Licensure Requirements to Practice Dentistry in Virginia

Dental licensure:
An applicant for dental licensure shall be a graduate and a holder of a diploma or a certificate from a dental program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, which consists of either a pre-doctoral dental education program or at least a 12-month post-doctoral advanced general dentistry program or a post-doctoral dental education program in any other specialty.

Dental examinations:
1. All applicants shall have successfully completed Part I and Part II of the examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations prior to making application to this board.
2. All applicants to practice dentistry shall satisfactorily pass the complete board-approved examinations in dentistry. Applicants who successfully completed the board-approved examinations five or more years prior to the date of receipt of their applications for licensure by this board may be required to retake the examinations or take board-approved continuing education unless they demonstrate that they have maintained clinical, ethical and legal practice for 48 of the past 60 months immediately prior to submission of an application for licensure.
3. If the candidate has failed any section of a board-approved examination three times, the candidate shall complete a minimum of 14 hours of additional clinical training in each section of the examination to be retested in order to be approved by the board to sit for the examination a fourth time.

Licensure by credentials for dentists:
In accordance with § 54.1-2709 of the Code of Virginia, an applicant for licensure by credentials shall:

1. Be of good moral character and not have committed any act which would constitute a violation of § 54.1-2706 of the Code of Virginia;

2. Be a graduate of a dental program, school or college, or dental department of a university or college currently accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.

3. Have passed Part I and Part II of the examination given by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations;

4. Have successfully completed a clinical examination that involved live patients;

5. Hold a current, unrestricted license to practice dentistry in another jurisdiction in the United States and is certified to be in good standing by each jurisdiction in which he currently holds or has held a license; and

6. Have been in continuous clinical practice for five out of the six years immediately preceding application for licensure pursuant to this section. Active patient care in the dental corps of the United States Armed Forces, volunteer practice in a public health clinic, or practice in an intern or residency program may be accepted by the board to satisfy this requirement. One year of clinical practice shall consist of a minimum of 600 hours of practice in a calendar year as attested by the applicant.

Temporary permit, teacher's license, and full-time faculty license:
A. A temporary permit shall be issued only for the purpose of allowing dental and dental hygiene practice as limited by §§ 54.1-2715 and 54.1-2726 of the Code of Virginia.
B. A temporary permit will not be renewed unless the permittee shows that extraordinary circumstances prevented the permittee from taking the licensure examination during the term of the temporary permit.
C. A full-time faculty license shall be issued to any dentist who meets the entry requirements of § 54.1-2713 of the Code of Virginia, who is certified by the dean of a dental school in the Commonwealth and who is serving full time on the faculty of a dental school or its affiliated clinics intramurally in the Commonwealth.
1. A full-time faculty license shall remain valid only while the license holder is serving full time on the faculty of a dental school in the Commonwealth. When any such license holder ceases to continue serving full time on the faculty of the dental school for which the license was issued, the licensee shall surrender the license, which shall be null and void upon termination of full-time employment. The dean of the dental school shall notify the board within five working days of such termination of full-time employment.
2. A full-time faculty licensee working in a faculty intramural clinic affiliated with a dental school may accept a fee for service.
D. A temporary permit, a teacher's license and a full-time faculty license may be revoked for any grounds for which the license of a regularly licensed dentist or dental hygienist may be revoked and for any act indicating the inability of the permittee or licensee to practice dentistry that is consistent with the protection of the public health and safety as determined by the generally accepted standards of dental practice in Virginia.
E. Applicants for a full-time faculty license or temporary permit shall be required to attest to having read and understand and to remaining current with the laws and the regulations governing the practice of dentistry in Virginia.

Source:
http://www.dhp.state.va.us/Dentistry/dentistry_forms.htm