Glossary
The vocabulary of the pathway
Every acronym you’ll meet between BDS and DDS, in plain English.
- Advanced Standing Program
- A US dental program for graduates of foreign dental schools that admits them partway into the DDS/DMD curriculum, usually lasting two to three years. Also called an International Dentist Program (IDP). Read more
- BDS
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery, the primary dental degree in India, the UK and many other countries. The rough equivalent of a US DDS/DMD, but not sufficient on its own for US licensure.
- Bench test
- A practical (hands-on) exam some programs use during interviews to assess an applicant’s manual dexterity, such as cavity preparations or wax-ups on typodonts, often under time limits. Read more
- CAAPID
- Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists, the application service run by ADEA (the American Dental Education Association) that most US Advanced Standing programs use. Read more
- DDS / DMD
- Doctor of Dental Surgery / Doctor of Dental Medicine. Equivalent US dental doctorates; which one a graduate receives depends on the school. Read more
- ECE
- Educational Credential Evaluators, a credential evaluation service. Programs often require a course-by-course evaluation of a foreign dental transcript from ECE or a similar service.
- IDP
- International Dentist (or Dental) Program / Pathway. A common name for an Advanced Standing program for foreign-trained dentists. Read more
- INBDE
- Integrated National Board Dental Examination, the US national board exam for dentists. It replaced the NBDE Part I and Part II. Many Advanced Standing programs require a passing result.
- LOR / evaluation
- Letter of recommendation. In CAAPID, evaluators submit letters directly; extra letters can sometimes be uploaded as additional documents. Read more
- MMI
- Multiple Mini Interview: a format of several short, timed interview stations, often scenario-based, instead of one long interview. Read more
- Residency
- Post-doctoral specialty training in the US (for example orthodontics or prosthodontics). Some residencies award an MS degree as well.
- SOP / personal statement
- Statement of purpose. In CAAPID, a general personal statement is separate from any school-specific statements. Read more
- TOEFL
- Test of English as a Foreign Language. Most programs set a minimum TOEFL score for applicants whose dental education was not in English.