Already a dentist abroad and want to practise in Canada? If your program is not recognized by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada, the route runs through the NDEB Equivalency Process — the AFK, the ACJ, and the NDECC — then the Virtual OSCE and a provincial licence. This guide covers the three routes to certification, the Ontario and British Columbia licence steps in full, and the bridge-training alternative that can replace the NDECC.
If you already practise dentistry somewhere else, Canada does not ask you to earn a second dental degree. It asks you to prove, in a fixed order, that the degree you already hold matches what a Canadian graduate brings to the job, and then to satisfy the province where you will work. The national part is run by the National Dental Examining Board of Canada, known as the NDEB. The licence itself comes only from the dental regulator in your province. Confusing those two roles is the expensive mistake: the NDEB certifies, and only the regulator licenses. This guide follows the order the NDEB and the regulators actually use, works through Ontario and British Columbia in full because those two provinces show how different the provincial tail can be, and states the 2026 bridge-training change that gives some candidates a third route to certification.
Step 1: Establish whether your program is accredited
Everything else depends on this check, so do it before you pay for anything. In Canada, accreditation is determined by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada, known as CDAC. A dental program that is not recognized by CDAC is considered non-accredited. The NDEB defines a non-accredited dental program as a dental degree program from a university that is authorized by the government of the country it is located in to award degrees. The NDEB directs candidates to look their program up on the CDAC website, which carries separate lists for Canadian and international graduates.
If your program is recognized, you are a graduate of an accredited program and you go directly to the Certification Process in Step 7. If it is not recognized, you are a graduate of a non-accredited program and you have three routes to certification, all of which end at the same Virtual OSCE: the Equivalency Process in Steps 3 to 5, an accredited degree completion program at a Canadian faculty of dentistry, or an accredited bridge training program under the July 2026 change in Step 6. Completing a degree completion program makes you a graduate of an accredited program for NDEB purposes, so you then follow the accredited-program route to the Virtual OSCE. Do not decide accreditation by country. A program in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, or Ireland can still be non-accredited if CDAC does not recognize it, and the lookup is the only answer that counts.
Step 2: Create your NDEBConnect application and choose your route
The Equivalency Process starts with an application, not an examination. Create an account in NDEBConnect, the NDEB's online portal, and pay the application fee. The NDEB fees page lists the application fee at $900, describes it as a one-time, non-refundable fee, and states that all fees are in Canadian currency and subject to change. Your Equivalency Process application must be approved before you can register for the Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge, so the application is a real gate, not a formality.
Before you submit anything, read the current Equivalency Process Application Guide on the NDEB website. Document rules, including which documents must come to the NDEB directly from the university that awarded your degree and from any licensing body you have been registered with, are set out in that guide, and this guide does not reproduce its document list because a copied list goes stale and a document sent by the wrong sender does not start the process. If you choose the degree completion route instead, your application goes to the university running the program, and the NDEB step waits until you hold the accredited degree. If you are aiming at bridge training, read Step 6 first: that route still requires the first two Equivalency Process examinations, so you apply to the Equivalency Process anyway.
Step 3: Pass the Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge
The Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge, the AFK, is the first examination in the Equivalency Process, and a passing grade is required before you can continue to the other examinations. It tests biomedical science and applied clinical science knowledge. The examination consists of 200 single-answer multiple-choice questions, delivered in two parts, with two hours to complete each part. Each question has a value of one, and the lowest score for any question is zero. The AFK is offered in two formats: electronic delivery at Prometric test centres, and a booklet format at select examination sites. Read the AFK Protocol before you sit it, and use the self-assessment on the AFK page to gauge readiness: it has 100 multiple-choice questions, and its result neither bars you from the AFK nor guarantees a pass.
