When Pakistani national Zainab Sheikh got married and moved to the U.S., she wanted to build on the bachelor of dental surgery degree she received from CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry in Pakistan.
So she applied to the University of Pennsylvania‘s Program for Advanced Standing Students, a 2 1/2-year program for graduates of foreign dental schools seeking to practice dentistry in the U.S.
Many U.S. universities offer qualified graduates of foreign dental programs the opportunity to earn their doctor of dental surgery degree, also called a doctor of medicine in dentistry or a doctor of dental medicine. Graduates of these programs may take state or regional board examinations to be eligible for dental licensure to practice in the U.S.
Here’s what prospective international dental students should know about getting a dental degree and training in the U.S.
U.S. Dental Degree Options
Experts say either a DDS or DMD is acceptable for licensing and provide the same curriculum.
Penn dental medicine PASS students join U.S. students in the second semester of the second year of dental school and take some courses and exams with them, along with limited lab and preclinical sessions. In the third and fourth years, foreign-trained dentists participate fully alongside other students in classes, general practice simulations, clinical experiences, specialty department rotations and externships.
As a PASS student, Sheikh says she saw “procedures as well as equipment that we had only read about in books back home.”
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Varun Narla, who earned a bachelor of dental surgery degree from Dayananda Sagar College of Dental Sciences in India, chose the two-year International Dental Studies accelerated program at the University of the Pacific in California. He says he liked its “competency-based education model for clinical training, which contrasts with the quota-based system I was trained under in India.”
Narla says this approach “ensures that students develop strong clinical judgment and skills at their own pace, prioritizing quality over quantity.”
The program also gives students access to advanced technology and resources, such as microscopes for endodontic procedures for predoctoral students and implant training through International Team for Implantology collaboration, Narla says.
Egyptian national Omar Nagy Moussa, who earned a bachelor of dental surgery degree from Alexandria University Faculty of Dentistry in Egypt, is pursuing a DDS degree at the University of California–Los Angeles School of Dentistry’s Professional Program for International Dentists.
It’s a 25-month, fully integrated, advanced-standing program for foreign-trained dentists, which Moussa says stood out to him for its Community-Based Clinical Education program. Students in the program rotate through Federally Qualified Health Centers and private practices, providing dental care to underserved communities, he says.
“This hands-on experience was one of the most rewarding parts of my education, allowing me to give back to the community while refining my clinical skills in real-world settings,” says Moussa, who expects to graduate in June 2025 and says he has received multiple job offers.
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Admission Requirements and Considerations
Foreign students apply to U.S. dental schools through the American Dental Education Association Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists.
Admission requirements typically include the Test of English as a Foreign Language, commonly known as TOEFL, and passing the Integrated National Board Dental Examination. Many programs also require an interview and a technical exam as part of the selection process.
CAAPID usually has about 2,200 applicants a year, says Kellie Bove, vice president of marketing and branding at the ADEA.
Students in the IDS program come from a variety of backgrounds, says Dr. Patrick Pansoy, director of international programs at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific.
“Some are recent graduates, some have been practicing for several years and some are specialists,” says Pansoy, an IDS graduate. “We have orthodontists, oral surgeons, and students with a master’s in public health or business administration, so it’s a very unique and well-educated group of students.”
There are 27 IDS students at the San Francisco campus, and in 2024-2025 they opened a new cohort of 30 students at the Sacramento campus.
The International Dentist Program at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in California has 32 spots.
“The competition is high and there is only so much you can do to set yourself apart from other candidates,” says Indian national Meera Maveli, who has a bachelor of dental surgery degree from Mahatma Gandhi University in India.
So, rather than apply to the IDP program, she chose to complete a six-month externship in the periodontics department at Loma Linda. She then applied to a specialty graduate program at the university and says the externship helped the faculty get to know her before the admissions interview.
Maveli graduated with a master of science degree in periodontics and implant surgery from Loma Linda and is a certified periodontist licensed in Texas. Unlike a DDS or DMD, her master’s degree limits her to practicing in certain states, she notes, as dental licensure requirements differ by state.
Meanwhile, since IDP students at Loma Linda complete a two-year accredited program, they are eligible to practice in all 50 states if they pass the state licensure requirements.
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Tuition Costs
Prospective international students should research the tuition charged by U.S. dental programs, as costs vary.
For example, for the 2024-25 academic year, the first year of tuition for the IDS program at UOP is $150,576; tuition and fees for the PPID program at UCLA total $109,722; and first-year tuition for UPenn’s PASS program is $147,504.
Some programs offer financial aid based on certain criteria, such as need or citizenship status. Sheikh says her family helped fund her education.
It’s common for dental students to take out loans to fund their education, but their earnings later are relatively high. The median annual pay for dentists in the U.S. in 2023 was $170,910, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sheikh says she chose UPenn’s PASS program because she wanted to equip herself with knowledge of the latest updates in dentistry. Attending the program has helped her achieve that goal, she says, and set her up to be “a well-rounded clinician, providing the highest standard of health care to my patients.”
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How Foreign Dentists Can Get U.S. Degrees, Training originally appeared on usnews.com
