Everything you need to
retrain in the U.S.
Built for dentists who already hold a degree from outside the United States. Different exams, different documents, different costs — so this pathway has its own tools, its own timeline and its own pricing.
INBDE Mocks
Full-length integrated mock exams with the real clinical case format, timing, flagging and a scored review screen.
English & Clinical Tutor
Work on TOEFL-level academic English and clinical explanation together, with a tutor that knows the CAAPID route.
Bench Test Clinic
Station-by-station drill plans for operative, prosthodontics and endodontics, keyed to your test date and program format.
SJT Prep (CASPer)
Timed situational judgement scenarios scored across the four judgement axes, with model reasoning for each one.
Kira Prep
Recorded video answers with think time and no second take, scored on content and delivery, with take history.
CAAPID Interview Prep
Pick the programs you are interviewing at and get the questions they are positioned to ask, the traps, what to ask them back, and a debrief for straight afterwards.
My Document Desk
Upload your CAAPID and education documents once and keep a saved checklist of what is missing and which office to request it from.
My Requirement Checklist
Every exam and document for advanced standing, exam by exam. Mark each one complete and your readiness updates as you go.
Interview Simulator
Voiced examiners run traditional and MMI faculty panels, then score you across five committee criteria.
Credential Pre-Check
Upload your evaluation, transcript and diploma and get the reading a credentialing office would give your file.
CAAPID Personal Statement
The ~750-word statement, structured against what advanced standing committees reward, with a line-by-line rewrite.
Supplemental Essays
The 500–1,000 word school-specific essays most programs add on top of CAAPID, drafted per program.
CV/Resume builder
Your dentistry CV restructured into the academic format U.S. reviewers expect, with gap-explanation lines.
Letters of Recommendation
Who to ask, in what order, and what to send them — plus a read of the letters you already have.
Clinical Hours & Passport
Log practice years and documented hours by procedure type, and issue your Dental Passport as a clean document.
Program Explorer
Every advanced standing program filtered by visa position, bench test, INBDE and TOEFL floors and deadline.
Admission Odds
Your file read against each program on your shortlist, with what would move you from unlikely to competitive.
Visa & Eligibility
Which programs accept your status, what sponsorship exists, and the immigration order of operations.
PBL Prep
A problem-based clinical case library you can work solo or with a study group, with guided reasoning on every case.
CAAPID Template & Walkthrough
The CAAPID form section by section — DENTPIN through submission — with what to enter, where files get held up, and the fees and cycle dates.
Application Tracker
Every program you designated in one place: deadlines, documents, supplemental fees and status updates.
School Comparison
Advanced standing programs side by side on visa position, bench test, INBDE and TOEFL floors, length, tuition and deadline.
Community Forum
Applicants and admitted students on the same route, comparing bench test formats, TOEFL floors and interview experiences.
International Student Resources
Visa guidance, the cycle timeline calculator and funding planning, grouped for internationally trained graduates.
Requirements
The full international checklist
Every exam, document, letter and fee on the CAAPID route, with the published band for each one. Where a requirement differs school by school, it says so instead of inventing a number.
Visa eligibility filters your list first
Roughly 40% of advanced standing programs accept U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Check status before you spend on supplemental fees — every profile in the program explorer states its position.
The bench test is pass or fail
A failed bench test ends your application at that program, whatever your INBDE score says. It is the single most under-prepared step on this route.
TOEFL floors vary widely
80 gets you past most doors, the most selective programs want 95+, and admitted applicants average around 90. Scores expire after two years.
INBDE: passing is not competing
75 is the pass. Competitive files sit at 80–85, and the typical admitted average is around 80. Plan 3–6 months of preparation.
What you have to sit, pass and score on.
- INBDERequiredall programs
The Integrated National Board Dental Examination. Required by essentially every advanced standing program. Prepare for 3–6 months before you sit it.
