Dentist in Canada: your Express Entry path, step by step

Your way into the Express Entry pool

Every invitation needs a profile in the Express Entry pool. Dentists usually qualify through:

• Federal Skilled Worker. Experience must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job; dentistry is TEER 1.
• Canadian Experience Class. For skilled work experience already gained in Canada.

The healthcare draws

These draws rank only people with recent experience in one of the 37 listed health and social services jobs. The panel above shows the latest one and its cut-off. You need at least 12 months of full-time work (or the same part-time) as a dentist within the last 3 years. The months do not have to be in a row, and the work must match the NOC description of the job.

Getting licensed: the NDEB

A licence from the provincial or territorial regulator is required, and Job Bank says the first step for dentists trained abroad is to contact the NDEB, which sets the national standard. Graduates of dental programs not accredited in Canada have three routes: the NDEB Equivalency Process, an accredited qualifying or degree completion program at a Canadian dental faculty, or a BTDPC program.

• The Equivalency Process: application and credential verification first, then three exams in order: the AFK, the ACJ and the NDECC, which is the final step. There is no residency requirement for the exams.
• Certification: the Virtual OSCE then leads to NDEB certification, which licensure requires.
• Changes: a new exam registration process applies from 1 September 2026, and from May 2027 candidates who have not passed both NDECC components within five years stop being Equivalency Process candidates.

What dentists earn

Job Bank shows dentists' pay as an annual figure rather than an hourly wage, because many are self-employed; see the Job Bank page in the sources for the numbers.