Dentist Licensure Requirements in Wyoming

The ADA lists the ADEX examination (administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA), CRDTS and SRTA as the regional clinical examinations Wyoming accepts.

Every accepted exam must include an endodontics component (access opening of a posterior tooth and access, canal instrumentation and obturation of an anterior tooth), a fixed prosthodontics component (a full crown procedure and a separate bridge with two abutment preparations), a periodontics component (scaling on a patient or manikin in a clinical setting), and a restorative dentistry component (a class II and a class III preparation and restoration on a patient or manikin).

Slot preparations are not accepted for the restorative component.

Section 33-15-108 requires a DDS or DMD from a CODA-accredited U.S. or Canadian dental school, passage of Parts I and II of the National Board of Dental Examinations, an exam on the Wyoming Dental Practice Act and board rules, and a clinical examination acceptable to the board; an applicant who fails the board's examination three times must show evidence of additional education before being reexamined.

The board's administrative rules add the application mechanics for licensure by examination: a completed application and fee, current BLS certification, transcripts from a CODA-accredited program, INDBE score reports, and score reports for a qualifying regional clinical exam.

Initial licensure by examination is available only to an applicant who is not licensed in another jurisdiction, or who is licensed elsewhere under requirements the board finds not equivalent to Wyoming's, or who fails to meet other licensure methods.

An applicant out of clinical practice for more than a year must show either CODA graduation in the preceding twelve months, or a qualifying regional clinical exam passed within five years plus eight hours of hands-on clinical CE for each year out of practice.

An applicant may seek licensure by endorsement if they hold a license in good standing in another jurisdiction whose licensure requirements are equivalent to Wyoming's.

The applicant must submit a completed application and fee, current BLS certification, evidence of NBDE passage and a qualifying regional clinical exam, verification of the active license, and a copy of their CODA-accredited diploma; an applicant whose clinical exam did not include a fixed prosthodontics component must also show 5,000 hours of active clinical practice in the last five years or completion of a general practice residency, AEGD, or other specialty residency.

An applicant out of clinical practice for less than five years must show 1,000 hours of active practice in the preceding twelve months, a qualifying regional clinical exam passed within twelve months, or eight hours of hands-on clinical CE for each year not practicing.

An applicant out of clinical practice for more than five years must instead pass a regional clinical exam within twelve months and complete eight hours of hands-on clinical CE for each year not practicing.

A dentist may not advertise or otherwise hold themselves out as a specialist, or use any variation of that term, if the communication is false or misleading — meaning the dentist must have completed a qualifying postdoctoral educational program in that specialty or hold current certification from a qualifying specialty board.

The rule lists criteria the board weighs to decide whether an organization is a qualifying specialty board, including whether it requires a rigorous educational program, a written or oral certification exam with psychometric validation, maintenance-of-certification rules, a code of ethics, consumer-response staff, and recognition by another body that evaluates specialty organizations.

A dentist certified under a qualifying board who advertises as a specialist must disclose the certifying board and where its certification criteria can be found, and must keep documentation of their qualification available to the board on request.

General dentists may announce available services that overlap with recognized specialties, but must disclaim — in the same font and size as the advertised service — that a general dentist is providing the service, and a dentist may not hold themselves out as an expert or imply superiority.

Section 33-15-109 requires a renewal application and fee by December 31 each year, with a license cancelled after ten days' notice if not renewed within three months, and a statutory minimum of three hours of CE on the responsible prescribing of controlled substances every two years.

Administrative rules set a biennial license term: dental licenses expire December 31 of every second year, and renewal requires a completed application and fee, current BLS certification, verification of active clinical practice within the preceding five years, and sixteen hours of CE, three of which must cover responsible prescribing of controlled substances.

The CE period runs from January 1 of even years through December 31 of odd years; a newly licensed dentist whose license issues in an even year must submit eight hours of CE, including three hours on controlled-substance prescribing, for that first period, and hours earned beyond the sixteen required cannot carry forward to the next period.

A dentist inactive for more than five years must pass a qualifying regional clinical exam before renewing; licensees who miss the December 31 deadline get an administrative grace period through March 31 to renew without practicing, and any license not renewed by April 1 lapses, requiring relicensure.