Dentist Licensure Requirements in South Dakota

The ADA lists the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) examination as administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA, plus CRDTS and SRTA, as the accepted clinical examinations.

It also notes that the State Board of Dentistry may approve a patient-based, simulation-based, or manikin-based clinical competency psychomotor examination under Administrative Rule 20:43:03:02, provided it demonstrates psychometric soundness (validity, reliability, fidelity, fairness), allows direct observation by a board designee, and includes periodontal, restorative, prosthodontic, and endodontic components plus a remediation policy.

Section 36-6A-44 requires a written, signed application; passage of a standardized national comprehensive examination approved by the board; a doctor of dental medicine or doctor of dental surgery degree from a CODA-accredited U.S. dental school; passage, within the five years before applying, of a board-approved clinical regional or national examination (or an equivalent state examination); passage of a state jurisprudence examination on South Dakota's dental laws and rules; no pending disciplinary proceeding or unresolved complaint; and references showing good moral character.

The board may require a laboratory or clinical examination if it has reason to believe an applicant cannot practice safely, and foreign-trained graduates from ADA-CODA-unaccredited programs may apply under board rules that ensure their training is sufficient for licensure.

Administrative Rule 20:43:03:01 fills in the application mechanics: a $200 fee, verification of the National Board Dental Examination Parts I and II (or the Integrated National Board Dental Examination), a clinical competency exam that bars an applicant who has failed any combination of board-approved clinical competency exams three times, a CPR card, fingerprint cards for a background check, and a complete application filed at least 30 days before the board meeting that will consider it.

Section 36-6A-47 lets a dentist licensed in another state obtain a South Dakota license by credential if they graduated from a CODA-accredited U.S. dental school; have completed at least 3,000 dental clinical hours within the preceding five years and are an active, competent practitioner; have passed a standardized national comprehensive examination and a board-approved clinical regional or national examination (or equivalent); currently hold a valid out-of-state license; have no pending discipline or unresolved complaint; come from a state whose licensure requirements the board judges the same as or higher than South Dakota's; provide references of good moral character; and pass the state jurisprudence examination.

Administrative Rule 20:43:03:04 sets a $600 application fee and requires a statement from a doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathic medicine, physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner attesting to the applicant's physical and mental condition, exam verification, license verification from every state the applicant has held a license in, transcripts, a birth certificate, a CPR card, a photograph, and fingerprint cards, plus a personal interview if the board requests one.

Certified translations of any required document must be provided, and the board may refuse a license or registration for professional incompetence or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.

A dentist may advertise or represent themselves as a specialist only for a specialty in which they completed a post-doctoral program of at least two full-time years, accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized agency or administered by a similarly accredited dental school, and must avoid implying that another dentist in the same practice is a specialist unless that dentist also qualifies.

Any advertisement's factual claims must be substantiated and retained (recordings for one year for electronic media, copies for print) and each responsible dentist is jointly and severally liable for its content; unauthorized practice or a false claim to specialist status is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Section 36-6A-28.

Licenses renew annually by July 1, with a $200 annual registration fee plus a $20 continuing education fee, and licensees must maintain a current CPR card.

Failure to renew by July 1 constitutes a suspension of the license until renewal is completed.

Every five-year licensure cycle, a dentist must complete at least 100 hours of board-approved continuing education, with 50 of those hours academic (tied to clinical services and meeting specific accreditation criteria) and the remainder subject to per-category caps: nutrition capped at 15 hours, practice management at 10 hours, home study at 30 hours, and CPR at 15 hours per cycle, while clinical continuing education is uncapped.

Dentists holding a general anesthesia, deep sedation, moderate sedation, or host permit need an additional 25 hours in anesthesia-related topics per cycle.

A licensee who fails to comply with continuing education requirements may, at the board's discretion, be reexamined or have the license suspended until competency is demonstrated.