Board certification from the American Board of Periodontology (ABP) is voluntary — it is not a license, and a periodontist can practice without it after completing an accredited residency.
The ABP's own page describes certification as based on "education, licensure, and successful completion of a written qualifying examination and an oral examination." Note the full board name: a different board, the American Board of Prosthodontics, is also sometimes shortened to "ABP" — this article is about periodontology's ABP only.
Here's what the ABP's own page says about its two-examination process, the six-year time-limited certificate that follows, and what isn't published.
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.
Nothing about a state's licensing requirement changes based on whether a periodontist becomes board certified.
Candidates who have completed a CODA-accredited program in periodontics are eligible to apply for the ABP Qualifying Examination, per the board's own eligibility language.
Since 2023, residents in their final year may also register for the Qualifying Examination with their program director's approval — meaning the first exam no longer has to wait until residency is finished.
The two-examination ABP certification process
The ABP certifies candidates through two examinations, in order:
Qualifying Examination
A multiple-choice exam with five-hour seat time, covering basic sciences, oral medicine, oral pathology, periodontal histology and pathology, periodontal literature, and epidemiology/statistics and clinical application, per the ABP's own description.Oral Examination
Two sessions of 1.5 hours each, with two examiners per session for a total of four different examiners. Candidates work through a total of five case protocols (covering diagnosis, etiology, prognosis, treatment plan, therapy, and evaluation of therapy and maintenance) and three vignettes.
Passing both examinations earns the candidate the designation Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology — described to patients as "Board Certified Periodontist."
Why the Qualifying Examination's timing matters for the Oral
The two examinations run on separate cycles, and the ABP's own scheduling rule ties them together: a candidate who sits the January Qualifying Examination is not eligible for that same year's Oral Examination.
In practice, that means a candidate who passes the Qualifying Examination in January waits until the following year's cycle to sit for the Oral.
The board has published its 2027 cycle dates: the Qualifying Examination runs January 25–29, 2027, and the Oral Examination runs May 3–7, 2027.
The six-year, time-limited certificate
Passing both examinations doesn't produce a certificate that lasts indefinitely.
Per the ABP: "Diplomates certified beginning May 2013 are awarded a time-limited certificate of six years." Keeping it current from January 1, 2025 requires continuing certification through the board's ABPerio Minute platform, at least 60 points of continuing education credit, and a good-standing attestation.
The stakes for skipping that renewal are explicit in the board's own language: a time-limited diplomate who doesn't comply "will lose Diplomate status." Diplomates certified before May 2013 follow a different track — they go Inactive rather than losing status outright, but at that point "may not claim to be Board Certified."
What the ABP's own page doesn't publish
The ABP's own site (abperio.org) describes both examinations and what each one covers, but it does not publish the number of multiple-choice questions on the Qualifying Examination or pass rates for either exam.
What isn't confirmed
Where certification fits in the path
Certification is the step after residency, not a substitute for it.
For the CODA-accredited residency itself — duration, teaching requirements, and the research standard — 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 figure 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.