FAQ

Licensure

Answer

Dentists and Dental Hygienists who have graduated from an ADA accredited school of dentistry or dental hygiene, successfully passed the National Dental or Dental Hygiene Board examination and a Board approved clinical examination within the last five years may apply for Licensure by Examination.

Dentists and Dental Hygienists who have graduated from an ADA accredited school of dentistry or dental hygiene, successfully passed the National Dental or Dental Hygiene Board examination and a Board approved clinical examination of another state or region may apply for Licensure by Credential.

All licensee types who meet the requirements of A.R.S. § 32-4302 may apply by Universal License Recognition. Among other things, you must already be licensed in at least one other state in the discipline applying for, been licensed for at least one year and you establish Arizona residency. The application fee(s) are the same as the Licensure by Credential fee(s).  

Denturists who have graduated from a recognized denturist school may apply for certification.

Further details on the requirements for licensure may be found under Applications and Forms.

Answer

No, not directly. In order to obtain licensure in Arizona, a dentist must graduate from an ADA accredited program and receive a diploma conferring a degree of DDS or DMD. However, and indirectly, if a dentist or hygienist has been licensed in another US jurisdiction for at least one year may qualify for a license in Arizona through the Universal Licensing Recognition pathway pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-4302.

Answer

No. The Arizona State Dental Board may grant licensure by credential to applicants who have successfully completed a clinical examination of another state or testing agency more than five years before submitting an application for licensure in Arizona. However, if a dentist or hygienist has been licensed in another US jurisdiction for at least one year and maintains an Arizona residence, you may qualify for a license in Arizona through the Universal Licensing Recognition pathway pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-4302.

Answer

All applicants for licensure pay an initial pro-rated license fee. Dentists pay $110 and Dental Hygienists pay $55 for licensure through your first renewal date, which is your birth month and may happen within the same year you receive your initial license since your renewal is dependent on your birth month. 

The fee for the Arizona Dental Jurisprudence Examination is $300 for Dentists and $100 for Dental Hygienists.

Dental applicants for licensure by credential and universal license recognition, which is also credentialing, pay an additional $2,000 fee and Dental Hygienists pay an additional $1,000 fee.

Answer

No. In order to maintain licensure, individuals must complete the required number of continuing education hours and pay the appropriate renewal fees on or before your birth month every third year.

Dentists who have completely withdrawn from practice of dentistry, Dental Hygienists and Denturists who are 65 years or older may apply for a retired license. Dentists must relinquish their DEA Certificate of Registration. Continuing education requirements are reduced and the triennial renewal fee is $15. Licensees with a medical disability who have completely withdrawn from practice may apply for a disabled license with the triennial fee of $15. A retired or disabled licensee may still perform volunteer services in Board approved charitable organizations.

Answer

During the 2021 Legislative session, Senate Bill 1013 passed and was signed by the Governor with an effective date of 1/1/2022. Additionally, Senate Bill 1240 passed in the 2022 Legislative session to "clean-up" SB1013 by amending the language once again from birthday to birth month. What’s this mean to you? This new law amends the expiration date of all dental licenses from 6/30 every three years to the licensee's birth month every three years. A licensee's license expires 30 days after the licensee's birth month every third year. On or before the last day of the licensee's birth month every third year, every licensed dentist shall submit to the board a complete renewal application and pay a license renewal fee. Applications received or postmarked after the expiration date are required to pay the late penalty fee of $100. You must also affirm that you attended the minimum hours of recognized continuing education.

Further details on the requirements for renewal may be found on the Board's online renewal webpage.

Answer

The law requires that all licensees provide the Board with an address of record and that dentists also provide the address of each of their practice locations. All licensees must inform the Board, in writing, within 10 days of a change to their address of record and for dentists this also includes any practice location change.

Licensees - if you have been charged with a misdemeanor involving conduct that may affect patient safety or a felony after receiving or renewing a license, you must notify the Board, in writing, within 10 working days after the charge is filed.

Applicants - if you have been charged with a misdemeanor involving conduct that may affect patient safety or a felony after submitting your initial application, you must notify the Board, in writing, within 10 working days after the charge is filed.

Dentists are required to report any adverse occurrence that takes place within their office. Adverse occurrences are defined as a death, or incident requiring medical response, in a dental office or dental clinic during the administration of or recovery from general anesthesia, deep sedation, moderate sedation or minimal sedation. The report of the adverse occurrence must be submitted to the Board's office within 10 days after the occurrence.  

Dentists are required to report any theft or loss of controlled substances to the Board of Dental Examiners, the Drug Enforcement Agency and local law enforcement.

 


Filing a Complaint

Answer

Anyone can file a complaint against a licensed dentist, dental hygienist or denturist and there is a four year statute of limitation on filing a complaint. In addition, the Board may open investigations against licensees.

Answer

The Dental Practice Act requires the Board to investigate all written complaints, even if they are submitted anonymously. Individuals may download a copy of the complaint form from this site under Consumer Information or may call the Dental Board at (602) 242-1492 for assistance. The complaint form may be mailed or faxed to the Board office to:

Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners
Attn: Compliance
1740 W.  Adams St, Suite 2470
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Fax: (602) 242-1445

 


Public Information

Answer

Upon receipt of a written request and payment of the applicable fee for public information, Board staff can prepare the documents for mailing or to be picked up Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Board's office.

Pursuant to A.R.S. 39-171, the Board's point of contact for public records requests is Jill Barenbaum and she can be reached at 602.242.1492 or [email protected]. The Board's point of contact will respond within five business days acknowledging receipt(s) of records requests. The Board's point of contact will either provide the requestor with copies of the requested records or forward the request to the employee or department that is authorized and able to fulfill the records request. A paid invoice is required before copies of records will be produced to the requestor.

Answer

In addition to what is available on this site, written verification of an individual’s license status may be obtained. This information includes the licensee’s name and address; license status; date the license was issued, information on complaints that have resulted in discipline and complaints resulting in issuance of non-disciplinary letters of concern or non-disciplinary continuing education within the last five years. Dismissed, terminated and pending complaints are not available to the public.

Answer

License verifications requested for commercial purposes are $5.00 per verification. For personal use, the fee is $25.00 per verification.

The charge for copies of specific documents, such as agenda and minutes is 25 cents per page.

For further information, please see the Fee Schedule under Fees.

 


Dental Records

Answer

The law requires that within 15 days of a patient’s written request, the dentist, dental hygienist, denturist or business entity provide a COPY of the entire patient record. The original records belong to the licensee and a reasonable fee may be charged to the patient for the copies.

Answer

Dental records are the property of the dentist.

 


Dentistry

Answer

The American Dental Association explains on their website DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) and DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) are the same degrees. The difference is a matter of semantics. The majority of dental schools award the DDS degree; however, some award a DMD degree. The education and degrees are the same.