Postdoctoral periodontal programs often require scores from the National Board Exam, a dental degree, letters of recommendation and TOEFL for foreign-trained dental students as well GRE scores, research experience, hospital residency and GPR...

Applying to a Postdoctoral Periodontal Program

Postdoctoral periodontal programs often require scores from the National Board Exam, a dental degree, letters of recommendation and TOEFL for foreign-trained dental students as well GRE scores, research experience, hospital residency and GPR.

Prerequisites

In order to apply to a postdoctoral periodontal program, you will need scores from the National Board Exam, a dental degree, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and – if you are a foreign trained dental student – Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. In addition to these prerequisites, some programs consider Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores, research background and other clinical experiences, including Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD), General Practice Residency (GPR) or private practice experience.

The American Academy of Periodontology recommends that programs accept students with class standing in the upper 50 percent; National Board scores about 80 percentile; and, when applicable, GRE scores above 1000.

Length of Programs

Accredited postdoctoral periodontal programs run 30 to 36 months. To find out the length of the program in which you are interested, check individual postdoctoral programs.

Cost of Programs

The cost varies greatly between programs. Some programs pay a yearly stipend as high as $43,981 per year while other programs charge tuition up to $41,000 per year.

There are currently 53 postdoctoral education programs. Of those, 24 programs pay a higher yearly stipend than they charge for tuition, which means they pay the students anywhere from $5,377 to $43,981 to participate in their program. Tuition costs for all 53 programs are broken down below:

The Application Process

If you are interested in applying to a periodontal program, you should investigate and submit your application by the end of your third year of predoctoral study in a four-year dental curriculum. Postdoctoral periodontal programs accept students on an individual basis and do not participate in the Match.

Scholarships and Grants

A number of educational awards are available through the AAP Foundation.

Student/Educator Links

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