Dental Schools in Florida
Florida has 4 CODA-accredited predoctoral dental programs, in Bradenton, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville and Miami.
Each is listed below with its city, address, website, and current accreditation status, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own program directory.
Graduating from a CODA-accredited dental school satisfies the education requirement dental boards look for nationwide, though what a program's accreditation status actually means — and what Florida itself requires for licensure — is worth understanding before you apply.
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At a glance
In Florida
Programs
4
With a program
Cities
4
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
3 of 4
Every CODA-Accredited Program in Florida
Source: CODA program directory, index dated 2026-09-09. Status terms (“Approval without Reporting Requirements,” “Approval with Reporting Requirements,” “Initial Accreditation,” “Discontinued,” etc.) are CODA’s own.
What CODA Accreditation Means for Your License
CODA accreditation is the credential dental boards look for when they evaluate an applicant's dental-school education.
The accreditation status shown for each program above — "Approval without Reporting Requirements," "Approval with Reporting Requirements," or "Initial Accreditation" — is CODA's own classification, and the site-visit years listed are CODA's visit schedule, not a marker of the program itself.
Graduates still need to pass the INBDE, dentistry's national board exam, on the way to a license.
Contact a program directly, or CODA itself, for anything about admissions or cost — neither appears in CODA's program directory.
For the full path from dental school to license, see our step-by-step guide to becoming a dentist.
Choosing Among Florida's Dental Schools
Florida's four programs sit at institutions across the state, and each sets its own admission requirements, prerequisite coursework, and application cycle.
Contact a program directly for current details — the CODA accreditation status shown above reflects the program's last accreditation visit, not its admissions process or curriculum.
If you're still weighing how dental school itself works — length, structure, and the DAT that gates admission — see our guide to dental school: length, cost, and the DAT.
After Dental School: Licensure in Florida
A CODA-accredited dental degree is the first step, not the last.
Florida's own board sets the exam, application, and continuing-education requirements a graduate must meet to hold an active license, and those requirements can change.
See our Florida dentist licensure guide for what the state itself requires, and confirm anything you intend to rely on with the Florida Board of Dentistry before enrolling or applying.
Once licensed, see dentist salary in Florida and open dentist jobs in Florida.
Where Florida's Programs Are Located
Florida's four predoctoral programs are spread across the state rather than clustered in one region: one each in Bradenton, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville and Miami.
That gives an applicant weighing in-state options cities on the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic side, and North Central Florida to consider, rather than a single metro area to choose between.
Each program's full address and website are listed above, so a location-driven comparison starts there rather than with a search engine.
CODA's accreditation directory doesn't group or rank programs by city or region, and geography has no bearing on the accreditation status shown above — it's simply where each program happens to be.
If none of the four cities fit, remember that Florida licenses graduates of any CODA-accredited dental school nationwide, not only its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CODA-accredited dental schools are in Florida?
Florida has 4 CODA-accredited predoctoral dental programs, located in Bradenton, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville and Miami.
Each is listed above with its current CODA accreditation status, address and website.
CODA's own directory is the definitive, up-to-date list — confirm a program's status directly with CODA before applying.
Does it matter which Florida dental school I attend?
Not for licensure eligibility — every program listed above holds CODA accreditation, and CODA accreditation is what dental boards require for the education portion of licensure nationwide, including Florida.
Beyond that baseline, programs differ in location, campus and admission requirements, so contact each one directly to compare them.
Do I have to attend a Florida dental school to work as a dentist in Florida?
No. Florida licenses dentists who graduated from any CODA-accredited dental program, not only ones located in Florida.
What matters for licensure eligibility is the program's CODA accreditation and passing the required national and state exams — see our Florida licensure page for the state's own licensing rules.
What does "Initial Accreditation" mean for one of Florida's programs?
Initial Accreditation is CODA's classification for a program that is not yet fully operational — meaning it hasn't yet enrolled and graduated at least one full class of students.
It is a normal, recognized accreditation status, not a warning; check the program's current status directly with CODA for the latest update.
What comes after I graduate from a CODA-accredited dental school in Florida?
Graduates typically sit for the INBDE, dentistry's national written board exam, then meet Florida's own clinical-exam and application requirements before applying for a state license.
Our step-by-step guide to becoming a dentist walks through that full sequence.
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," or "Discontinued" — mean something different, and a status can change after that date.
Confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
More Florida & 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.