General Practice Residency and AEGD Programs in California
California has 24 CODA-accredited advanced dental education programs in general dentistry: 15 general practice residency (GPR) programs and 9 advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD) programs, across 16 cities from San Diego and Los Angeles to Oakland and San Francisco.
Each is listed below with its institution, city, program type, accreditation status, and CODA's last and next accreditation visit years, pulled directly from the Commission on Dental Accreditation's own directory.
Read on for how a GPR differs from an AEGD in CODA's own words, and what comes after residency.
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At a glance
In California
Programs
24
With a program
Cities
16
Approval without Reporting Requirements
Fully approved
22 of 24
Every CODA-Accredited Program in California
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.
Reading the List: Program Types and What California's Accreditation Statuses Mean
The Type column is CODA's own classification, not this site's.
CODA accredits two kinds of postdoctoral general dentistry program — the General Practice Residency (GPR) and Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) — and, for each, three formats: one-year programs, one-year programs with an optional second year, and two-year programs.
The length shown is the format CODA lists the program under, not a promise about any resident's schedule; confirm it with the program.
The status column uses CODA's own terms. "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 — two of California's programs carry that status, meaning they're accredited but newer to the directory.
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, and confirm any program's current status with CODA before applying.
GPR or AEGD: The Difference in CODA's Own Words
Both program types are what CODA calls advanced dental education programs, and neither is one of the recognized dental specialties — a GPR or AEGD graduate practices as a general dentist.
CODA's accreditation standards give the two the same goal: programs "designed to provide training beyond the level of pre-doctoral education in oral health care" that "expand the scope and depth of the graduates' knowledge and skills to enable them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups." Where the standards differ is setting.
A GPR must be sponsored or co-sponsored by a United States-based hospital, or by an educational institution or health care organization affiliated with an accredited hospital; its residents are appointed to the hospital's house staff, and one of its stated goals is to "function effectively within the hospital and other health care environments." The AEGD standards carry no hospital requirement and instead ask graduates to "function effectively and efficiently in multiple health care environments within interdisciplinary health care teams." California has 24 accredited GPR and AEGD programs, compared with 2 in Oregon, 1 in Arizona and 2 in Nevada nearby; for how residencies and the Match work wherever you apply, see our guide to dental residency and board certification.
After Residency in California
A GPR or AEGD is a postdoctoral year, not a license.
Graduates of programs at Naval Hospital/Camp Pendleton-Dental Department, Navy Medicine Readiness & Training Command Camp Pendleton and 21 other institutions who go on to practice in California need an active dentist license from the Dental Board of California, and whether it expects postgraduate training before issuing one is the state's call — see California's dentist licensure requirements rather than any program's description.
Residents who train in Camp Pendleton, Downey, Fresno or one of the state's 13 other program cities and go on to practice in California can check dentist salary in California for state-level pay data and search current dentist jobs in California to see who's hiring now.
Where California's Programs Are
The Los Angeles metro area — Los Angeles itself plus West Los Angeles, Torrance, Venice and Sepulveda — is home to more of California's general dentistry residencies than any other region, sponsored by a mix of a county medical center, a university dental school, a community health center and Veterans Affairs facilities.
The San Francisco Bay Area follows, with programs in San Francisco, Oakland, Palo Alto and Mare Island.
San Diego and Camp Pendleton each host programs tied to military dental facilities, Travis AFB adds one more military-sponsored program, and Loma Linda, Long Beach, Downey and Fresno each add at least one more.
Sponsors range from university dental schools and county health systems to Veterans Affairs medical centers, a community health center and military dental departments — the Institution column names each one, and the website links go to the sponsor's own page, which is where admissions details live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many GPR and AEGD programs are in California?
California has 24 CODA-accredited postdoctoral general dentistry programs: 15 general practice residencies and 9 AEGD programs, across 16 cities.
Each is listed above with its institution, city, program type 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.
What is the difference between a GPR and an AEGD?
Both are advanced dental education programs in general dentistry, accredited by CODA under separate standards that state the same goal: training beyond dental school toward comprehensive oral health care.
The GPR standards require hospital sponsorship or affiliation and place residents on the hospital's house staff; the AEGD standards have no hospital requirement and emphasize working across multiple health care environments in interdisciplinary teams.
Neither is a specialty — graduates practice as general dentists.
Ask each program how its own curriculum is structured.
What does "optional second year" mean on this list?
It is one of the three program formats CODA accredits for both GPRs and AEGDs: a one-year program, a one-year program with an optional second year that residents enroll in during their first year, and a two-year program that residents commit to from the start.
CODA lists the format each program is accredited under; whether a second year is offered in a given cycle, and how residents are selected for it, is a question for the program itself.
What does "Initial Accreditation" mean for a California program on this list?
Initial Accreditation is CODA's classification for a program that is not yet "fully operational" — it has not yet enrolled and graduated at least one class of residents.
It is still a CODA-accredited program, not a lesser or provisional one in the eyes of licensure; confirm a program's current status directly with CODA before applying.
Do I have to complete a residency in California to practice as a dentist there?
No. CODA accreditation is national, so a GPR or AEGD completed in another state carries the same accreditation standing.
What California requires before it will license a dentist — including whether any postgraduate training is expected — is set by the state, not by a program, so see our California dentist licensure page and confirm with the state 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," 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 California & 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.