Impressions
Dental License Portability … the Final Frontier
by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
* Stardate June 1986 - I had just completed the journey to becoming a dentist . I had my diploma from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in hand . I had successfully passed both Parts I and II of the National Board exam as well as the Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners ( NERB ) clinical licensing exam . All I needed now was my license to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and I was ready to start my career !
Back then I could have also obtained a license in all of the states in the northeast and as far south as Maryland , as well as Indiana , Michigan and Ohio . If I wanted to practice in a state beyond the NERB states I would need to either take another regional exam or an exam for that specific state such as Florida who had their own clinical exam .
At that time , it did not matter to me . I had already started the process to acquire my practice in Erie and did not plan to go anywhere else , but shouldn ’ t I have been able to ? In 1991 , I decided to acquire another license before my NERB scores expired . I became licensed in the furthest state south I could – Maryland . As the years passed , the NERB continued to grow and add more states that accepted its exam . By 2015 , NERB was accepted in 24 states across the country and the name was changed to reflect this to the Commission on Dental Competency Assessment or CDCA .
Taking one exam now gave a new dentist the option of practicing in over half the states in the country . That would continue to grow each year as more states accepted the exam administered by CDCA . In 2021 , CDCA merged with the Western Regional Examining Board ( WREB ) and then in 2022 with the Council of Interstate Testing Agencies ( CITA ), creating CDCA- WREB-CITA , which covers 47 states , DC , Puerto Rico , Jamaica and the U . S . Virgin Islands . Only New York , which requires a postgraduate year ( PGY1 ) for licensure , Delaware , and Nebraska , who still have their own clinical licensing exam , do not accept CDCA-WREB-CITA . What a difference 36 years makes !
For a practicing dentist there is still the possibility of obtaining a license in another state without reboarding . Many states allow licensure by credentials for dentists who hold a license in good standing in another state . There are usually several other requirements that need to be fulfilled before acquiring that license . In 2021 , I applied for a North Carolina dental license , which provides licensure by credentials as a pathway for licensure . It was definitely an arduous process as I had to provide both college and dental school transcripts , my National Board and NERB scores , proof of good standing for my PA license , a letter from my malpractice carrier stating I had not had a claim , a criminal background check , the printed application and finally , the $ 2,000 fee ! Could it be easier ? Should it be easier ?
The next and Final Frontier of dental licensing may be near .
As some of you may already know , there is a discussion going on at the PA State Board of Dentistry ( SBOD ) about whether Pennsylvania should become part of a compact . Many states are already part of a compact for nursing and medicine ; even though their requirements differ , they both allow easy portability of licensure . If your state is part of the compact you can move between other states that are also part of that compact without going through the same extensive and lengthy process I went through . Compacts are different from licensure by credentials in that they provide bidirectional portability of your license . There are currently two different organizations who are presenting their compact models to the SBOD . The American Association of Dental Boards ( AADB ) and the Council of State Government ( CSG ) National Center for Interstate Compacts . The models have several key differences in their requirements and how they operate , but in the end , both will allow much easier movement for dentists across the country .
* Stardate March 2024 - the current dental students who take the CDCA-WREB-CITA clinical exam can obtain a license to practice dentistry in all but two states . Many states also offer licensure by credentials , which allows us to move to another jurisdiction without taking another board exam . In the future , if the compacts for dentistry become a reality moving may be as simple as having your one license and being able to practice in any state in the compact . I think I just heard a huge cheer from ADA members , and especially ASDA members ! The Final Frontier is closer than ever !
— STR3
P . S . - For those who didn ’ t get the Final Frontier and Stardate references , they are from the original Star Trek TV series , which ran from 1966-1969 !
MARCH / APRIL 2024 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5