Connecticut Laws & Rules Page 1 of 3
Updated: 24 July 2023
The ADA attempts to keep this information current based on information from state dental boards, clinical testing agencies and state dental
associations. Individuals seeking dental licensure should consult with the state board of dentistry and their professional advisors for the complete
and most recent dental licensure information, application requirements, forms and fees.
Initial
Licensure
Examination
Requirements
CDCA or CITA, or
CRDTS + diagnostics component of clinical test of CDCA or CITA, or
SRTA + diagnostics component of clinical test of CDCA or CITA, or
WREB + diagnostics component of clinical test of CDCA or CITA or
PGY-1
Source: Connecticut Dentist Licensure Requirements Web Site
General
Licensure
Requirements
Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 379 Dentistry
Sec. 20-107. Application for license. Graduates of foreign dental schools
(a) Each application for a license to practice dentistry shall be submitted by the
applicant and no license shall be issued to any person unless he or she
presents (1) a diploma or other certificate of graduation conferring a dental
degree from a dental college or from a department of dentistry of a medical
college accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on
Dental Accreditation or its successor organization; (2) evidence of satisfactory
completion of a written examination or examinations given by the Joint
Commission on National Dental Examinations, subject to such conditions as
the State Dental Commission as described in section 20-103a, with the
consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, may prescribe; and (3)
evidence of satisfactory completion of at least one year of a clinically based
postdoctoral general practice or specialty dental residency program accredited
by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, or its successor organization.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the
department may issue a license to practice dentistry to any applicant holding a
diploma from a foreign dental school, provided the applicant: (1) Is a graduate
of a dental school located outside the United States and has received the
degree of doctor of dental medicine or surgery, or its equivalent; (2) passed
the written and practical examination or examinations required in subsection
(a) of this section or section 20-108; (3) successfully completed not less than
two years of graduate dental training as a resident dentist in a program
accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation; and (4) successfully
completed, at a level greater than the second postgraduate year, not less than
three years of a residency or fellowship training program accredited by the
Commission on Dental Accreditation in a school of dentistry in this state, or
has served as a full-time faculty member of a school of dentistry in this state
pursuant to the provisions of section 20-120 for not less than three years.
Sec. 20-108. Examination of applicants in lieu of one year of postdoctoral
general practice or residency program. The State Dental Commission may,
with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, accept and approve
the results of clinical or practical examinations, subject to such conditions as
said commission, with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, may
prescribe in lieu of the clinically based postdoctoral general practice or
specialty dental residency program required pursuant to subsection (a) of
section 20-107. On and after July 1, 2021, or upon the State Dental
Commission's approval of examinations that do not require the participation of
patients, whichever is earlier, such clinical or practical examinations shall not
require the participation of patients. Passing scores shall be established by the
department with the consent of the commission.
License
by
Credential/
Endorsement
Requirements
Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 379 Dentistry
Sec. 20-110. Licenses to out-of-state applicants.
The Department of Public Health may, upon receipt of an application and a fee
of five hundred sixty-five dollars, issue a license without examination to a
practicing dentist in another state or territory who (1) holds a current valid
license in good professional standing issued after examination by another
Connecticut Laws & Rules Page 2 of 3
Updated: 24 July 2023
The ADA attempts to keep this information current based on information from state dental boards, clinical testing agencies and state dental
associations. Individuals seeking dental licensure should consult with the state board of dentistry and their professional advisors for the complete
and most recent dental licensure information, application requirements, forms and fees.
state or territory that maintains licensing standards which, except for the
practical examination, are commensurate with the state's standards, and (2)
has worked continuously as a licensed dentist in an academic or clinical
setting in another state or territory for a period of not less than one year
immediately preceding the application for licensure without examination. No
license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom
professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an
unresolved complaint. The department shall inform the Dental Commission
annually of the number of applications it receives for licensure under this
section.
Specialty Practice
Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 379 Dentistry
Sec. 20-106a. Designation of limited practice
No licensed and registered dentist shall designate in any manner that he has
limited his practice to one of the specialty areas of dentistry expressly
approved by the American Dental Association unless such dentist has
completed two years of advanced or postgraduate education in the area of
such specialty and has notified the Dental Commission of such limitation of
practice. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit any licensed and registered
dentist who has limited his practice prior to May 8, 1975, from continuing to
designate such limitation.
