Becoming an endodontist means first becoming a dentist, then completing an accredited endodontics residency — at least 24 months of full-time study, CODA's published minimum — and, usually, earning board certification from the American Board of Endodontics (ABE).
The residency is where you master the microscope-driven, microsurgical techniques the specialty depends on.
Here's the path.
The short answer
You become a dentist first, then complete an accredited endodontics residency — CODA's minimum is 24 months of full-time study — and typically pursue ABE board certification.
The residency adds what general dentists don't have: mastery of the surgical operating microscope, cone-beam imaging, microsurgery, and the diagnosis of complex tooth pain.
For how specialty training works in general — CODA accreditation, the match, and boards — see dental residency & board certification.
The step-by-step path
Four steps take you from dental student to endodontist:
Earn a bachelor's degree with prerequisites
Complete undergrad with the required sciences and a competitive GPA — the foundation for dental school and residency.Complete dental school (DDS or DMD)
Four years of dental school earns a DDS or DMD. Strong grades, board scores, and clinical experience matter for a competitive endodontics application.Match into an endodontics residency (24-month CODA minimum)
Apply to an accredited endodontics program, typically through a match. The residency — a minimum of 24 months of full-time study under CODA's standards — focuses on complex root canal therapy, retreatment, microsurgery (such as apicoectomy), and microscope- and imaging-driven technique. See what the residency requires for the CODA-accredited minimum and what isn't published about getting in.Earn ABE board certification
After residency, most endodontists pursue certification from the American Board of Endodontics — voluntary, but a recognized mark of expertise that referring dentists and employers value. See how the three-stage ABE process works.
What it takes — and what it pays
Endodontics is a shorter specialty path than surgery, and a referral-driven one — building relationships with the general dentists who send cases is part of the career.
Pay is best read as directional: the role falls under the broad BLS "Dentists, all other specialists" category (median around $224,990, SOC 29-1029), with endodontists generally toward the higher end but with aggregator estimates that vary enormously.
For the full role, see what an endodontist does.
This article is general career information; pay figures are directional and vary by source, ownership, and location.