Check a Dentist's License: State Dental Board Lookup for All 50 States and DC
Pick your state to find its dental board and license lookup, learn how to read a result, what the twelve recognized dental specialties are and what to do before an implant, crown or braces plan.
Updated
A dentist who treats you has to hold a license from the state where the chair is, and that state's dental board is the only place that can confirm it is active. It takes a few minutes, it is free, and it is worth doing before an implant, a crown or an orthodontic plan.
Pick your state below and you get its board, the address we opened today and, where we could confirm one, the state's own lookup page. Further down: what a good result looks like, what the twelve recognized dental specialties mean and what to do when a record does not match.
Find your state board
The board named here is the one the American Dental Association lists for the state. Choose the state where you will be treated, not where you live.
Choose a state to see its dental board.
What you need in hand
The dentist's full name as it appears on the practice website or the plaque, and the city. If staff will give you a license number, search by that, because names repeat.
If the lookup asks for a license type, choose dentist. Hygienists are licensed separately, so a hygienist's name will not turn up in a dentist search.
Two records with similar names are common. Read the license type and the city before deciding that something is wrong.
Reading a lookup result
Every state words its record differently. Three things matter in all of them.
You want to see active, current or in good standing. Expired, lapsed, inactive, retired, suspended and revoked are all reasons to ask the practice before booking.
The name, license type and city should fit the person you will see. If the practice sits near a state line, check the state where the chair is.
Some boards show disciplinary actions on the record. Others publish orders in a separate list. If you cannot find either, ask the board whether any action exists.
DDS and DMD are two names for the same professional degree, so do not treat one as a step down from the other, as the ADA's patient site explains.
General dentist or specialist
The National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards currently recognizes twelve specialties.
| Recognized specialty | In everyday terms |
|---|---|
| Dental anesthesiology | Sedation and anesthesia for dental care, including for patients who cannot be treated awake |
| Dental public health | Prevention and care planned for whole communities. You will rarely book it for your own teeth |
| Endodontics | Root canals and other treatment of the inner part of the tooth |
| Oral and maxillofacial pathology | Diagnosing disease in the mouth and jaws, usually from tissue samples |
| Oral and maxillofacial radiology | Reading dental and jaw images, usually on referral |
| Oral and maxillofacial surgery | Surgery of the mouth and jaws, such as hard extractions and jaw problems |
| Oral medicine | Medical conditions that show up in the mouth, usually on referral |
| Orofacial pain | Long-lasting jaw, face and mouth pain |
| Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics | Moving teeth and guiding jaw growth, with braces or aligners |
| Pediatric dentistry | Dental care for babies, children and teenagers |
| Periodontics | Gum disease and the tissue that holds teeth in place |
| Prosthodontics | Replacing and rebuilding teeth with crowns, bridges and dentures |
A general dentist is allowed to offer many of these treatments, and plenty do it well. What you should be able to get is a straight answer to two questions: is this person a recognized specialist, and if not, how many of these procedures do they do in a normal month. Our own lists draw that line: family dentists and each specialty, such as orthodontists or endodontists, have separate pages. If the website says "specialist" and you cannot find the specialty on the state record, ask the board how it treats that word before you rely on it.
Before a big treatment
- Ask for the license number.A practice should be able to give it to you, and the number lets you search the board's list directly.
- Search the board, not a review site.Use the lookup above. Print or save the page with the date, so you can show it later.
- Match the record to the person who will treat you.In a group practice the name on the door may not be the dentist in the chair.
- Check any specialty claim.Ask which of the twelve recognized specialties it is and where the training was done.
- Get the plan and the price in writing.Our price guide shows what practices publish, and the board cannot tell you whether a fee is fair.
All 50 states and DC
Type to narrow the list. Boards marked "did not open" refused or ignored our attempts on November 13, 2026, both an automatic check and a visit with a browser. They are not linked here, so search for the address or use the ADA's directory.
| State and region | Dental board | License lookup |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Northeast | Connecticut State Dental Commission | On the board site |
| Maine Northeast | Maine Board of Dental Practice | On the board site |
| Massachusetts Northeast | Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry | On the board site |
| New Hampshire Northeast | New Hampshire Board of Dental Examiners (oplc.nh.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| New Jersey Northeast | New Jersey State Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| New York Northeast | New York State Board for Dentistry | On the board site |
| Pennsylvania Northeast | Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Rhode Island Northeast | Rhode Island Board of Examiners in Dentistry (health.ri.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Vermont Northeast | Vermont Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| Illinois Midwest | Illinois Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Indiana Midwest | Indiana State Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Iowa Midwest | Iowa Dental Board (dial.iowa.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Kansas Midwest | Kansas Dental Board (dental.ks.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Michigan Midwest | Michigan Board of Dentistry (michigan.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Minnesota Midwest | Minnesota Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Missouri Midwest | Missouri Dental Board | On the board site |
| Nebraska Midwest | Nebraska Board of Dentistry (dhhs.ne.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| North Dakota Midwest | North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners (nddentalboard.org, did not open) | On the board site |
| Ohio Midwest | Ohio State Dental Board | On the board site |
| South Dakota Midwest | South Dakota State Board of Dentistry (sdboardofdentistry.org, did not open) | On the board site |
| Wisconsin Midwest | Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board | On the board site |
| Alabama South | Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama | On the board site |
| Arkansas South | Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| Delaware South | Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene | On the board site |
| District of Columbia South | The DC Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Florida South | Florida Board of Dentistry | MQA license search |
| Georgia South | Georgia Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Kentucky South | Kentucky Board of Dentistry (dentistry.ky.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Louisiana South | Louisiana State Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Maryland South | Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| Mississippi South | Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| North Carolina South | North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| Oklahoma South | Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| South Carolina South | South Carolina Board of Dentistry (llr.sc.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Tennessee South | Tennessee Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Texas South | Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (tsbde.texas.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Virginia South | Virginia Board of Dentistry | DHP license lookup |
| West Virginia South | West Virginia Board of Dentistry (wvdentalboard.org, did not open) | On the board site |
| Alaska West | Board of Dental Examiners of Alaska (commerce.alaska.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Arizona West | Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners (dentalboard.az.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| California West | Dental Board of California | DCA License Search |
| Colorado West | Colorado Dental Board | On the board site |
| Hawaii West | Hawaii State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| Idaho West | Idaho State Board of Dentistry (dopl.idaho.gov, did not open) | On the board site |
| Montana West | Montana Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Nevada West | Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
| New Mexico West | New Mexico Board of Dental Health Care | On the board site |
| Oregon West | Oregon Board of Dentistry | On the board site |
| Utah West | Utah Dentist and Dental Hygienist Licensing Board (commerce.utah.gov, did not open) | License lookup |
| Washington West | Dental Quality Assurance Commission | Provider credential search |
| Wyoming West | Wyoming Board of Dental Examiners | On the board site |
Where this comes from
The list of boards is the directory the American Dental Association publishes for state dental boards. We opened it on November 13, 2026 and then opened each board address the same day: 35 of the 51 loaded as the board's own page and are linked, the other 16 would not open, even in a browser, and are shown without a link.
Lookup links are only shown for states where we opened the lookup page and saw the state's own search. Everywhere else the board's homepage leads to it. Boards move their pages often, so if a link has gone stale, tell us.
The twelve specialties are taken from the Commission's list. Nothing on this page is medical advice or a recommendation of a dentist.
Sources
- ADA: contact information for state dental boards
- National Commission: recognized dental specialties
- The state boards and lookup pages linked in the table above
- How we choose the practices on our lists