Almost every step of applying to a US dental programme or exam asks for a DENTPIN. If you are starting out, this is the first thing you need, and it is worth getting right the first time.
What a DENTPIN is
DENTPIN stands for DENTal Personal Identification Number. It is a unique eight-digit number issued by the American Dental Association, and it identifies you across US dental testing, application and education systems.
Its purpose is to keep your Social Security Number, Canadian Social Insurance Number or reference number out of those systems. Instead of handing over a national ID to every exam board and application service, you give them your DENTPIN.
Where you will be asked for it
You need it for the exams, and you need it again for the applications. According to the ADA it is used by testing programmes including the DAT, the ADAT and the ATDH, and by application services including ADEA CAAPID, ADEA PASS, ADEA AADSAS, TMDSAS and ADEA DHCAS.
The INBDE requires one too. The Joint Commission states plainly that to take your examination you will need a DENTPIN.
For an internationally trained dentist that means the same number follows you through the INBDE, through your CAAPID application, and into the programme you eventually join.
Do you already have one?
This is the question to answer before you do anything else. The ADA is explicit: if you have previously taken or applied to take any dental exam, or you are a licensed dentist or dental hygienist in the US, you already have a DENTPIN, and you should not register for another.
If you are testing for the first time, you must register for a DENTPIN before you apply to test.
How to get one
Both registering a new DENTPIN and retrieving an existing one are done in the same place, the ADA’s Manage your DENTPIN portal. Do it before you start any exam or programme application, because you will be asked for the number partway through and you do not want to stop and sort it out then.
If you have forgotten yours
Do not register a new one. Log in to the same ADA portal and use the self-service option to retrieve a forgotten DENTPIN.
Registering a second DENTPIN is the single most common mistake here, and it is a genuine problem rather than a tidy-up job. Your exam records, applications and score reports are tied to the number. Split them across two and you have to get them merged before anything works properly.
Name changes and corrections
If your name has changed, or the details on your record are wrong, correct them through the self-service option to update your personal details. Again, do not register a new DENTPIN to fix it.
This matters more than it sounds. The ADA warns that the information in your DENTPIN record and in your submitted application, your name included, must match your identification documents exactly. If it does not, you can be denied admission to testing and forfeit your testing and application fee.
That is a real risk for internationally trained candidates, where passports, degree certificates and older documents often carry different name orders, initials or spellings. Check all of them against each other before you book anything.
A sensible order to do this in
Retrieve or register your DENTPIN first. Then check that the name and details on it match your passport exactly. Then apply for your exam. Then start your application. Sorting the identity paperwork out at the start costs an hour and saves a cancelled exam.
Where this fits for international dentists
The DENTPIN is step zero. Once you have it, the sequence is the INBDE, then your CAAPID application, then bench tests and interviews. Our CAAPID roadmap sets out how those stages fit together, and if you are still deciding whether the US route is for you, start with moving from BDS or MDS to a DDS or DMD.
For the exam itself, see INBDE eligibility requirements and INBDE examination information.
Registration rules and portals are set by the ADA and can change. Always confirm the current process on the ADA website before you act.