Each country has its eligibility criteria by which they assess the graduate coming from another country.

1) USA- National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part 1 & 2

The Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) is the 500-item licensing exam administered by the American Dental Association (ADA) which allows graduate dental students to practice in the United States of America. The content of the INBDE is formulated by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE).

Previous to 2022, the NBDE exam consisted of two parts; Part 1 (written) and Part 2 (practical). These parts have now been combined with the introduction of INBDE which is purely a written cognitive exam. It is referred to as an “integrated” exam because it combines content from several disciplines, and exam takers must integrate their knowledge of science with the clinical know-how involved in the safe practice of dentistry to answer many of the test items. There is no longer a practical element to the exam this is now a proprietary test administered by individual states Boards of Dentistry.

2) New Zealand- New Zealand Dentist Registration Exam (NZDREX).

NZDREX candidates must pass the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) Equivalency Process, Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge, Assessment of Clinical Judgement and Assessment of Clinical Skills (equivalency process).

The equivalency process comprises the following three components:an assessment of your fundamental knowledge (AFK), an assessment of your clinical judgement (ACJ), an assessment of your clinical skills (NDECC^*).

You can attempt the AFK and ACJ components a maximum of three times. The NDECC can be taken an unlimited number of times within a 60 month period. There is no overall time limit to complete the NDEB equivalency process

3) Canada- The National Dental Examination Board of Canada (NDEB)

NDEB consists of series of examination like fundamental knowledge assessment, assessment of clinical judgement, clinical skills assessment. After completing the above process, OSCE & Written examination have to be cleared . Ideally it takes around 2 years , minimum of 75% in each exam is mandatory for proceeding to next level.  Three attempts are allowed for each examination

4) Australia- DBA , (Dental Board of Australia)

5) UAE- DOH license provided by Dubai Health Authority, UAE’s Health Ministry

6) Gulf countries- MOH (Ministry Of Health) – The exam is conducted by Ministry Of Health UAE . Is a Medical license exam conducted for appointing health care professionals. Qualified candidiates are allowed to work in all five emirates except Dubai &AbuDhabi.

7) ORE (Overseas Registration Exam) – Is an Exam that overseas qualified dentists have to pass in order to register to practice dentistry unsupervised in UK. It tests the clinical skills & knowledge of dentists , conducted in 2 parts ( part 1 – written exam, part 2- clinical exam) and allowed four attempts.