Board certification from the American Board of Prosthodontics (ABP) is voluntary — it is not a license, and a prosthodontist can practice without it after completing an accredited residency.
The board's own certification pathway is mid-transition, effective October 22, 2025: a legacy structure of Sections A through D is giving way to a new Qualifying Examination and Oral Certifying Examination, on different timelines.
Here's what the ABP's own materials say about both the legacy pathway and the pathway replacing it — and what isn't published about either.
Is board certification required to practice as a prosthodontist?
No. Certification from the American Board of Prosthodontics is voluntary, and it is separate from licensure.
A prosthodontist can complete an accredited residency and practice on their general dental license without ever pursuing ABP certification.
Nothing about a state's requirement to hold a dental license changes based on whether a prosthodontist becomes ABP-certified.
Because the American Board of Periodontology and the American Board of Prosthodontics share the same initials, always use the full board name — this article means the prosthodontics board throughout.
The certification pathway is mid-transition
The American Board of Prosthodontics doesn't run one timeless exam structure right now — it's phasing a legacy pathway out for a new one, on two different effective dates.
The legacy pathway is built around a Section A written examination and a Section B patient-presentation oral examination, plus Sections C and D.
The board states that the Section A examination was offered for the final time in 2026, and that it is replaced by a new Qualifying Examination beginning in April 2027.
Separately, effective October 22, 2025, the board introduced an Oral Certifying Examination (OCE) alongside the new Qualifying Examination.
The two effective dates don't align — the OCE is already in effect while the Qualifying Examination doesn't start until April 2027 — so a candidate should check which pathway applies to their own timeline directly with the ABP rather than assume a single combined structure.
The new pathway: Qualifying Examination and Oral Certifying Examination
The board describes the new pathway in two parts:
Qualifying Examination (from April 2027)
A criterion-referenced written assessment, computer-based at regional testing centers: four hours to complete two hundred multiple-choice questions that may include images, diagrams, or short videos. Eligibility extends to third-year postgraduate residents or graduates of an advanced prosthodontic program.Oral Certifying Examination (effective October 22, 2025)
Open-ended questions across three one-hour sessions, with one session taking place each day over three consecutive days. Eligibility requires passing the Qualifying Examination and completing a CODA-accredited prosthodontics program.
The board's own materials don't state whether the OCE can be taken by a candidate certified under the legacy pathway, or only by candidates coming through the new Qualifying Examination — that detail isn't published, so this article doesn't assume it either way.
The legacy pathway, for the record
Section A was a written examination, now in its final offered year (2026).
Section B was a patient-presentation oral examination in three parts, each a 20-minute candidate-generated patient treatment presentation followed by a 40-minute oral examination: a removable partial denture plus at least four crowns; a fixed reconstruction of at least fourteen fixed units, at least six of them restoring natural teeth; and a complete denture, overdenture, or obturator in one arch.
The legacy pathway also included Sections C and D.
Neither section's content is detailed in the sourced material for this article, so this article does not describe what either one covers or requires — treat any specific claim about Sections C or D you find elsewhere as unverified.
What the ABP's own materials don't publish
The American Board of Prosthodontics describes both pathways' structure and eligibility, but it does not publish a pass rate for either the legacy exams or the new ones, an application or examination fee, or program-level detail on Sections C and D of the legacy structure.
What isn't confirmed
Recertification: eight-year certificates
Once earned, a Diplomate certificate from the American Board of Prosthodontics is issued for an eight-year period.
Maintaining it requires at least 240 continuing education hours over that eight-year period and at least one recertification examination, passed with a score of 70% or greater.
Diplomates get a grace period to March 31 of the following year to complete recertification requirements.
For the CODA-accredited residency that comes before any of this, see prosthodontics residency: what CODA requires.
For the full role certification sits on top of, see what a prosthodontist does.
This article is general career information, not clinical, legal, or financial advice. Verify current requirements against the American Board of Prosthodontics directly.