Accreditation

The purpose of accreditation is both to assure the quality of education and training and to promote continuous improvement of the programmes. All New Zealand prescribed qualifications must be accredited and monitored by the Dental Council.

An accreditation committee advises the Dental Council on whether new or accredited programmes meet the accreditation standards to ensure graduates are competent to practise in New Zealand once registered, and to advise the Dental Council on other accreditation related matters.

The Council sets accreditation standards that provide the benchmark for assessing education programmes. Accredited programmes are monitored through annual reporting and comprehensive reviews conducted every five years.

Where a review identifies significant changes or potential risks that may affect a programme's ability to meet accreditation standards, the Council will implement appropriate monitoring and follow-up processes.

All accredited programmes are required to submit an annual report, including details of any significant planned or unplanned changes. Programme providers are responsible for notifying the Accreditation Committee of any proposed major changes before they are implemented.

The Council monitors 22 New Zealand programmes across the oral health professions.

Revised standards come into effect 1 January 2027

The Dental Council and Australian Dental Council (ADC) have published revised accreditation standards, and accompanying guidance notes that give an overview of each domain, and examples of evidence.

Accreditation standards (from 1 January 2027) PDF (8 MB)

Guidance notes on accreditation standards (from 1 January 2027) PDF (1 MB)

Updated 2 March 2026

Title	Provider	Status	Expiry date
Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)	University of Otago	Accreditation (2024) See the accreditation report	31/12/2029
Bachelor of Dental Surgery (Honours)	University of Otago	Accreditation (2024) See the accreditation report	31/12/2029
Master of Community Dentistry (MComDent)	University of Otago	Accreditation with conditions (2023) See the accreditation report	31/12/2028
Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) Endodontics Oral Pathology Oral Surgery Orthodontics Paediatric Dentistry Periodontology Prosthodontics	University of Otago	Accreditation with conditions (2023) See the accreditation report	31/12/2028
Fellowship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons	Accreditation (2022) See the accreditation report	31/12/2027
Fellowship in Oral Medicine	Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons	Accreditation with conditions (2026) See the accreditation report	31/12/2030
Fellowship in Paediatric Dentistry	Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons	Accreditation with conditions (2026) See the accreditation report	31/12/2030
Fellowship in Special Needs Dentistry	Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons	Accreditation with conditions (2026) See the accreditation report	31/12/2030
Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH)	University of Otago	Accreditation (2024) See the accreditation report	31/12/2029
Bachelor of Health Science in Oral Health BHSc (Oral Health)	Auckland University of Technology	Accreditation with conditions (2022) See the: accreditation report accreditation report for remote learning (Northland)	31/12/2027
Bachelor of Dental Technology (BDentTech)	University of Otago	Accreditation (in 2024) See the accreditation report	31/12/2029
Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dental Technology (PGDipCDTech)	University of Otago	Accreditation with conditions (2023) See the accreditation report	31/12/2028
Certificate of Orthodontic Assisting	New Zealand Association of Orthodontists: Orthodontic Auxiliary Training Programme	Accreditation (2023) See the accreditation report	31/12/2028
Accredited adult restorative programmes
Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice)	University of Melbourne	Accreditation (2022) See the accreditation report	31/12/2027
Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (endorsed in Adult Restorative Dental Care)	University of Otago	Accreditation (2023) See the accreditation report	31/12/2028
Graduate Certificate of Health Science (Oral Health)	Auckland University of Technology	Accreditation with conditions (2024) See the accreditation report	31/12/2029

Expired accreditation

Title	Provider	Expiry date
Master of Dental Surgery (MDS)/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in Oral Medicine	University of Otago	31/12/2018¹
Master of Dental Surgery (MDS)/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	University of Otago	31/12/2026²
Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	University of Otago	31/12/2018 - 7/12/2020³
Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) Oral medicine Special needs dentistry	University of Otago	31/12/2023
Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	University of Otago	31/12/2023
Bachelor of Dental Technology (Honours) (BDentTech (Hons))	University of Otago	31/12/2024
Fellowship in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology	Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia	31/12/2023

1 The MDS/MBChB (oral medicine) programme has been replaced by the DClinDent (oral medicine) programme in 2013. The review process is still in progress on the medical component of the prescribed qualification for the oral medicine scope of practice in New Zealand.
2 Accreditation to allow current enrolled student in conjoint programme to complete programme during transition phase to DClinDent (oral and maxillofacial surgery) programme.
3 Change to DClinDent approved 1/1/2012 – 31/12/2016. Accreditation extended from 31/12/2016 – 31/12/2018. Accreditation declined during 2018 review. Re-accreditation granted 7/12/2020. Not submitted for reaccreditation during 2023 review and accreditation ended 31/12/2023.

Criteria

The general scopes of practice for dental hygiene, dental therapy and orthodontic auxiliary were amended in 2011. In addition, the oral health therapy scope of practice was expanded on 1 November 2019 to include restorative activities to patients 18 years and older. This resulted in a number of practitioners having exclusions imposed on their scopes of practice, which prohibit them from undertaking the excluded activities. These practitioners' primary training did not include the full breadth of the scope activities.

Some Council approved courses have been developed by providers, the completion of which will allow practitioners to have exclusions removed from their scopes of practice. These address exclusions such as pulpotomies, stainless steel crowns and local anaesthesia.

Providers that are interested in providing a course that would allow practitioners the ability to remove these exclusions, must meet the criteria stipulated in the Council's policy.

Different application criteria apply for those providers who do provide training as part of a Council accredited qualification, and those providers who do not.