Sunday, October 19, 2008

Dental License in Virginia for Foreign Trained Dentists

Every state in the US has its own rules and regulations to govern and regulate various professions, and laws governing dentistry are no exception. I will start with the State of Virginia since I was recently licensed to practice dentistry in Virginia.

Education Requirements:

A diploma or a certificate from a dental program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. This dental program could be any of the following:
(a) Pre-doctoral dental education program
(b) At least a 12-month post-doctoral advanced general dentistry program
(c) Post-doctoral dental education program in any other specialty.

Licensure Examinations:

1. Successful completion of Part I and Part II of the national board dental examination.

2. Satisfactory completion of all sections of the board-approved clinical dental examinations. (The board-approved examinations are SRTA from any year and CRDTS, WREB or NERB redults for examinations completed after January 1, 2005. CITA scores are accepted if examination is taken after September 1, 2007).

3. If the candidate fails any section of a board-approved examination 3 times, the candidate shall complete a minimum of 14 hours of additional clinical training in each section of the examination to be retested in order to be approved by the board to sit for the examination a 4th time.

4. All applicants for licensure by examination shall be required to attest that they have read and understand and will remain current with the applicable Virginia dental laws and the regulations of the board. The board does not require the applicant to pass any dental laws exams, but such an exam is offered if the candidate wishes to test his/her knowledge of dental laws.

Other Requirements:

1. A final certified transcript of the grades from the college from which the applicant received the dental degree, or post-doctoral degree or certificate.

2. An original grade card issued by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.

3. A current report from the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) and a current report from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB).

References:

You can find up-to-date laws and regulations and more in the VA Board of Dentistry Laws & Regulations webpage, and a complete listing of the required forms here.

1. Regulations Governing the Practice of Dentistry & Dental Hygiene. Virginia Board of Dentistry.
2. Chapter 27 of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, Dentistry.
3. VA Dental License Application Form

Read more at: www.foreigntraineddentist.net

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

where can we complete a 12 month program?

kilani said...

Oh they are all over the place! There are plenty of 12-month GPR and AEGD programs throughout the United States, now the caveat here is that not all of them accept foreign trained dentists, and there is a lot of competition since many new dental graduates apply for these programs to gain more experience. The most comprehensive list that I can think of is compiled by the ADA, go to http://ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search_advanced_us.asp and select the 12 month GPR or AEGD from the menu to see all available programs, you will need to contact programs directly to ask about their admission criteria.

vanessa said...

Dr., you blog is very interesting, I;m a foreign dentist, I live in Florida, I get dental hygienist license, but Im planing to move to Virginia,but I need to get a Job there like a dental assitant, to start to study for NDBE I and II, if you know somebody to help me
Vanessa

kilani said...

Hi Vanessa,
Let me welcome you in advance to Virginia! You will love it here, I would start looking at classified ads in the local newspaper of the town you want to relocate to. I'm wondering though why would you take a dental assistant job when you have a RDH position, the pay will be obviously less if you work as an assistant.

Karen said...

hi, my name is karen,i am from Peru, i am in my third of 6 years of dental career,but i have already started looking for this programs, i am very interested on this and i was thinking that i can take board part 1 as soon as i can..but i would like to know until how many credits that i have taken im elegible to take the exam?i know that for board part 1 you dont need to have your degree..could you help me with some advice please?....and i also want to be in Virginia..i love there...i have friends and some family..i am also looking for AEGD that are paid for residents..do you know if there is any one like that in virginia?....your blog is really helpful..thank you for this

kilani said...

Hello karen,
wow! 6 years of dental school?
Now as far as your question is concerned, you are considered eligible for part I if your dean or school can certify that you are prepared for examination of the subjects of: Anatomic Sciences, Biochemistry & Physiology, Microbiology & Pathology, and Dental Anatomy and Occlusion. Because these are the subjects of part I NBDE

You can find the certification form here: http://ada.org/prof/ed/testing/nbde01/nbde01_certification_eligibility.pdf

Now regarding your 2nd question, there are several AEGD and GPR programs in Virginia, as far as I know they only accept graduates of ADA accredited programs. But you can double check for yourself with Virginia Commonwealth University dental school in Richmond, and The University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville. Good luck

zula said...

