Each US state has it’s own dental license requirements and almost always requires an NBDE exam score (Some states require scores within the last 5-10 years). Any foreign trained dentist who wants to practice in the US will face these exams are some point in their journey! So I’ll try to (the catchphrase being ‘try to’) put the information available for these exams together in this post.
The NBDE Parts I and II are developed and administered by the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE). Both exams have Candidate guides that you can download and refer at your convenience – Part I & Part II. Here is a quick glance at the basic information regarding the two exams.
Optional Fees
Score audit fees: $65
Score report fees: $33 per score report
Rescheduling fees are contingent on the time at which rescheduling request is done by the candidate. The breakdown is as follows:
5 days prior to the testing appointment: $100
6-30 days prior to the testing appointment: $60
31+ days prior to the testing appointment: $25
STEPS TO TAKING NBDE PART I & II
Send in your ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators) or WES (World Education Services) application
The first step before applying for the exams is to send in your official dental school transcripts to ECE or WES. Documents required for the ECE will depend on the country of your undergraduate degree. All documents must be in English or translated word for word. Most of the documents must be originals or attested copies which are sealed from the issuing University.
You can send the ECE application along with the additional documents to ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc., P.O. Box 514070, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202-3470) via mail or courier. Make sure you send a copy of the report to yourself & JCNDE as the NBDE application is not complete till the ECE report is sent to JCNDE as well. It will take 3-4 weeks to get the report depending on the mail service used.
Send your eligibility letter to JCDNE
Either you or your school must send a completed “certification of eligibility” signed by your dental school dean to the JCDNE office for each NBDE application submitted (there is a different form for Part I and Part II). The JCNDE will not process the NBDE application before the eligibility letter and ECE report is received (within application deadline).
Obtain your DENTPIN and apply for the NBDE exam
Before you can apply to take NBDE Part I, you must register for a DENTPIN. You can register for one here. Once you have it handy, start your applications for Part I or Part II online. Mail the NBDE application along with the fee to
The Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations
211 East Chicago Avenue, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2678.
They will send you an email when they receive the documents and give you an eligibility number. You can now schedule your exam at a Prometric center. After your application is processed, you must take the test within a six-month period.
Sign up for a test date at a Prometric center
The tests are administered at Prometric Test Centers. Do not wait too long to schedule the test. Many students often take these exams around the same time and spaces are limited. Plan ahead to ensure you are able to reserve the date you want, especially with Part II which needs to be taken on two consecutive days. Test dates may be rescheduled up to 48 hours in advance. The more notice you give, the less expensive the rescheduling fee will be.
Study Materials & Tips
Since this is such a vast topic in itself, I will go over this in detail in a separate post.
Test day
- 2 Forms of ID: one government issued documents such as your passport or driver’s license and one more signature ID (preferably with your picture also) like credit card/debit card
- Confirmation Letter of your Exam
- Snacks or light lunch, water for the break
- Jacket/hoodie (in case it is freezing at the center)
- Directions to center (just in case)
Results
The NBDE Part I & II are a pass/fail exams, and the results will be reported only as “pass” for candidates who achieve a standard score above 75. For remediation purposes, candidates who fail the examination will receive numerical scores for each of the major disciplines covered on the examination. Results are made available approximately three to four weeks after the examination and can be viewed online or received in the mail. After receiving your results report, you may request that additional reports be sent to other entities.
If you receive a “fail” result, you must wait 90 days between examination attempts. You will not receive your eligibility information nor will you be able to contact Prometric to schedule an appointment until the 90 day waiting period is over. You can request to have your examination responses audited or rechecked for accuracy by completing and submitting the Audit Request Form (same form for NBDE Part I and Part II). There is an additional charge for this service ($60). Audits require approximately six to eight weeks to complete and must be requested within 30 days of the reporting date on the official report of results.
Upcoming Changes to NBDE
The Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE) will be combining the NBDE Part I and Part II into the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE). INBDE will test applicants about patient care, how dentists approach the practice of dentistry, and how dentists keep up with advances in the profession. The JCNDE expects the INBDE will include 300 to 450 items, compared with a total of 900 questions on the NBDE Part I and Part II. The INBDE is expected to take one and a half days to complete. Sample questions are available on the ADA.org/JCNDE website on the Presentations page at the end of the 2015 presentation to the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).
Similar to the NBDE, the INBDE is designed to assist state boards of dentistry in making decisions about candidates for dental licensure. The INBDE is expected to be available no sooner than August 2020. The NBDE Part I is currently scheduled to be discontinued July 31, 2020, and the NBDE Part II is currently scheduled to be discontinued July 31, 2022. The NBDE exams will not be administered after these dates.
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Hey there I will be doing my NBDE Part 1 Feb 2018 and will graduate 2021. So, I will have to do my NBDE Part 2 after 2021, the question is now will i be able to do it or whats going to go on ?
If you receive eligibility from your dental school to take the NBDE Part II in your final year, you may take the Part II until it is discontinued July 31, 2022. You could forgo the NBDE Part II and test on the INBDE but your NBDE Part I will not be considered towards your INBDE score. Hope that answers your question.
Hello Meera,
My I am Dominique Tijssen a dentist from Ecuador and trying to figurate out where to do my specialty. I would love to go the US given that my mother lives there. Your blog is the best guide I have found in my research, thank you very much.
I was reading that after you passed all the examinations you entered directly to the specialty (perio) and want to know if it works this way for every specialty in my case orthodontics. Or do i have to do the advanced standing program anyways.
And also after you finished your specialty could you work in the us or did you have to do more courses?
thank you so much ,
Dominique Tijssen
Hi Dominique,
Thank you for your kind words!
There are programs (even specialty programs) that will accept international students directly into the program. It won’t be easy but it’s all about applying and getting an interview call at least. The best way to find out if the program you want to apply to accepts international students is to call the program director and ask them. Once you complete a Specialty program, there are a couple of states you can directly work in after taking the clinical exam that is required in that particular state. Hope that answers your question. All the best!
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Hi dear
I’m planning to do NBDE part 1 and part 2 after a month. I’m from Middle East and it will be very difficult to travel from my country to US two times to do the exams, Im wonder how long I should wait to get my results of part 1 and then to apply immediately for part 2?
Many thanks
heloo mam
i am india dentist a and i have one qustion can we get dental school admmision for dds after part 1 examination or we need part 2 exam result also?
helo mam
i am a indian dentist, and i haveone qustion can we get dental school admission for DDS after part 1 examination or we need part 2 exam result also?
hello. i am filling eligibility form for nbde part 1 . it says sign from dean..so it means from my dental school dean.? i stay in canada . i passed my bds long back. is there any other way or option?????
Hello Meera,
Thank you for all the explanation you give in this blog. I am Daniela Gudiño from Ecuado and I’m planing to do my postgraduate program in the US. I would like to ask you of you think it’s important for me to go to the US and take a preparation course for the NBDE and if you know any that you can recommend.
Thank you!
You only really need prep courses for NBDE especially since it’s pass/fail now. You just have to be consistent and determined to study for the exam. Unfortunately I don’t know of any courses that could help prep for NBDE.
hi i finished my bds from india and i wanted to know if u can give me any info regarding the masters courses in public health that we can take up so that we can have time to prepare for NDBS during the time we are doing this course and also after finishing the masters course we can get a job based on this course and save some money for the tution fees, etc for dental schools
NBDE*