- Target
- 75 to pass · 80–85 competitive · ~80 typical admitted average
- Cost
- ~$1,050
- Time
- 4–6 hours on test day · 3–6 months of preparation
- TOEFL iBT (or IELTS)Requiredcheck the program profile
English proficiency. Most programs set a floor around 80; the most selective sit at 95+. Scores stay valid for two years, so time it against your submission.
- Target
- 80 baseline · 95+ at the most selective · ~90 typical admitted average
- Cost
- $245
- Time
- ~2 hours · valid 2 years
- Bench testRequiredsome programs
A hands-on typodont examination at the program's own facility: operative preparations, prosthodontic work and sometimes endodontics. Pass or fail — a fail is a rejection at that program.
- Target
- Pass / fail
- Cost
- $500–$2,000 per program, plus travel
- Time
- Half a day to a full day, on campus
- CASPer / situational judgementExpectedsome programs
A timed situational judgement test used by a subset of programs to score professionalism, ethics and communication.
- Cost
- $120
- Time
- ~90 minutes
- Kira asynchronous video interviewExpectedsome programs
Recorded answers with no second take: a prompt appears, you get a short think time, then the camera runs. Programs screen with it before inviting you on campus.
- Cost
- Free where the program uses it
- Time
- 30–60 minutes
- Traditional faculty interviewRequiredall programs
A live panel, on campus or remote, usually paired with the bench test visit. Expect your clinical record, your reason for retraining and ethics scenarios.
- Time
- 20–60 minutes
Your degree, transcripts and credential evaluation.
- Foreign dental degreeRequiredall programs
A completed dental degree (BDS, DDS, DMD or equivalent) from a recognised school outside the U.S.
- Official transcripts, translatedRequiredall programs
Course-by-course transcripts in English, issued by your school and sent to your evaluator. Order early — issuing offices abroad are the slowest part of the file.
- Time
- Allow several weeks for issue and postage
- Credential evaluation (ECE or WES)Requiredcheck the program profile
A course-by-course evaluation converting your degree and coursework into U.S. equivalents. Programs name the agency they accept.
- Cost
- $150–$300
- Time
- 2–4 weeks after your documents arrive
- Proof of graduationRequiredall programs
Your diploma or degree certificate, with a certified English translation where it is not in English.
Practice years, documented hours and who writes for you.
- Clinical practiceExpectedcheck the program profile
Time spent practising after graduation. Committees read continuity and complexity, not just the count of years.
- Target
- 2–3 years is the common profile
- Documented clinical hoursExpectedcheck the program profile
Hours you can evidence with a signed letter or logbook, broken down by procedure type where possible.
- Target
- 1,000–3,000+ hours
- Letters of recommendationRequiredcheck the program profile
One or two from a supervising dentist, one from your clinic director, and optionally one academic referee. Ask 6–8 weeks before you submit.
- Target
- 2–3 letters is the usual requirement
Everything you write, upload and attach to CAAPID.
- CAAPID personal statementRequiredall programs
Around 750 words on why you are retraining in the U.S., what your clinical record shows and what you will do with the degree.
- Target
- ~750 words
- Dentistry CV in U.S. formatRequiredall programs
Reordered into the academic format U.S. reviewers expect: education, licensure, clinical experience, research, service.
- Passport-style photographExpectedall programs
A plain-background portrait for the CAAPID profile and for program files.
- Passport and visa statusRequiredcheck the program profile
Your current immigration status and, where required, evidence of it. Around 40% of advanced standing programs accept U.S. citizens and permanent residents only, so status decides your shortlist before scores do.
What individual schools add on top of CAAPID.
- CAAPID applicationRequiredall programs
The centralised ADEA application for advanced standing, with per-program designations.
- Cost
- $200 for the first program
- Supplemental essays and applicationsRequiredcheck the program profile
Most programs add their own portal, fee and 500–1,000 word essays on top of CAAPID. They are read closely and they are where files are won.
- Target
- 500–1,000 words each
- Cost
- $100–$200 per program
- Background check and health screeningExpectedall programs
Requested after an offer: criminal background check, immunisation record and sometimes a titre panel.
