Dental Education and Licensure
- Most American dental schools require a bachelor's degree and prerequisite courses.
- Dental school consists of didactic education, simulation courses, and direct patient care.
- Students must pass the National Board Dental Examination during dental school.
- Graduating from an accredited dental program is the first step to practice dentistry in the US.
- Regional board exams are required by most states for licensure.
- Some states allow completion of a General Practice Residency or Advanced Education in General Dentistry instead of a regional board exam.

Accredited Programs
- Graduating from an accredited dental degree program in the US and Canada is necessary for practicing dentistry in the US.
- Australian dental school graduates cannot be licensed in the US due to the lack of reciprocity agreement.
- CODA has policies for accrediting international predoctoral education programs.

Regional Boards
- Regional board exams are required by most states for licensure.
- Regional boards test clinical skills of dental students through written and clinical components.
- Some of the regional boards include NERB, WREB, CRDTS, and SRTA.
- Some states allow completion of a General Practice Residency (GPR) or Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) instead of a regional board exam.

Funding for Dentistry
- Funding for dentistry includes self-payment, private insurance, employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid, and SCHIP.

Criticisms
- Evidence shows that seeing a dentist every six months may not improve dental or oral health.
- Some large dentistry companies in the US have faced class-action lawsuits for fraudulent practices.