicant to meet the same requirements as an initial-license applicant except subsection 003.01(B) in full — the practical-examination requirement — so a credential applicant is not required to pass Nebraska's practical exam; 56-03.03 additionally requires the applicant to meet Neb.

Rev.

Stat. § 38-129.02.

Separately, 56-03.04 requires an applicant licensed by reciprocity to document establishing residency in Nebraska within 90 days of establishing that residency, using a lease, a deed or title, or a document such as a utility or mortgage bill showing the applicant's Nebraska address — this is a state-residency requirement, not a postgraduate training requirement.

Under this heading the ADA document reproduces Nebraska's unprofessional-conduct standards rather than a specialty-designation rule.

They include failing to keep written dental and medical records, exploiting a patient for financial gain, refusing service based on protected characteristics, misusing prescription drugs or nitrous oxide, disruptive or abusive behavior toward patients or staff, failing to supervise staff who work only under a dentist's supervision, and advertising as an ADA specialist without completing an accredited postdoctoral specialty program of at least two full-time years.

It also requires meeting the chapter's location requirements for general anesthesia, deep sedation or moderate sedation permits.

Each dentist holding an active license must complete at least 30 hours of acceptable continuing education in the preceding 24-month period, due on or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year; a dentist holding a locum tenens license, or a temporary license, is not required to meet the CE requirement.

Acceptable activities include state and national dental association meetings and courses, formal or college-sponsored education, home study with a testing mechanism, direct clinical observation, CPR certification, and topic-specific courses such as dental public health, ethics, infection control, practice management and opioid prescribing.

Each activity must run at least 50 minutes, relate to the practice of dentistry, and be documented with a certificate showing the program name, the participant's name and license number, the provider's name, the dates, and the hours attended; credit hours over 30 in a renewal period do not carry over.