Scoring is equated, not raw. A test-equated, re-scaled score of 75 or greater is reported as a pass, and a score below 75 is reported as a fail, with the score itself included in your results and no further breakdown available. The NDEB maintains a standardized passing score of 75 on all its examinations. You can take the AFK a maximum of three times. The fee on the NDEB fees page is $1,000. Register through your NDEBConnect account when registration is open; the AFK page warns that examinations commonly fill up before the registration deadline, so check the upcoming dates page rather than assuming a seat will still be there at the deadline.
Step 4: Pass the Assessment of Clinical Judgement
Once you pass the AFK, you are eligible to register for the Assessment of Clinical Judgement, the ACJ. It assesses your ability to formulate a diagnosis and make clinical decisions, and it evaluates your knowledge of oral radiology and your ability to make a radiographic interpretation and diagnosis. The ACJ is a 5.5-hour examination with one scheduled break. It consists of 120 to 150 single-answer and multi-answer multiple-choice questions, in sections covering case-based diagnosis, treatment planning and clinical decision-making, and radiographic interpretation. Case histories, dental charts, radiographic images, and photographs may be provided. The ACJ is delivered on computers at Prometric and other test centres, and the NDEB's e-exam orientation should be viewed before you take it.
Scoring follows the same rule as the AFK: a test-equated, re-scaled score of 75 or greater is a pass, below 75 is a fail, and no further breakdown is available. You can take the ACJ a maximum of three times. The fee on the NDEB fees page is $1,350. Registration is a three-step process through your NDEB online profile and Prometric scheduling, set out on the ACJ page. The order is fixed: AFK first, then ACJ, then the NDECC. You cannot take the examinations out of order, and you cannot register for the ACJ until the AFK is passed.
Step 5: Pass the National Dental Examination of Clinical Competence
The National Dental Examination of Clinical Competence, the NDECC, is the final step in the Equivalency Process. Its purpose is to assess the clinical competence and judgment of dentists trained in non-accredited programs. It comprises two components. The clinical skills component assesses clinical skills and techniques relevant to current Canadian standards. The situational judgement component assesses judgement required for solving problems in work-related situations. Details of format and grading criteria sit in the NDECC Protocol, which should be read carefully, and the NDECC Practical Guide covers the test centre, facilities, instruments, and materials.
Registration follows the ACJ. Once you pass the ACJ you will be offered registration for the NDECC for your first attempt. If you do not accept the offer, you will be eligible to register when registration opens. On a scheduled registration date, candidates with approved proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent residency can register at 9:00 a.m., and other candidates register at 10:00 a.m. Keep your online profile up to date, including the language in which you wish to take the examination and whether you are left- or right-handed. The withdrawal fee is 50 percent for withdrawals during the registration window.
The clock is the part candidates miss. You have five years to successfully pass both components of the NDECC. Effective in May 2027, candidates who cannot demonstrate minimal competence on both components after five years will cease to be candidates in the Equivalency Process. Candidates who experienced exceptional medical circumstances, or who were unable to register for the NDECC at least three times in five years, can submit a request to extend their candidate status. Review the NDEB by-laws and policies for the full rule. The fee on the NDEB fees page is $6,500 for the full NDECC, or $3,250 per component. Confirm in the NDECC Protocol whether a retake covers one component or both before you pay, because this guide does not state the retake scope.
Step 6: The bridge-training alternative that can replace the NDECC
Since July 1, 2026, there is a third route for graduates of non-accredited programs, and it changes the planning for candidates who qualify. The Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry's Bridge Training to Dental Practice in Canada program, the BTDPC, received preliminary accreditation by CDAC, confirming it includes direct patient care alongside theoretical and simulation-based training. The NDEB adopted a new eligibility category for the Certification Process: effective July 1, 2026, graduates of a non-accredited dental program who complete a bridge training program accredited by CDAC are eligible to apply to the Certification Process without taking the NDECC.
