This post will give you the basic information on working in New Zealand as a dentist if you have got a dental degree outside New Zealand. This article is helpful for those students who are planning to settle abroad as a Dentist.

At the end of the article, all the relevant official links have been provided in a sequential stepwise manner. So after reading the article, check the last slide carefully to check all the steps that you will need to fulfill.

(This post was last updated on 28th March 2017)

Please note that this article just gives the basic information on the process. The information has been collected from the experiences of past candidates and also from the internet sources & official websites. Always refer the official sites for the final procedures.

This information is just to help the dentists better understand the process.Never pay any 3rd party any money claiming to make the procedure easy. Always follow the official steps for your safety.

PRACTISING DENTISTRY IN NEW ZEALAND

AFTER DENTAL DEGREE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

Why is New Zealand a Country of Great Opportunity for Dentists?

New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of 2 main islands,

both marked by volcanoes and glaciation. Capital Wellington, on the North Island, is home to Te Papa Tongarewa, the expansive national museum.Wellington’s dramatic Mt. Victoria and the South Island’s Fiordland and Southern Lakes stood in for mythical Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” films.

It’s a developed country, with great people, good social structure & stable economy.

So forget that only USA, Australia, UK or Canada are the only abroad countries with good scope for Dentists.

New Zealand also has ample opportunities and it’s relatively easier for an abroad dentist to work.

So read the article and explore your chances as a Dentist in New Zealand.

We previously covered many vital points and procedures that are required for the process of migrating to foreign countries and working there as a dentist.
Most of the dentists are interested in migrating to 3 major countries USA, Australia & UK. The reason being dentistry is one of the highest paying jobs abroad. Dentists are the major earners in those societies and the highest tax payers.
But mind you, migrating completely from one place to another and particularly shifting base as a dentist to a western or a European country is not easy.
There are many hurdles like cultural differences, language & slang variations, extremely strict consumer rules and exams for medical and dental professionals (especially for those who have a dental degree from overseas).
Finance is also one of the big hurdles. Also the luck of knowing a person in the country who can help you in all those initial days of struggle is a great help.
But if all the above-said things are in order then you are all set to move abroad.

In this post, we will have an overview as to how can a person apply for dentistry in New Zealand.

(This post is for those who have received their professional dental degree outside New Zealand)

A foreign Dental Degree is not valid directly in New Zealand. So in order to register with the dental council of New Zealand, one needs to clear their qualifying exam. The exam is called

New Zealand Dentist Registration Examination (NZDREX)

We have broken the article into separate slides. At the end of each slide press the next button to go to the next slide. This is done to make the article easy to understand

To apply to register as an oral health practitioner in New Zealand you must be fit for registration. To apply to register as an oral health practitioner under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, a candidate must meet these criteria:

You must have a prescribed qualification.
If you don’t have a prescribed qualification, you must have a qualification that’s assessed as being equivalent to, or as satisfactory as, a prescribed qualification for your scope of practice
You must be competent to practice within that scope of practice.

Please note the points 1 & 2 as they are very relevant to the information.

You can apply for registration as a dentist or a dental specialist in New Zealand if you have a

“Prescribed Qualification”

A prescribed qualification is one that has been through a formal accreditation process to verify that it is of an appropriate quality and standard, either by us, the Dental Council, or another jurisdiction whose accreditation processes are recognized by us. Prescribed qualifications are gazetted against the relevant scope of practice.

There are 2 types of Prescribed Qualification

Prescribed qualifications for General Dentists

Prescribed qualifications for Dental Specialists

(What Does this mean: It means that if you have an abroad or within New Zealand dental degree but from the set of colleges decided by the New Zealand Dental Council, then your dental degree is considered as Prescribed Qualification)

(The New Zealand Dental Council has prescribed the following qualifications for the general dental scope of practice)

New Zealand

Bachelor of Dental Surgery, University of Otago
Bachelor of Dental Surgery with Honours, University of Otago
a 5-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the New Zealand Dental Registration Examinations.

Australia

an Australian Dental Council (ADC) accredited undergraduate dental degree from an ADC accredited dental school in Australia
a 5-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the ADC licensing examinations

General Dental Council (GDC) accredited dental schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries

A GDC accredited undergraduate dental degree from a GDC accredited dental school in the UK, or Commonwealth, as listed below:

Dental School	Dates of recognition
Western Cape	before 1 January 1998
Hong Kong	before 1 January 2001
Singapore	before 1 January 2001
Witwatersrand	before 1 January 2001
Pretoria	before 1 January 2001
Stellenbosch	before 1 January 2001
Medical University of South Africa	between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2000
Malaysia	between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2000

USA or Canada

a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA) accredited undergraduate dental degree from a CDA-accredited dental school in the USA or Canada
a five-year undergraduate dental degree and a pass in the USA licensing examinationsI

If you are a dentist with a degree from the countries mentioned above, then you fall under the category of ” Prescribed Qualification “

In that case, you will need to follow the rules applicable to overseas dentists with a prescribed degree. For this visit this official link that states the steps for registering as a dentist in New Zealand for dentists with prescribed qualifications. See this link.

