Becoming a periodontist means first becoming a dentist, then completing an accredited periodontics residency — at least three consecutive academic years with a minimum of 30 months of instruction, the Commission on Dental Accreditation's (CODA) published floor — and, optionally, earning board certification from the American Board of Periodontology (ABP).
The schooling before the residency is the general dentist's path; the residency is where the periodontics-specific training happens — periodontal disease treatment and dental implant placement.
Here's the path, the schooling, and what the sources say about how long each stage takes.
The short answer
You train as a dentist first, then complete an accredited periodontics residency — CODA's minimum is three consecutive academic years with at least 30 months of instruction — and can then pursue American Board of Periodontology (ABP) certification, which is voluntary.
The residency adds what general dentists don't have: required training in periodontal disease treatment and surgical implant placement — CODA's periodontics standards require didactic and clinical implant training, including surgical placement.
For how specialty training works in general — CODA accreditation and boards across all 12 dental specialties — see dental residency & board certification.
What schooling does a periodontist need?
The schooling comes in two layers.
The foundation layer is the general dentist's path: a bachelor's degree with science courses — most dental programs require applicants to hold at least a bachelor's and to have completed certain science courses, such as biology or chemistry — then dental school for a DDS or DMD from an accredited program, and a state license, which usually requires that degree plus written and clinical exams, with requirements varying by state.
That admission picture is BLS's description of dental programs generally — the same requirement set for a future specialist as for a future general dentist; nothing in it is periodontics-specific.
The periodontics-specific schooling starts at the residency: a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), required to run at least three consecutive academic years with a minimum of 30 months of instruction, and required to include didactic and clinical dental implant training — including implant site development and the surgical placement of dental implants.
For the foundation layer in depth — prerequisites, applications, the school years and licensure — see how to become a dentist.
The step-by-step path
The path runs through four steps:
Earn a bachelor's degree with the sciences
Most dental programs require applicants to hold at least a bachelor's degree and to have completed certain science courses, such as biology or chemistry.Complete dental school (DDS or DMD)
Dental school earns a DDS or DMD. Licensure usually requires a degree from an accredited dental program plus written and clinical exams, with requirements varying by state.Complete a CODA-accredited periodontics residency (30-month minimum)
Apply to an accredited periodontics program. CODA's accreditation standard requires the program to run "three consecutive academic years with a minimum of 30 months of instruction" — a floor, not a typical length; the 2025-26 CODA/ADA HPI survey's average accredited periodontics program ran 35 months. See how competitive periodontics residency actually is for what the published numbers do and don't say about getting a seat.Earn ABP board certification (optional)
After residency, a periodontist can pursue certification from the American Board of Periodontology — voluntary, earned through a written Qualifying Examination and an Oral Examination. See board certification in periodontology for how that two-examination process works. It's a voluntary credential, not a requirement to practice.
How long does it take to become a periodontist?
The published sources behind this page don't total the path into one number of years, and this page won't invent one.
What the sources do publish is the stage that separates a periodontist from a general dentist — the residency.
CODA's accreditation standard sets a floor of three consecutive academic years with a minimum of 30 months of instruction; the CODA/ADA HPI 2025-26 survey put the average accredited periodontics program at 35 months; and the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards' 2025 eligibility table lists Periodontology at 3 years of advanced education beyond the DDS/DMD for board certification.
| Stage | What the published sources say |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree + science courses | Required by most dental programs — the sources state the requirement, not a number of years |
| Dental school (DDS or DMD) | From an accredited program; program length is its own topic — see how long dental school is |
| Periodontics residency | CODA floor: three consecutive academic years, minimum 30 months of instruction; 2025-26 survey average: 35 months |
| State dental license | Usually requires the accredited degree plus written and clinical exams — requirements vary by state |
| ABP certification (optional) | Two examinations — a written Qualifying Exam, then an Oral Exam; measured in examinations, not years |
Everything before the residency is the general dentist's timeline: the undergraduate years, dental school itself, and the license.
For that side of the ledger in full, see how long it takes to become a dentist.
What the sources don't publish: a total
What it takes — and what it pays
The specialty's clinical work is the periodontal disease treatment and implant surgery the residency trains for; the day-to-day role is described in what a periodontist does.
Pay is best read as directional: BLS has no periodontics-specific wage series — the specialty falls in the catch-all "Dentists, all other specialists" category (SOC 29-1029), whose May 2025 median was $224,990 — and ADA HPI's latest published median net income for private-practice periodontists is $295,780, for 2024 (2025 was suppressed).
See which dental specialty pays the most for how the grouping works.
This article is general career information; pay figures are directional and vary by source, ownership, and location.