Continuing
Education
Click here for
renewal web site for
dentists
Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 379 Dentistry
Sec. 20-126c. Continuing education: Definitions; contact hours;
attestation; record-keeping; exemptions; waivers; reinstatement of void
licenses. (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Public Health;
(2) “Contact hour” means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing education
activity;
(3) “Department” means the Department of Public Health;
(4) “Licensee” means any person who receives a license from the department
pursuant to this chapter;
(5) “Registration period” means the one-year period for which a license
renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 is current and valid; and
(6) “Temporary dental clinic” means a dental clinic that provides dental care
services at no cost to uninsured or underinsured persons and operates for not
more than seventy-two consecutive hours.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a licensee applying for license
renewal shall earn a minimum of twenty-five contact hours of continuing
education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing
education shall (1) be in an area of the licensee's practice; (2) reflect the
professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health care needs of
the public; and (3) include not less than one contact hour of training or
education in (A) any three of the ten mandatory topics for continuing education
activities prescribed by the commissioner pursuant to this subdivision, (B) for
registration periods beginning on and after October 1, 2016, infection control in
a dental setting, and (C) prescribing controlled substances and pain
management. For registration periods beginning on and after October 1, 2011,
the Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the Dental
Commission, shall on or before October 1, 2010, and biennially thereafter,
issue a list that includes ten mandatory topics for continuing education
activities that will be required for the following two-year registration period.
Qualifying continuing education activities include, but are not limited to,
courses, including on-line courses, offered or approved by the American
Connecticut Laws & Rules Page 3 of 3
Updated: 24 July 2023
The ADA attempts to keep this information current based on information from state dental boards, clinical testing agencies and state dental
associations. Individuals seeking dental licensure should consult with the state board of dentistry and their professional advisors for the complete
and most recent dental licensure information, application requirements, forms and fees.
Dental Association or state, district or local dental associations and societies
affiliated with the American Dental Association; national, state, district or local
dental specialty organizations or the American Academy of General Dentistry;
a hospital or other health care institution; dental schools and other schools of
higher education accredited or recognized by the Council on Dental
Accreditation or a regional accrediting organization; agencies or businesses
whose programs are accredited or recognized by the Council on Dental
Accreditation; local, state or national medical associations; a state or local
health department; or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education. Eight hours of volunteer dental practice at a public health facility, as
defined in section 20-126l, or a temporary dental clinic may be substituted for
one contact hour of continuing education, up to a maximum of ten contact
hours in one twenty-four-month period.
(c) Each licensee applying for license renewal pursuant to section 19a-88 shall
sign a statement attesting that he or she has satisfied the continuing education
requirements of subsection (b) of this section on a form prescribed by the
department. Each licensee shall retain records of attendance or certificates of
completion that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education
requirements of said subsection (b) for a minimum of three years following the
year in which the continuing education activities were completed and shall
submit such records to the department for inspection not later than forty-five
days after a request by the department for such records.
(d) A licensee applying for the first time for license renewal pursuant to section
19a-88 is exempt from the continuing education requirements of this section.
(e) A licensee who is not engaged in active professional practice in any form
during a registration period shall be exempt from the continuing education
requirements of this section, provided the licensee submits to the department,
prior to the expiration of the registration period, a notarized application for
exemption on a form prescribed by the department and such other
documentation as may be required by the department. The application for
exemption pursuant to this subsection shall contain a statement that the
licensee may not engage in professional practice until the licensee has met the
continuing education requirements of this section.
(f) In individual cases involving medical disability or illness, the commissioner
may, in the commissioner's discretion, grant a waiver of the continuing
education requirements or an extension of time within which to fulfill the
continuing education requirements of this section to any licensee, provided the
licensee submits to the department an application for waiver or extension of
time on a form prescribed by the department, along with a certification by a
licensed physician, a licensed physician assistant or a licensed advanced
practice registered nurse of the disability or illness and such other
documentation as may be required by the commissioner. The commissioner
may grant a waiver or extension for a period not to exceed one registration
period, except that the commissioner may grant additional waivers or
extensions if the medical disability or illness upon which a waiver or extension
is granted continues beyond the period of the waiver or extension and the
licensee applies for an additional waiver or extension.
(g) Any licensee whose license has become void pursuant to section 19a-88
and who applies to the department for reinstatement of such license pursuant
to section 19a-14 shall submit evidence documenting successful completion of
twelve contact hours of continuing education within the one-year period
immediately preceding application for reinstatement.
