Dentist Licensure Requirements in Oklahoma

The ADA lists two accepted pathways for Oklahoma: the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) exam as administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA, or CRDTS+SRTA.

For a dentist, the exam must cover prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, an anterior Class III and posterior Class II restorative component, and a diagnosis and treatment planning section.

The exam must be completed within five years of the application for licensure.

Section 328.21 requires a written application with the Board's fee, proof of good moral character, minimum age 21 for a dentist, a passing score on a written theoretical exam and a Board-approved clinical exam, and a passing score on a written jurisprudence exam covering Oklahoma dental law.

Applicants must be graduates of an ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation-approved dental college and must have passed all portions of the National Board Dental Examination.

The Board may affiliate as a member state and accept regional exams from CDCA or WREB if they include a fixed prosthetic component, a periodontal component, an endodontic component, an anterior Class III and posterior Class II restorative component, and a diagnosis and treatment planning section.

Oklahoma Rules & Regulations 195:10-1-2 add that applicants must be 21 or older, submit an application at least 30 days before the exam with a fee not to exceed $200, be a graduate of a CODA-approved U.S. or Canadian dental school, and complete Part I of the National Board exam before graduation and Part II within 24 months of graduation; clinical exams are recognized for five years, and after a third failed clinical exam the Board may deny further examination.

Rule 195:10-1-3 sets the theoretical exam's ten subject areas and confirms the Board may accept the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations' results in place of its own theoretical exam.

Section 328.21(H) lets a dentist licensed in good standing in another state who has practiced at least 500 hours in the previous five years and passed a regional exam substantially equivalent to Oklahoma's apply for licensure by credentials, in which case the applicant need only pass the jurisprudence portion of the exam requirements and submit letters of good standing from every state where they have ever been licensed.

Separately, Oklahoma Rules & Regulations 195:10-5-2 set a reciprocity pathway: the applicant must have been in active practice at least five years immediately before applying, have passed at least one practical exam equivalent to Oklahoma's, have passed the Oklahoma jurisprudence exam, have completed the National Board exams, hold a federal controlled-substances registration in good standing, and submit certifications of good standing, National Board grades, transcripts and three letters of recommendation; the Board may also request a personal interview.

The Board may issue a dental specialty license, and a dentist may not represent themselves as a specialist unless they have completed an advanced specialty program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, or hold current board certification recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards, and have passed the jurisprudence exam.

Recognized specialties are dental public health, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral and maxillofacial radiology, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental anesthesiology, oral medicine, and orofacial pain.

The same document block also cites Section 328.31a: since July 1, 2016 all dentistry advertisements, not just those using a trade name, must name the treating dentist and list their license type; when an ad uses a trade name it must additionally meet conditions in subsection A, including keeping a copy of the ad for three years.

Licenses run on a calendar year (January 1 to December 31), with continuing education due at the end of each two-year cycle since July 1, 2021.

Dentists must complete 40 contact hours per cycle, no more than 20 of them online, including a live in-person CPR class, an ethics class approved by the Board, and two hours of opioid and scheduled-drug prescribing coursework; the remaining hours may come from accredited coursework, teaching at a CODA-accredited program, volunteer work (up to 7 hours), or practice-management courses (up to 4 hours), plus publishing papers, presenting clinics or lecturing — this last category capped at 50% of the total required hours.

Full-time CODA-accredited graduate study, internships or residencies exempt a CE year per academic year completed, new graduates are exempt for their first year after graduation, and a dentist on active duty or deployed for at least 18 months of the two-year cycle is exempt.

Failure to pay the annual renewal fee within two months of January 1 triggers cancellation effective April 1.

A license canceled for nonrenewal can be reinstated within one year of expiration by paying the renewal and penalty fee; if it is not reinstated within that year, the dentist must file a new application and take the examination (or other requirements the Board sets) before resuming practice.

That one-year reinstatement window is distinct from the five-year window that applies only to a voluntary nonrenewal or retirement filed in good standing, and from the rule that any license inactive for more than five years must reapply as a new applicant.