Prescribed qualifications for dentists
Prescribed qualifications are the qualifications prescribed for a scope of practice under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. These qualifications are gazetted, and undergo continued quality monitoring.
On this page
The Dental Council has prescribed the following qualifications for the general dental scope of practice.
New Zealand
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery, University of Otago
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery with Honours, University of Otago.
Australia
- an Australian Dental Council (ADC) accredited programme1
- a Dental Board of Australia approved programme of study providing a qualification for the purpose of registration in general dentistry in Australia2
- a five-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the Australian Dental Council licensing examinations.
1 Before 30 June 2010, and before 17 October 2010 for Western Australia
2 From 1 July 2010 onwards, and 18 October 2010 onwards for Western Australia
General Dental Council (GDC) accredited dental schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries
- a GDC accredited undergraduate dental degree from a GDC accredited dental school in the UK, or Commonwealth, as listed below:
|
Dental School |
Dates of recognition – student must have completed and satisfied all programme requirements before the end-date listed below |
|
Western Cape |
before 1 January 1998 |
|
Hong Kong |
before 1 January 2001 |
|
Singapore |
before 1 January 2001 |
|
Witwatersrand |
before 1 January 2001 |
|
Pretoria |
before 1 January 2001 |
|
Stellenbosch |
before 1 January 2001 |
|
Medical University of South Africa |
1 January 1997-31 December 2000 |
|
Malaysia |
1 January 1997-31 December 2000 |
Ireland
- an accredited undergraduate dental degree from the Dental Council of Ireland3
3 Graduate cohorts from 2022 onwards
USA or Canada
- an accredited undergraduate dental degree from the Commission on Dental Accreditation in the USA or the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada
- a five-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the USA licensing examinations
- a five-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the National Dental Examining Board of Canada Equivalency Examination Process4.
4 A pass in any of the National Dental Examining Board of Canada Equivalency Examinations after 3 March 2014
Other
- a five-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the New Zealand Dental Registration Examinations5.
5 Administered by the National Dental Examining Board of Canada on behalf of the Dental Council since August 2015