Suppose you don't get accepted into your state school, but would like to return to your home state to practice after school. How difficult is it to get licensed in your home state? Or is there some sort of regional licensing where it would be beneficial to apply to out of state schools that are in the same "region" of your home state so the transition would be easier after school? Or do most graduates just stay and practice in the state they finish dental school in?
Considering where to apply...
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Different states may have different accreditation standards, but many of them accept common licensure examinations such as the NERB, WREB, SRTA, etc. So the idea is to take the exam that your states of interest accept. After 5 years of practice, generally most states recognize licensure by credential and will grant you a license based on that qualification.
All this might be changing though in the future. A new national examination is being developed. Very exciting, but still no word on which states will accept it. Also, several states now grant you licensure (Connecticut, New York, etc.) if you complete an AEGD or GPR (PGY-1 year basically).
All this might be changing though in the future. A new national examination is being developed. Very exciting, but still no word on which states will accept it. Also, several states now grant you licensure (Connecticut, New York, etc.) if you complete an AEGD or GPR (PGY-1 year basically).
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I heard California and Florida have the most difficult licensure exams. Not sure if this is correct though.
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These are the exams that each state accepts as of earlier this year, but things change frequently (there have already been changes since this was published):
http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education and Careers/Files/clinical_test_states_accept.pdf?la=en
However, licensure is a hot mess right now. Although it is more likely for you to stay where you were trained (a statistic that holds true for physicians, not sure about dentists), that isn't really the main issue. Neither is which state will accept which exam since some of these exams are accepted in 46+ states. The biggest question is: do the exams offered at the school you attend match up with the exams that are accepted by the state you want to end up in? If the answer is yes, then your work is done. Just attend the school you get into and take the appropriate exam when it comes time. If the answer is no, the issue becomes a lot more complex. You would have to travel to a different school to take the right exam which costs thousands more dollars and requires extreme coordination to fly yourself, your assistant and your patients out all without issue.
I also wouldn't count on licensing by credentials ("reciprocity") either. Usually it is a good option, but that also depends on the state. Some states like Delaware make it extremely difficult.
The ADA is developing their own exam right now and if they don't mess it up, it could potentially make this whole regional exam/state acceptance point moot by establishing a national/universally accepted exam. But here's to hoping...
http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education and Careers/Files/clinical_test_states_accept.pdf?la=en
However, licensure is a hot mess right now. Although it is more likely for you to stay where you were trained (a statistic that holds true for physicians, not sure about dentists), that isn't really the main issue. Neither is which state will accept which exam since some of these exams are accepted in 46+ states. The biggest question is: do the exams offered at the school you attend match up with the exams that are accepted by the state you want to end up in? If the answer is yes, then your work is done. Just attend the school you get into and take the appropriate exam when it comes time. If the answer is no, the issue becomes a lot more complex. You would have to travel to a different school to take the right exam which costs thousands more dollars and requires extreme coordination to fly yourself, your assistant and your patients out all without issue.
I also wouldn't count on licensing by credentials ("reciprocity") either. Usually it is a good option, but that also depends on the state. Some states like Delaware make it extremely difficult.
The ADA is developing their own exam right now and if they don't mess it up, it could potentially make this whole regional exam/state acceptance point moot by establishing a national/universally accepted exam. But here's to hoping...
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Historically Florida has been a more difficult state to work with, but both of those states actually accept regional exams so the difficulty of the exam is not an issue. It is just how difficult the state wants to be in issuing licenses.
In fact, other than only accepting WREB, California has been one of the more liberal states in licensure pathways. Not only did they create their own licensing "exam" (the "portfolio"), but they also have a shortcut for obtaining licensure by credentials where if you practice for 2 years in an underserved area in your state, you can transfer over to California as long as the first 2 years are also in an underserved area (which essentially cuts 3 years off the typical 5 years of practice to be licensed by credentials).
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Thank you everyone for the info. I just took a look at the link you provided. I am a Louisiana resident so if I am reading that data correctly, Louisiana only accepts two of the exams? So that would mean Louisiana would be one of the more difficult states to come back to if I studied at an out of state school?
Thank you. Do you know how close they are to developing the national exam?
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No actually. ADEX is the most widely accepted exam right now so it's probably one of the best scenarios you could be in. Now it all depends on what exam is offered at the school you attend.
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2020 is the expected date for full release. However, that just means it will be available to take, not necessarily available for licensing since that is still a state-by-state issue. It could take some time for states to begin accepting it, although, because it was created by the ADA, there will be far less resistance than if it were almost anyone else.
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It does, but they also have some weird rules put in place to make it more difficult than that. It used to be that you couldn't just take ADEX, you had to take it in Florida for it to count. Now I believe they have done away with that requirement and added others like that you have to work a certain number of hours your first year to become fully licensed or something? I stopped paying attention to Florida licensing because they always make it unnecessarily difficult. I just know they are one of the states that try to make it harder for some reason.
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Is there a way to check which exams are offered at each school? Would it just be on their website?
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I don't think you would find it on any school's website (I have my own thoughts on why that is....), but the best place to look is probably the exam's website. Find the exam that is accepted in the state you are looking at and then google that exam to find their website. On their website, look for their exam schedule and it should list when and at what schools the exam is offered. Just know that it could change by the time you get there. Those schedules are only posted a year or 2 in advanced.
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