Two limits define who this helps. The program is for individuals who have completed the first two examinations of the Equivalency Process and are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. And the change affects only eligibility for the Certification Process: every candidate, whichever route they took, must still pass the same national certification examination in Step 7. Detailed information about the program sits on the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry website. This guide states no program fee, duration, location, or seat count for bridge training, because the NDEB announcement does not, and those figures belong on the program's own pages. If you are a citizen or permanent resident who has passed the AFK and ACJ, compare the bridge-training route against the NDECC route on the program's own terms before you commit to either.
Step 7: Pass the Virtual OSCE and receive the NDEB certificate
Every route converges here. The Virtual OSCE is a summative examination that assesses the problem-solving and critical decision-making skills required of beginning dental practitioners in Canada. It is the national standard of competence for dentists in Canada, it leads to NDEB certification, and it is required for licensure. The examination consists of 200 questions: 50 standard single-answer multiple-choice questions and 150 case-based questions, which can include photos, radiographs, charts, and other supporting material. The blueprint, with content areas and approximate percentages, sits in the Virtual OSCE Protocol.
The fee is $1,750. The Virtual OSCE can be taken a maximum of three times, and attempts at the earlier Written Examination and OSCE count toward that maximum: a candidate who needs to repeat the Written Examination or the OSCE will not get three fresh attempts at the Virtual OSCE. Certification is granted on successful completion of the Virtual OSCE and after proof of graduation is provided to the NDEB. Graduates of non-accredited programs do not need to resubmit proof of graduation at this stage, because it was already provided during the Equivalency Process application. Once certified, your name is entered in the national register and you are mailed a hard copy certificate. NDEB certification does not expire. That last point matters for planning, but it does not override a regulator's own currency rule: British Columbia, in Step 8, still measures three years from your NDEB examinations.
Step 8: Ontario — the general certificate, jurisprudence, and prorated fees
Ontario licenses through the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, the RCDSO. All dentists practising in Ontario must be members of the College, and a valid certificate of registration is required to perform the procedures authorized to dentists. Apply through the College's online applicant portal, which provides the full instructions and supporting-document lists as part of the application. Your application form is only valid for three months once submitted, so do not start it until your documents are ready.
The general certificate requirements, as the College states them, are: a university degree in dentistry proving successful completion of education in dental studies of at least four years; an NDEB certificate, or an NDEB certificate issued before January 1994; no break of more than three years in regular practice in Canada, the United States, Australia, Ireland, or New Zealand since getting the NDEB certificate or a licence to practise without restriction in Canada; the ability to speak and write English or French with reasonable fluency; successful completion of the RCDSO Jurisprudence and Ethics course, with results valid for three years from completion; Canadian citizenship, permanent residence, or authorization under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to work in a health profession in Canada; no current or past discipline, suspension, licence revocation, or finding of professional misconduct, incompetence, or incapacity if you were licensed and practised elsewhere; a name on the application matching the name on your dental degree, with name-change documentation if it does not; and no criminal charge or conviction in any Canadian or international jurisdiction.
Fees are prorated by registration date, and payment must be received before the College can issue your licence. The application fee is $350 in every band. Registering on or after January 1 carries an annual licence fee of $2,170, for a total of $2,520. Registering on or after June 1 carries an annual licence fee of $1,085, for a total of $1,435. Registering on or after September 1 carries an annual licence fee of $660, for a total of $1,010. All fees are in Canadian dollars, payable by credit card or by certified cheque or Canadian money order, with cheque payments liable to delay the application. All general licences expire on December 31 each year and must be renewed by December 15. Confirm the current fee table on the College's page before you apply, because the College states that applications are governed by the regulations, by-laws, and policies in place at submission.
