How to get into a pediatric dentistry residency
Care for infants through teens, including children with special needs. At least 24 months. Facts on this page link to the ADA, CODA, ADEA or the program that says them, checked 2026-10-22. Every program sets its own rules, so confirm on each program's page before you apply.
🗺 91 Pediatric Dentistry programs on the map📮 ADEA PASS Program Finder ↗
1 What the specialty does
Pediatric dentists provide preventive and treatment care for children from infancy through the teen years, including children with special health care needs.
Training covers behavior guidance, sedation and treatment under general anesthesia, growth and development, and hospital care.
2 Program length and degrees
CODA's standards require at least 24 months of full-time training. Yale-New Haven Hospital, for example, lists a 24-month certificate program on ADEA PASS.
Programs are based in dental schools and in hospitals. Most award a certificate; some also offer a master's degree.
Our residency map shows 91 CODA-accredited pediatric dentistry programs, from CODA's list as of 2026-09-30.
3 How you apply
Many programs take applications through ADEA PASS, the American Dental Education Association's centralized application for advanced dental education. ADEA says PASS opens the second Wednesday of May and closes the second Friday of February. Each program sets its own deadline inside that window; in the 2026–27 cycle the first program deadline was July 1, 2026.
PASS asks every applicant for an Institution Evaluation Form (the "dean's letter") and three Professional Evaluation Forms, with room for two more optional ones. All of them go to every program you choose.
The ADEA PASS Program Finder lists the programs that take part in PASS. A program that is not listed there takes applications another way, and its own website explains how.
Some programs fill their positions through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (the "Dental Match"), which the ADA describes as the program that matches applicants to postdoctoral programs. Each program's ADEA PASS listing has a "Match Participating" line that says yes or no.
Many pediatric programs take part: Yale-New Haven and Case Western Reserve were marked as Match participating on ADEA PASS. Others, such as Akron Children's Hospital, were not. Check each program.
4 The ADAT for pediatric dentistry
The ADAT (Advanced Dental Admission Test) is the ADA's admission test for advanced programs. The ADA accepts applications to take it from March 1 to August 31. Whether you need it depends entirely on the program.
5 pediatric dentistry programs in our ADAT requirement guide, read on each program's own page in Oct 2026:
- University of Oklahoma – Pediatric Dentistry Residency: recommended
- OHSU – Pediatric Dentistry: optional / accepted
- UCLA – Pediatric Dentistry: optional / accepted
- University of Kentucky – Pediatric Dentistry: optional / accepted
- University of Washington – Advanced Education in Pediatric Dentistry: optional / accepted
The ADA's own Advanced Dental Admissions Test (ADAT) ADAT Programs 2025 (updated 06/26/2025) lists 3 pediatric dentistry programs under “require the ADAT”: University of Kentucky – Pediatric Dentistry; University of Puerto Rico – Pediatric Dentistry; UTHealth Houston – Pediatric Dentistry. Some programs' own pages now say something different, so check the program.
5 A D1–D4 timeline
General guidance; dated items (the ADAT window, ADEA PASS) are from the ADA and ADEA.
D1
- Spend time in your school's specialty clinics and talk with residents and faculty about what the work is like.
- Keep your grades strong from the first semester.
D2
- Narrow to one or two fields and find a faculty mentor in each.
- Start a research or case project you can finish and present.
- Volunteer with children, including children with special health care needs, and log it.
D3
- Make a list of target programs and note what each one asks for: tests, letters, deadlines, and whether it is in the Match.
- If any program wants the ADAT, apply to test early: the ADA takes ADAT applications from March 1 to August 31.
- In the spring, ask three faculty members for Professional Evaluation Forms and let your dean's office know you will need an Institution Evaluation Form.
- Visit or extern at programs that offer it, and draft your personal statement and CV.
Summer before D4
- Submit ADEA PASS as early as you can after it opens in May; some program deadlines fall in early summer.
- If any of your programs take part in the Dental Match, register for it as well.
D4
- Interview through the fall and winter.
- Follow each program's offer process, or submit your Match rank list in the order you truly prefer.
- Finish your board exam and graduation requirements.
6 What makes an application competitive
General guidance, not program rules or statistics. Each program weighs things differently.
- Grades and class standing: strong, steady grades from the first semester help most in the most selective fields. If your school grades pass/fail, programs lean more on the dean's evaluation, faculty letters and interviews.
- Letters: ask faculty who have watched you work in the clinic or the lab, and ask early. A letter from someone in the field you are applying to carries weight.
- Interviews: programs meet you before they rank or offer. Practice answering out loud why this field, why this program, and how you handle a hard case or a mistake.
- Experience with children: programs look for real, sustained work with kids and families, in the clinic and outside it.
- Tests: a few pediatric programs require or consider the ADAT (see the program list below). The ADA says programs use the ADAT in different ways: some combine scores with the rest of your file, and some only use them to break a tie between equally qualified applicants. Check each program's page.
7 How to prepare
Spend extra time in your school's pediatric clinic, and ask to observe cases under sedation or general anesthesia.
- Residency Application Prep course: ADEA PASS, letters, the personal statement, interviews and the Match.
- INBDE Board Prep course: Prepare for the INBDE, the licensure exam many programs list among their tests.
- What's on the ADAT (free outline): Sections, timing and topics from the ADA's candidate guide.
- Full-length ADAT simulations: Timed practice tests (Boards Pro).
- Clinical trainers: Free tooth ID, radiograph, local anesthesia and treatment-planning drills.
- Which residencies require the ADAT: Each program's requirement in its own words.
- Dental Mock Interviews ↗: Practice residency interviews out loud.
8 FAQ
How long is a pediatric dentistry residency?
At least 24 months of full-time training under CODA's standards.
Do pediatric dentistry programs use the Match?
Many do, but not all. Check the "Match Participating" line on each program's ADEA PASS listing.
Can I apply while I am still in dental school?
Yes. The ADA lists third- and fourth-year dental students interested in postgraduate training among the people who should take the ADAT, and ADEA PASS opens in May, so dental students can apply in the summer before their final year. Some programs also take practicing dentists.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-22. Program counts and ADAT lists come from our own data, linked above.
- ADA National Commission: Recognized Dental Specialties
- CODA: Accreditation Standards for Pediatric Dentistry
- ADEA PASS: Applying (cycle dates, fees, evaluations)
- ADEA PASS Program Finder
- ADA: Manage your DENTPIN (ADEA PASS and the Dental Match)
- ADEA PASS listing: Yale-New Haven Hospital, Pediatric Dentistry
- ADEA PASS listing: Case Western Reserve University, Pediatric Dentistry
- ADEA PASS listing: Akron Children's Hospital, Pediatric Dentistry
- ADA: Advanced Dental Admission Test (ADAT)
- ADA: ADAT Programs 2025 (PDF)
Other residency guides
Orthodontics · Oral Surgery · Endodontics · Periodontics · Prosthodontics · Oral Pathology · Oral Radiology · Dental Public Health · Dental Anesthesiology · Oral Medicine · Orofacial Pain · GPR · AEGD