A board certified periodontist is a periodontist who has passed the American Board of Periodontology's (ABP) two examinations — a written Qualifying Examination and an Oral Examination — after dental school, a CODA-accredited periodontics residency, and licensure.
The ABP's designation for those who pass is Diplomate.
Certification is voluntary: it is not a license, and a periodontist can practice without it.
One caution on initials: the American Board of Prosthodontics shares this article's "ABP" shorthand — this article is about the American Board of Periodontology only.
Is board certification required to practice as a periodontist?
No. Certification from the American Board of Periodontology is voluntary, and separate from licensure.
A periodontist can complete a CODA-accredited residency and practice on a general dental license without ever sitting for ABP certification — the National Commission's term for that status is "educationally qualified," and its definition of that status includes a state dental license.
Per the ABP's own eligibility language, candidates who have completed a CODA-accredited program in periodontics may apply for the Qualifying Examination.
What passing those examinations adds — and what the title "board certified periodontist" actually means — is the next section's subject.
What does "board certified periodontist" mean?
A board certified periodontist is a periodontist who has passed the American Board of Periodontology's certification process.
The ABP describes its certification as based on "education, licensure, and successful completion of a written qualifying examination and an oral examination," and it provides certification in periodontics and dental implant surgery.
The National Commission — the ADA body that recognizes dental specialties and certifying boards — lists the American Board of Periodontology among its 11 recognized certifying boards.
The ABP's designation for those who pass is Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology.
The National Commission's terminology sorts specialists into three statuses, and the title means the third one.
"Educationally qualified": dental school and the residency completed, a state dental board license granted — the practicing, non-certified periodontist described above.
"Board eligible": the same training done, eligible to take the board certification examination, but hasn't passed it yet.
"Board certified": per the National Commission, a specialist who has completed dental school and an advanced education residency, passed the rigorous board certification examination, and keeps the credential current with continuing education.
That third status — and only it — is what "board certified periodontist" means.
How many periodontists hold the title?
Two published counts measure different groups.
The National Commission's April 2026 report counted 3,785 active periodontology diplomates as of December 31, 2025 — board-certified specialists only.
ADA HPI's Supply of Dentists data counted 5,480 professionally active U.S. dentists holding a certificate or degree in periodontics in 2025 — trained in the specialty, certified or not.
Different definitions on different dates: neither number is a share of the other, and no sourced figure converts one into the other.
The two-examination ABP certification process
The ABP certifies candidates through two examinations:
Qualifying Examination and Oral Examination
A written Qualifying Examination and an Oral Examination — the ABP describes certification as resting on "successful completion of a written qualifying examination and an oral examination." Per the board's eligibility language, graduates of CODA-accredited periodontics programs may apply.
Passing both examinations earns the Diplomate designation.
On cost, the National Commission's 2026 annual report of certifying boards puts the total fee to become a periodontology diplomate at $2,950 as reported for 2025 — a board-reported figure that changes, so treat the ABP's current fee schedule as the authority for what the process costs this cycle.
Voluntary to earn, maintained with continuing education
Board certification is voluntary for a dental specialist — the National Commission says so directly — and it is not earn-once: the National Commission's description of board certification includes a continuing-education requirement to remain certified.
How the American Board of Periodontology structures that renewal — how long its certificates run, what its continuing-certification cycle requires, and what happens when a diplomate falls out of compliance — isn't in the sources this article checked; the callout below lists it among what this article leaves unverified.
A periodontist who skips certification, meanwhile, isn't unlicensed — licensure is separate and state-issued, and practice doesn't depend on the credential.
What this article leaves unverified
The ABP's two-examination structure, its eligibility language, and what its certification covers are on the record above.
What this article deliberately leaves out is everything it couldn't source.
What isn't in the sources this article checked
Where certification fits in the path
Certification is the step after residency, not a substitute for it.
For the CODA-accredited residency itself — duration and requirements — see periodontics residency: what CODA requires.
For the full path from dental school through residency to certification, see how to become a periodontist.
This page goes deep specifically on the certification step; it doesn't re-describe the residency training that comes before it, and it doesn't cover pay — see which dental specialty pays the most for why periodontics has no BLS wage series of its own.
This article is general career information, not clinical, legal, or financial advice. Verify current requirements against the American Board of Periodontology directly.