If you are a dentist whose dental degree is not from the countries mentioned above then you will fall under the ” Not Prescribed Qualification “

So, What should you do if you dental degree falls under

“Not Prescribed Category”

See Next Slide For the Info

If your qualification is not prescribed,

then you have two choices

If your qualification is not prescribed, you can either:

sit an examination
apply to have your overseas, non-prescribed qualifications, training and experience assessed.

You can sit an examination (NZDREX)

If you want to register as a dentist, and you do not have a prescribed qualification, you can sit the New Zealand Dentist Registration Examination.
The examination consists of two parts, written and clinical. You must pass the written examination before you can sit the clinical examination.
The Exam is The New Zealand Dentist Registration Examination

(Please note that that are Two Different Types of Qualifying Examination)

One to qualify to work as a General Dentist
One to qualify and work as a Dentist in a Particular Speciality/Dental Specialist.

We will see each one separately. Also, see the see flow chart and the end of this slide.

How to Qualify to Work As a “General Dentist”

in New Zealand

If you want to register as a general dentist, and you do not have a prescribed qualification, you can undertake the New Zealand Dentist Registration Examination (NZDREX). This is done through the National Dental Examining Board of Canada.

Latest Modification:

In 2015, the Council outsourced its NZDREX assessments to the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB). NDEB is the official dental body of Canada. So, NZDREX candidates now have to pass the NDEB equivalency process.

This essentially means that the New Zealand Dentist Registration Examination now follows the exam and registration procedures followed by the Canadian dental board. The NDEB qualifying has 3 steps:

an assessment of your fundamental knowledge (AFK)

an assessment of your clinical judgment (ACJ)

an assessment of your clinical skills (ACS).

We have previously discussed all the steps involved in NDEB exams. You can see all the steps for qualifying NDEB Exams with all the official links here.

NDEB EXAMS IN CANADA

Of all the foreign destinations that a Dental Graduate can look forward to settle as a Dentist, CANADA is perhaps the most popular one right now . The reason for this can be many but the 3 main reasons are : The well balanced & developed society of Canada .

For this, you do not need to consult with New Zealand dental council. For the NDEB exams, you will need to directly contact the Canadian Board. Just follow the process required to qualify the NDEB exams successfully.

Once you complete the NDEB exams and qualify it successfully, you will automatically qualify the NZDREX equivalency process.

But please understand that Qualifying NDEB (Which means you are also qualified for NZDREX equivalency) does not mean that you are now registered to work as a General Dentist in New Zealand.

The next step is to meet the fitness requirements & English language requirements as per the New Zealand Dental Council.

Only when you successfully complete the fitness & language requirements (along with NZDREX equivalency via NDEB), then only you will be officially allowed to practice in New Zealand as a general dentist.

Check out the sequence of actions that you need to follow for registering in New Zealand as a General Dentist

(The flow chart also provides the steps in a sequential manner with the official links)

Suppose you already have a Specialist Degree in One of the Dental Streams, then what are the steps needed to practice as a dental specialist in New Zealand?

See the next slide for all the details

Suppose you already have a Specialist Degree in One of the Dental Streams, then what are the steps needed to practice as a dental specialist in New Zealand?

The dental specialist degree that you have is also divided in to

Prescribed Qualification & Not Prescribed Qualification

Your next steps for getting the registration as a dental specialist in New Zealand will depend on the nature of your qualification.

See the flow chart below to know the sequence of steps to practice as a dental specialist in New Zealand.

See Next Slide to Know

The Documents you will require in the process to get registered

As mentioned in the previous slides, other than passing the qualifying exams, you also have the option to apply for the verification of your overseas documentation.

If you do not have an overseas prescribed qualification, but believe your qualifications, training, and experience are equivalent to a prescribed qualification for your scope of practice, you can apply for individual assessment. This is applicable for both General Dentist & Dental Specialist.

So, what are the documents that you are supposed to submit during your applying process?

You need to submit information on your qualifications and training, and on your experience since graduating. You will also need to provide evidence of continuing professional development.
Other information required relates to your fitness to register, such as good character, health and ability to communicate effectively in English. The information includes certificates of good standing and referee reports.
you must provide an original typed and signed laboratory report with Hepatitis C and HIV serological status; and evidence of Hepatitis B immunity or HBV serological status. (within last 3 months)

You need to provide details of the primary dental qualification upon which you are basing your application. Attach certified copies of:

the diploma or degree certificate and internship certificate, where applicable.
academic transcript/statement of marks/record of study
course content/prescription/syllabus material o the full curriculum leading to the award of the qualification (current at the time of the award) o details of the minimum duration of training (whole time equivalent) leading to the award of this qualification
details of the mode(s) of assessment for this qualification, e.g. examination and clinical assessment.
If the documentation is not in English, you must provide a full translation. The translation must be prepared and certified by an official translation service.

