Oral Medicine Residency Programs
There are 6 CODA-accredited advanced dental education programs in oral medicine in the United States, in 5 states: California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Every one is listed below with its institution, city, state, current accreditation status, and the years of CODA's last and next accreditation visits, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own program directory.
Read on for what the statuses mean, where oral medicine sits among the recognized dental specialties, and what comes after residency.
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At a glance
Nationwide
Programs
6
With a program
States
5
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
6 of 6
Every CODA-Accredited Program in the United States
Source: CODA program directory, index dated 2026-09-09. CODA classes these as advanced dental education programs; status terms (“Approval without Reporting Requirements,” “Approval with Reporting Requirements,” “Initial Accreditation,” etc.) are CODA’s own.
Reading the List: What the Accreditation Statuses Mean
Every status shown above is CODA's own term, not this site's. "Approval (without Reporting Requirements)" is the classification CODA grants when a program "achieves or exceeds the basic requirements for accreditation." "Approval (with Reporting Requirements)" would mean CODA had identified specific deficiencies the program must correct within a set timeframe, and "Initial Accreditation" marks a program that has not yet graduated its first class.
One program on this list carries a "teach-out" qualifier after its approval status; that too is CODA's wording, defined on CODA's accreditation-status page, and it is exactly the kind of detail to raise with the program and with CODA before you apply.
The last- and next-visit years are CODA's accreditation-visit schedule, not anything set by the program.
For admissions requirements or program structure, contact the program directly.
Oral Medicine Among the Recognized Specialties
Oral medicine is one of the 12 dental specialties recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards, an agency of the American Dental Association; it was recognized in 2020, and its certifying board is the American Board of Oral Medicine.
CODA classes the programs above as advanced dental education programs, the same category as every other specialty residency, and completing one is the recognized path into the specialty.
Our guide to dental residency and board certification explains how specialty residencies, the Match and board certification fit together in general, and the dentist career guide covers the path from dental school onward.
After Residency
A residency is not a license: an oral medicine specialist practices under a dentist license in the state where they work — and, in some states, a separate specialty license as well — and what each state requires before it will issue one is set by that state.
See our state-by-state dentist licensure pages for what the boards themselves publish, and our step-by-step guide to becoming a dentist for the full sequence from dental school through licensure.
When you are ready to look at what's hiring, search current dentist jobs nationwide.
Where the Programs Are
Boston is the only city with more than one program; the rest are spread one to a city across San Francisco, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Seattle, so most of the country has no oral medicine program within its own state.
Sponsors are university dental schools plus one hospital-based department, and the Institution column names each one, with the website links going to the sponsor's own page, which is where admissions details live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited oral medicine residency programs are there?
There are 6 CODA-accredited oral medicine programs in the United States, in 5 states: California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Each is listed above with its institution, city, state and current CODA accreditation status.
CODA's own directory is the definitive, up-to-date source — confirm a program's status directly with CODA before applying.
Is oral medicine a recognized dental specialty?
Yes.
Oral medicine is one of the 12 specialties recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards, recognized in 2020, and its certifying board is the American Board of Oral Medicine.
CODA accredits its residency programs as advanced dental education programs, the same category as the other specialty residencies.
What does the "teach-out" qualifier on one program's status mean?
It is CODA's own wording, appended to that program's approval status in CODA's directory, and CODA defines teach-out on its accreditation-status definitions page.
This directory reports the status exactly as CODA published it on the snapshot date and does not interpret it.
Ask the program and CODA directly what it means for an applicant in the current cycle before you apply.
Do I have to complete the residency in the state where I want to practice?
No. CODA accreditation is national, so a residency completed in any of the 5 states carries the same accreditation standing everywhere.
What a state requires before it will license a dentist is set by that state, not by a program, so check the state's own dentist licensure page and confirm with its dental board before you plan around a residency.
Is every program on this list accredited?
Every program above is shown with the CODA accreditation status CODA had published for it as of 2026-09-09, the date this directory was last pulled from CODA's own program search. "Approval without Reporting Requirements" is CODA's standard fully-accredited standing; other status terms on this page — such as "Approval with Reporting Requirements," "Initial Accreditation," "Withdrawn," or a "teach-out" qualifier — mean something different, and a status can change after that date.
Confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
More Dentist Resources
Sourced from the CODA program directory (index dated 2026-09-09). Verified September 2026. Program details change. Confirm accreditation status, admission requirements and costs with the program and with CODA before applying.