Dental License Frustrations Among Dentists (video)

Dental licensing can be a major professional frustration among dentists. A dentist may feel tethered to their state by their dental license.

“I am licensed in 4 states, and it is truly a nightmare process!” lamented a Pennsylvania dentist. “From fingerprinting to accounting for every month of my 35-year dental career, the system is broken.”

The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists if they are satisfied with the current system of dental licensing in the U.S. Only one in five dentists say they like the dental licensing system as it stands.

Fully 61% would prefer a universal system of licensure by credentials instead.

Watch Jim Du Molin and Julie Frey discuss dental licenses in this video.

“Dental licensing should be national, not state-based, just like medical licenses,” declared a New York dentist. “Many states do not offer licensing by reciprocity, making licensing difficult for licensed dentists wanting to move to those states.”

“I recently retired from my NY practice of 42 years and moved to NC where I wanted to practice part time,” said a general dentist. “The choices I had forced me to be retested on Jurisprudence and a sterilization/infection control exam. The entire process took well over a year. I had to be fingerprinted, obtain dental school scores, etc. I finally ended up with a limited volunteer license which allows me to volunteer my time at one of the state clinics. If I had wanted to get a regular license, I would have had to pay $3500 with the assurance from me that I would use the license within one year or forfeit it. Can’t there be a simpler way for a retired dentist to volunteer his time?”

Read more: Dentist Survey Finds Dental Licensing Laws Archaic

What are your thoughts on dental licensure?