Board Candidacy

Board Candidacy Requirements

Educational Qualifications

To apply for the ABPD certification process, an individual must be:

• (a) a current resident/graduate student in the final year of a pediatric dentistry advanced education program approved by the American Dental Association/Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) or the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC); or
• (b) a graduate of a pediatric dentistry advanced education program accredited by CODA or CDAC.

Applications for Candidacy

1. The application for board candidacy must be completed and approved before an applicant is considered a candidate and can apply to the Oral Clinical Examination.
2. A candidate’s eligibility period will begin the year of graduation or when they participated in the QE regardless of when the board candidacy application is submitted and approved.
3. Applications for candidacy must be complete and provide evidence of an active license with expiration date, a faculty permit, a faculty limited license, or an international dental license to engage in the practice and/or teaching of pediatric dentistry and a copy of the certification of completion of the training program.

The documents must be included with the application for Board Candidacy following the first Qualifying Examination.

Board candidacy applications can be located by logging into your ABPD dashboard. All applications must include the following supporting documentation: 
  1. Copy of current dental license with expiration date.
  2. Copy of pediatric residency program certificate or official final pediatric dental transcript from the Dental School Registrar's office.