Please provide details of the post-graduate dental qualifications upon which you are basing your application, and attach certified copies of:

the diploma or degree certificate
evidence of registration status of the qualification
academic transcript/statement of marks/record of study
course content/prescription/syllabus material
details of entry criteria for the specialist qualification
the full curriculum leading to the award of the qualification (current at the time of the award)
details of the minimum duration of training (whole time equivalent) leading to the award of the specialist qualification
details of where the training for the specialist qualification took place, e.g. hospital, community setting
details of the supervision of the training including names and qualifications of supervisors
details of the mode(s) of assessment for the specialist qualification, e.g. examination and clinical assessment
details of research activity, including time committed to research and research outcome.

Check the complete details that you need to provide at this official link: Eligibility Documents

Exam Fess

The New Zealand Dental Registration Exam carry a certain amount of fees that covers all the necessary aspect of the exams. For many dentists from South Asia trying to register as a dentist in New Zealand, it is a rather costly affair.

So, be very clear that it might not be economically feasible for you to give multiple attempts at the exams. Hence, you must prepare well for the exams and then give a sincere attempt. You cannot give the exams just to have a feel of the procedures. Your approach should be to qualify the exam in one shot.

Fees for the New Zealand Dentist Registration Exam (NZDREX)

To register as a General Dentist

As mentioned earlier the NZDREX for registering as a general dentist in New Zealand has been outsourced to NDEB Canada. So, you will need to pay the fees that are applicable for the NDEB exams to the Canadian Dental Board.

All fees must be paid by credit card at the time of application and/or registration. Below is the short table of the fees you can expect. For the latest details see this official page on Fees for the NDEB Exams.

Application Fees
Application One-time fee, non-refundable	$950.00
Assessment Fees
Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK)	$800.00
Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ)	$1500.00
Assessment of Clinical Skills (ACS)	$6000.00

Fees for the New Zealand Dental Specialist Registration Exam (NZDREX)

To register as a Dental Specialist

	(fee applicable before 31 March 2017)	(fee applicable after 1 April 2017)
New Zealand Dental Specialist Registration Examination	$20,606.57	$21,018.70

See this official link for the fees of various dental professional registration exams in New Zealand.

That concludes the basic steps which are required for registering as a dentist/dental professional in New Zealand.

We request you to go through the article carefully.

Please go through the flow charts and understand all the steps.

Where ever required official links have been provided for your benefit in a sequential manner.

Very Important Points for you to keep a check

The most important step when planning to settle as a dental professional in an abroad country is to follow the rules exactly and accurately.
So, for your benefit, follow the official links and keep checking for any changes.
Also, do not pay any third party money who claim that they can help you in getting registered as a dentist. Verify that the company has a good review.
If you have any doubts then, check again with the official links. Treat the official links as the most accurate and updated point of references.
All the information provided in this has been taken from official websites / past dentists who has experience in this regard.
The information gathered has been arranged in a sequential manner with flow charts to help you better understand the steps.

Here are the official websites that you must always verify before proceeding further.

Official New Zealand Dental Council Website

Dentists and dental specialists ” Dental Council New Zealand

A prescribed qualification is one that has been through a formal accreditation process to verify that it is of an appropriate quality and standard, either by us, the Dental Council, or another jurisdiction whose accreditation processes are recognised by us. Prescribed qualifications are gazetted against the relevant scope of practice.

Canadian Dental Council Official Website

Graduates of Non-Accredited Dental Programs | The National Dental Examining Board of Canada

Accredited Qualifying and Degree Completion Programs are offered by Faculties of Dentistry in Canada. These programs are designed to familiarize international graduates to dentistry and dental practice in Canada. Upon successful completion of a Qualifying or Degree Completion Program individuals are eligible to participate in the NDEB Certification Process.

10 steps to get registered as a dentist/dental professional in Canada

TEN STEPS TO WORK AS A DENTIST IN CANADA

Of all the foreign destinations that a Dental Graduate can look forward to settle as a Dentist, CANADA is perhaps the most popular one right now . The reason for this can be many but the 3 main reasons are : The well balanced & developed society of Canada .

Disclaimer: This article just gives you the basic initial information written by previous students who have tried to practice dentistry in New Zealand. The regulations are subjected to change at the discretion of New Zealand Dental Council. So you are requested to visit the official site of New Zealand Dental Council for the latest updates and developments. Confirm with the official sources & sites before proceeding. Visit the Official Site here – http://www.dcnz.org.nz

Career Info for Dentists