Hi, I am in Mongolia. Graduated from dental school 3 years ago and working as a dentist. I am interested in becoming a hygienist in VA, USA. Can you give me some information on how to start, where to look, and what steps need to be taken? Thank you.

kilani said...

Zula,
I had to go and research this in the Laws and Regulation of Virginia, it seems that for you to obtain a dental hygiene license, you will need to successfully complete "an accredited dental hygiene program offered by an accredited institution of higher education", "pass the dental hygiene examination given by the Joint Commission on Dental Examinations", and "successfully complete a clinical examination acceptable to the Board".
I didn't find any "shortcuts" to obtain RDH license in Virginia for foreign trained dentists.

Unknown said...

hi i am a dentist from india, practising in the UAE from past 10 yrs, i passed the ndbe step 1 with 86, got into nyu but declined it. i like your idea of completing a 12 month aegd program, what doyou think my chances will be and how should i go about it

Harith said...

Marhaba kilani ,

i've graduated from Jordan on june 2009 , i'm american citizen and i'm tired from looking on websites about help , and i'm interested to contact you to understand every thing about working in usa since you have surely vast knowledge about it.

Thank you

kilani said...

ambrin, this could be a very good strategy, but from what I know there is a lot of competition for AEGD and GPR programs, and I would apply to as many of them as possible to improve your chances.

Harith said...

I'm glad to see this article from you Dr.Kilani , it's very valued article

i'm preparing for NBDE 1 on december , i hope i will make it

i'm from Jordan graduated from jordanian university for science and technology

I have a us citizinship , does it have benifits when i apply for an admission?

i know you have a good experience what types of programs you think it is easy to be accepted on

thank you

Unknown said...

hi doc, i am a filipino dentist who migrated in VA with my husband a few months ago. i dont know what to do and i do want to look for a job asap. do u have any tips for me on what i should do first? should i work as a dental assistant first? but i do want to work as a dental hygienist if possible. im very confused on the laws here. i hope u can help me. thank u very much.

kilani said...

Harith, best of luck on your exams, being a US citizen may have some advantage when it comes to programs that only accept US citizens or permanent residents, and also it's an advantage in terms of financing your education as you will be eligible for federal student loans. As far as the other part of your question, I don't know if there are any easy things in your licensure quest as a foreign trained dentists, all programs require a significant amount or effort to work.

Smiley said...

Hello! I have passed NBDE part 1 with a score of 90. Dear author, what is the best way for me? I really want Perio residency, but I lack experience. Do you think it's easier for me to get in Advanced Standing Program? I also consider AEGD or GPR which might increase my chances next year for perio. But I dont know how tough is to get in AEGD. Whats your opinion?
thank you!

kilani said...

maan, to work as RDH in Virginia you will need to go to hygiene school for at least 2 yrs, may be even more, I believe you are better off doing the DDS program or even a general dentistry residency which is good enough for a VA license

ccruz said...

Hi ,
Do you know about any 12 month GPR and AEGD that still have open positions at his point of the year in virginia.

Unknown said...

Hello I'm Writing on Behalf of my wife Who until last year completed seven years of dental and endodontic training. This ultimately resulted in her being a professor Of endodontics at two universities in Bogotá Colombia. She is now here and trying to figure out what is the best route for her to get licensed in the US. It appears you have navigated these waters before and I would appreciate your insight. My email is jaMIn.horton@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Dr Kilani.. Hi I live in Arlington, Virginia and I am trying to get a dental license for which i applied to a few schools after clearing the part 1 board exams and planning to take the part 2 soon. As you have mentioned that one year program in general dentistry if i complete i can practice in Virginia after getting a license. Is this the case now too? since the rules keep changing and the links you had put up sometime back fails to open up ! Ill really appreciate any help from your end and I even plan to work as a denal assistant in the meanwhile is i get something. Thanks and looking forward to your response....

Kazmi said...

Hello Dr, I am a dentist from Pakistan and now immigrated to USA, near Virginia. Please tell me from where should I start and how much expense should I expect initially. Thank you for your help. Kazmi

Ccc said...

Hi doc. I'm still a student here in the philippines and im graduating. After i graduate there is a board exam here in our country to be a licensed. But im planning to go in VA after graduating. My fiancee will be my petitioner. Im asking if i need to be a license here first? O i can go in VA without a license here in our country. And if i go. What is the first step i need to do? I want to be a dmd or dds. Thank you