A general dentist may perform the procedures their state license covers, and for a GP that is broad: the BLS's typical duties run from filling cavities and removing damaged teeth to sealants, x-rays, prescribing and denture models.
General dentists do not need additional training after dental school, per the BLS, though New York and Delaware require a residency year for initial licensure.
The exceptions this page tracks: sedation and anesthesia, which the states checked here gate behind permits or training rules, and advertising rules around announcing a specialty.
Short answer: a general dentist's license covers a broad scope
General dentists may perform the procedures their state license covers, and where that line sits is a state question to confirm with your state dental board.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes most dentists as general practitioners who handle a variety of dental needs, with others practicing in a specialty area.
That split describes how careers develop, not a list of what a GP's license permits — that comes from the state.
Training reflects the same breadth.
General dentists do not need additional training after dental school, per the BLS; a postdoctoral year is optional unless a state's licensure route requires it.
New York and Delaware are two states that do require one for initial licensure — New York has since January 1, 2007, and Delaware pairs its residency year with its own practical exam.
Those are entry-to-license rules, not scope rules: they shape who gets licensed, not what a licensed GP may do.
So the working answer to "what can a general dentist do" is: the procedures their state license covers — and, in practice, the ones they have the training and competence to do well.
What that means chairside is the rest of this page.
If you're still weighing the profession itself, is a dentist a doctor settles the degree question, and our dentist careers hub holds the wide view of the role.
Core GP procedures
The BLS's inventory of typical dentist duties reads like a multi-specialty menu in one role: removing decay and filling cavities, repairing or removing damaged teeth, placing sealants, administering anesthetics, prescribing antibiotics or other medications, examining x-rays, and making models and measurements for dental appliances such as dentures.
Diagnosis, restorative work, surgery (extractions), prevention, pharmacology and labwork all appear on one list of duties for the general practitioner.
The prescribing line is legally real, not informal courtesy.
Federal law defines a "practitioner" for controlled-substance purposes to include a dentist licensed or registered to dispense or administer controlled substances in the course of professional practice (21 U.S.C. §802(21)).
The registration mechanics behind that are their own topic — see DEA registration for dentists.
Note the BLS wording: typical duties.
It is an inventory of what GPs commonly do, not a legal maximum.
A license can run wider than a single office's equipment or case mix — which is exactly why the next two sections matter.
Implants, orthodontics and endodontics: what GPs can keep in-house
These are three procedure areas where the specialist question comes up.
What separates a specialist from a GP is residency training and the credential that follows — the National Commission currently recognizes 12 dental specialties.
Whether a GP's own license covers a given procedure is a state question; confirm it with your state dental board.
The constraint that does exist sits on the marketing side.
The ADA Code of Ethics allows general dentists to announce the services they provide only if they avoid communications that express or imply specialization, and it requires them to state that the services are provided by general dentists.
A GP who places implants may announce that service, but "implant specialist" is not a title the GP can claim under those rules.
The code binds ADA members, and state advertising rules add a further layer that varies by state.
Which of these procedures a given dentist actually keeps — and which cases go out the door — is a judgment about training, comfort and case complexity within what the state license allows.
That decision is the whole subject of our general dentist vs specialist guide, so this page won't re-argue it.
Sedation and anesthesia permits
Sedation is where the base license stops answering the question on its own.
The six states below govern sedation and general anesthesia through separate permit, certificate or training rules — and both the trigger and the requirement vary by state and by depth of sedation:
| State | What requires a permit or certificate |
|---|---|
| New York | Conscious sedation, deep sedation or general anesthesia anywhere other than a general hospital requires a dental anesthesia certificate from the Education Department (Education Law §6605-a). |
| Iowa | Moderate sedation, deep sedation and general anesthesia require the appropriate permit from the Iowa Dental Board; minimal sedation (anxiolysis) requires no permit. |
| Kansas | No board permit is required to administer nitrous oxide and oxygen, alone or with a local anesthetic (K.A.R. 71-5-9(a)). |
| Michigan | A general dentist without a dental anesthesiology or oral surgery specialty license may not give general anesthesia or deep, moderate or minimal sedation in the office unless they meet training and competency requirements (R 338.11601-11602). |
| Texas | The TSBDE issues separate permits for nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation sedation and for each sedation level: Level 1 minimal, Level 2 moderate enteral, Level 3 moderate parenteral, and Level 4 deep sedation or general anesthesia. |
| Montana | A deep sedation/general anesthesia permit requires a CODA-accredited oral and maxillofacial surgery or dental anesthesiology residency, recent advanced cardiac life support, and an initial office inspection (ARM 24.138.3221, 24.138.3227); a temporary permit may be issued before the inspection. |
Read down the rows and you can see the same theme in six different drafts: the base license does not, by itself, answer the sedation question — the state's permit rules do, and their shape is the state's choice.
For a practice, that means the sedation menu you can offer patients depends on who on staff holds which permit, which is why the employer-side guide to sedation permits (employers) treats it as a staffing question.
Sedation permit rules are state law
When general dentists refer
Referral is a judgment call.
Nothing in the sources behind this page sets a procedure-level referral requirement — the decision runs on the case's complexity and risk, the dentist's own training and comfort, and what the practice is equipped to handle well.
Where cases go when they do leave: dentistry's 12 recognized specialties, each reached through its own residency.
Specialty training is usually a 2- to 4-year residency, and oral and maxillofacial surgery programs typically take 4 to 6 years and may lead to a joint medical degree.
What each field treats is laid out in the dental specialties guide; which cases a GP sends where, and why two general dentists can draw the line differently, is covered in the general dentist vs specialist comparison.
Skills that raise associate pay
For a student choosing between general practice and a specialty, or an associate planning a first few years, scope is leverage.
The base benchmark for the role: the BLS put the median annual wage for general dentists at $170,950 in May 2025.
What sits above that moves mostly with how a role is structured, where it is, and who owns it.
Skills that widen what you can offer a practice tend to raise your value because they change what the practice can sell: a sedation permit lets an office offer sedation in-house instead of referring it (section above), and training in implants or endodontics keeps cases that would otherwise leave.
What our research did not turn up is a verified figure for what a permit or a procedure skill adds to an offer.
If a job ad or a course quotes one, treat it as marketing until you see the practice's own numbers.
Reading postings with scope in mind helps on both sides of the table: a dentist job description that lists its procedures tells you precisely which of them the role expects, which matters more than the title on the requisition.
For the pay picture in full — the percentile breakdown and the state-by-state figures — see the dentist salary guide.
This article is general career information, not legal, clinical or financial advice. Scope-of-practice, sedation-permit and advertising rules are set by state dental boards and other regulators and change over time — confirm the rule that applies to you with the board where you practice or plan to work.