Since July 1, 2026, internationally trained dentists who complete the Bridge Training to Dental Practice in Canada (BTDPC) program can apply to the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) certification process without taking the NDECC clinical examination. The program is run by the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD), has preliminary accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), and is being piloted at the University of Alberta, Université Laval and Dalhousie University, with up to 10 trainees per site each year.
As of September 2026, the new route is one of several efforts to bring more qualified dentists into Canadian practice. For practice owners in Ontario and elsewhere, it is worth understanding how the pathway works, who qualifies and how many dentists it can realistically produce.
What Changed on July 1, 2026
In a June 25, 2026 announcement, the NDEB said it was adding a new eligibility category to its Certification Process, effective July 1, 2026. Graduates of a non-accredited dental program who complete a CDAC-accredited bridge training program can now apply to the Certification Process without taking the NDECC, and proceed directly to the national certification examination, the Virtual OSCE. The NDEB noted that the BTDPC had recently received preliminary accreditation from CDAC.
The ACFD states that trainees who complete the BTDPC from the 2026–2027 cohort onward will no longer be required to write the NDECC. Instead, they can move directly to the Virtual OSCE and then apply for licensure.
How the Two Routes Compare
Graduates of dental programs not accredited by CDAC normally complete the NDEB Equivalency Process, which includes the Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK), the Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ) and the NDECC, before taking the Virtual OSCE. The BTDPC is designed for people who have already completed the first two Equivalency Process exams, the AFK and the ACJ. For those who finish the bridge program, CDAC-accredited university training takes the place of the NDECC.
Inside the Program
According to the ACFD, the BTDPC is a full-time, in-person program of up to eight months, with one intake per year and up to 10 students per site. It is a pilot: the ACFD says the pilot will run through January 2028, with the program tested and evaluated twice.
The ACFD describes the program's aim as building competence in relation to CDAC's Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for a Beginning Dental Practitioner in Canada. Core modules listed by the ACFD include:
- Patient management, including infection prevention and control, administration of pharmacotherapeutic agents and management of hazardous materials
- Professionalism and communication in the Canadian context
- Patient assessment and treatment planning
- Radiology, including prescribing, taking and interpreting radiographs
- Periodontics, caries assessment and an operative dentistry refresher
- Health promotion, including the Canadian dental health system and access to care
- Oral surgery
- Clinical experience providing patient care
Personalized modules cover endodontics, pediatric dentistry, and removable and fixed prosthodontics.
Who Is Eligible
The ACFD's admission requirements include:
- Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, or status as a Convention Refugee with a notice of decision in Canada or a Protected Person in Canada, on or before the application deadline
- Graduation from a university dental program of at least four years that is not recognized by CDAC
- Passing results on the NDEB's AFK and ACJ within 60 months of the application deadline
- English or French language proficiency, shown through prior post-secondary education or approved language tests
Applications for the program's second cohort closed on February 28, 2026.
What It Means for Ontario Practices
The new route matters, but its scale is limited during the pilot. With three sites and up to 10 trainees at each, the program can train at most about 30 dentists a year. None of the pilot sites is in Ontario: they are in Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
After NDEB certification, a dentist who wants to practise in Ontario must register with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO), which sets its own registration requirements. Practice owners recruiting associates should expect BTDPC graduates to be a small, welcome addition to the hiring pool rather than a solution to staffing shortages on their own.
The bridge program sits alongside other federal investments in dental training. Oral Health Group has reported that Health Canada is investing $35 million CAD in 30 projects at 22 post-secondary institutions to expand dental training.
Pro Tip: Before extending an offer to any dentist, confirm their current registration status on the RCDSO's public register and ask which entry pathway they completed. It takes a few minutes and protects your practice and your patients.
EBIKO Dental will continue monitoring developments in Canada's dental workforce and the policy changes that affect Ontario practices. For more Canadian dental news, visit EBIKO Dental.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can internationally trained dentists now skip the NDECC?
Those who complete the CDAC-accredited BTDPC can. Effective July 1, 2026, the NDEB lets them apply to its Certification Process without the NDECC and go directly to the Virtual OSCE. They must pass the AFK and ACJ before entering the program.
Q: Which schools offer the BTDPC?
The three pilot sites are the University of Alberta, Université Laval and Dalhousie University, with up to 10 students per site and one intake per year. The ACFD says the pilot runs through January 2028.
Q: Who can apply to the BTDPC?
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, Convention Refugees with a notice of decision and Protected Persons who graduated from a dental program of at least four years not recognized by CDAC, passed the AFK and ACJ within 60 months of the application deadline, and meet English or French language requirements.
Correction, September 29, 2026: An earlier version of this article did not name Université Laval as the third pilot site, did not note that the program is a pilot, and incorrectly expanded the NDECC acronym. It also included statements that the NDEB and ACFD do not support, including a typical timeline and cost for the standard pathway, NDECC failure rates, claims about the type of licence graduates receive and generalizations about program graduates. Those statements have been removed.