Step 9: British Columbia, the other provinces, and Quebec
British Columbia licenses through the BC College of Oral Health Professionals, BCCOHP. The general licence requires a degree or equivalent qualification from an accredited general dentistry program or an equivalent program, and successful completion of the NDEB examinations no more than three years before the date of application, with the equivalency determination process described in the FAQ applying if that window has passed and you hold no other Canadian licence. The online application must be completed in one attempt: if you log out or close the browser, a partially completed application will not be saved, although documents can be uploaded after the application is completed. The general processing time is eight weeks, and a criminal record check may take four weeks, so submit the initial payment and notarized copies of two pieces of government-issued photo ID as soon as you can. Required documents include a notarized statutory declaration, notarized photo identification, a notarized or certified copy of your degree and your NDEB certificate, and certificates or letters of standing from every jurisdiction where you have been licensed or registered, delivered directly to the College in a sealed envelope. A separate licence fee payment is required near the end of the process, once the College confirms the application is complete; this guide does not state that fee because it sits on the College's Schedule A. Once the licence fee is processed, a confirmation email follows within three to five business days, and you cannot practise until you receive it.
Every other province licenses through its own dental regulator, and the NDEB certificate is the shared input. The NDEB states that dental regulatory authorities may require additional documentation, jurisprudence tests, and evidence of language proficiency before licensure. Read the regulator's pages for the province where you will work before you pay anything province-specific, and do not carry an Ontario or British Columbia requirement into another province on assumption. If Quebec is your destination, start with the Ordre des dentistes du Québec rather than assuming the Ontario or British Columbia tail applies. Specialists follow the separate route in the final FAQ, through the National Dental Specialty Examination and, for non-accredited specialty training, a Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program.
What it costs, and what was deliberately left out
The figures this guide states are the national ones listed on the NDEB fees page as of October 30, 2026: application fee $900, AFK $1,000, ACJ $1,350, NDECC $6,500 in full or $3,250 per component, Virtual OSCE $1,750. Passed at the first attempt at every stage, the national fees add to $11,500, and the NDEB states that all fees are subject to change. Ontario's licence fees are stated separately in Step 8 because they sit on the College's own table and are prorated by registration date. British Columbia's licence fee is not stated here because it sits on the College's Schedule A — check that schedule before you budget.
Several figures were left out. No pass rates are stated for any NDEB examination, because the Board's examination pages do not publish them. No language-test scores are stated, because language evidence is set by each regulator and no score table is published. No fee, duration, location, or seat count is stated for degree completion or bridge training programs, because those sit on the universities' and program's own pages. No document-by-document application list is reproduced, because the Equivalency Process Application Guide governs it. No examination sitting dates are stated, because dates and registration deadlines move; check the NDEB upcoming-dates pages. If a number matters to your decision, open the page that owns it and read it there.
Related guides:
- How to Start Getting Your Foreign Credentials Recognized in Canada — the general newcomer starting point for credential recognition across professions, including the national map that places dentistry alongside law, nursing, pharmacy, medicine, and engineering.
- How to Start Getting Your Foreign Pharmacy Credentials Recognized in Canada (PEBC + Provincial College) — the parallel national-assessment route for pharmacists, where the examining board is the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada and the January 2027 pathway change rewrites the middle of the route.
- How to Start Getting Your Foreign Nursing Credentials Recognized in Canada (NNAS + Provincial Regulator) — the parallel route for nurses, through the National Nursing Assessment Service, including the British Columbia exception that works differently from dentistry.
- How to Start Getting Your Foreign Law Credentials Recognized in Canada (NCA Assessment + Provincial Law Society Admission) — the parallel route for lawyers, where the national assessment body is the National Committee on Accreditation.
- How to Start Getting Your Medical Credentials Recognized in Canada as an Internationally Trained Doctor — the parallel route for physicians, through the Medical Council of Canada and practice-ready assessment programs.
- How to Become a Dental Hygienist in Canada — a different regulated occupation: the domestic route into dental hygiene, not the foreign-dentist credential route. Read this only if hygiene work, not dentist licensure, is your goal.
- How to Become a Dental Assistant in Ontario — another neighbouring occupation with its own certification route. It does not license you as a dentist.