Cycle timeline
12 to 18 months, stage by stage
From booking the INBDE to your first day of class. Each stage carries its own checklist items and fees.
- Months 1–2
Exams booked, documents ordered
Sit or book the INBDE after 3–6 months of preparation, and start the credential evaluation in parallel — the transcript request is the long pole.
- INBDE~$1,050INBDE mock exams
- Foreign dental degree
- Official transcripts, translatedCredential pre-check
- Credential evaluation (ECE or WES)$150–$300Credential pre-check
- Proof of graduation
- Clinical practice
- Documented clinical hoursDental Passport
- Passport and visa statusVisa and eligibility guide
- Months 2–3
English proficiency
Sit the TOEFL iBT so the score is in hand and still valid at submission, and keep the evaluation moving.
- TOEFL iBT (or IELTS)$245English and clinical tutor
- Months 4–5
Write the file
Personal statement, U.S.-format CV, photograph, and letters requested 6–8 weeks ahead of submission.
- Letters of recommendationLetters of recommendation
- CAAPID personal statementPersonal statement studio
- Dentistry CV in U.S. formatCV/Resume builder
- Passport-style photographMy Dental Passport
- Months 5–6
Submit CAAPID and the supplementals
Designate programs, pay the fees and finish every school's own portal and essays. Early files get earlier interviews.
- CAAPID application$200 for the first programApplication tracker
- Supplemental essays and applications$100–$200 per programSupplemental essay builder
- Months 6–10
Interviews and bench tests
Kira recordings, CASPer where required, faculty panels and the hands-on bench test at each program that runs one.
- Bench test$500–$2,000 per program, plus travelBench test clinic
- CASPer / situational judgement$120Situational judgement practice
- Kira asynchronous video interviewFree where the program uses itVideo interview room
- Traditional faculty interviewInterview simulator
- Months 11–12
Decisions and screening
Offers, deposits, background check, immunisations and, if you need one, the visa process.
- Background check and health screening
- Month 13+
You start
Advanced standing begins — most cycles run 12–18 months from first exam booking to first day of class.
Published fees only — tuition is separate.
- INBDE
- ~$1,050
- TOEFL iBT
- $245
- Credential evaluation (ECE / WES)
- $150–$300
- CAAPID applicationfirst program
- $200
- Supplemental applicationsper program
- $100–$200 each
- Bench testsprograms that require one
- $500–$2,000 each
- CASPerwhere required
- $120
- Travel and accommodation for interviews
- Varies by shortlist
$4,000–$8,000 for a full cycle, before tuition
Priced for the CAAPID cycle
A single cycle costs an international dentist $4,000–$8,000 for a full cycle, before tuition. These plans are a small fraction of that, and far less than per-hour tutoring on the same exams.
IDP Free
See the whole route before you spend anything.
- Program explorer with visa and bench-test filters
- The full CAAPID requirements checklist
- The 12–18 month cycle timeline
- Sample INBDE and interview questions
IDP Premium
Everything the CAAPID file needs, handled.
- Full INBDE mock exams and the question bank
- Unlimited English and clinical tutoring
- Dental Passport with readiness scoring
- Credential and transcript pre-check on your real documents
- CAAPID personal statement, CV and letters support
- Interview simulator, CASPer and Kira practice rooms
- Bench-test drill plans and admission odds
IDP Cycle Pass
One payment for the whole 12–18 month cycle.
- Everything in IDP Premium for a full cycle
- No renewal decisions mid-application
- Doctor expert review of your complete file
- Priority handling on every request
We're here to help you succeed
You are not doing this alone. The community, the guidance and the doctor expert layer are all built around this route.
A community of international dentists
Applicants and admitted students on the same route, comparing bench test formats, TOEFL floors and interview experiences.
OpenClear, ordered guidance
One checklist per requirement, with the fee, the timing and the tool that handles it — no guessing what comes next.
OpenDoctor expert escalation
When your file needs a person, a doctor expert reads your statement, your CV or your preps and answers honestly.
Open