There is no clinical difference between a DDS and a DMD. DDS stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery, and DMD stands for Doctor of Dental Medicine (sometimes listed as Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry). Both degrees represent the same education, the same licensing requirements, and the same scope of practice. The only reason two titles exist is historical, and which one you see on your dentist’s diploma depends entirely on which school they attended.
Why Two Titles Exist
The DDS degree came first and was the standard credential awarded by American dental schools for decades. Harvard changed the trajectory in 1940 when it reorganized its program into the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, deliberately choosing that name to emphasize the biological and medical foundations of oral health. The school placed dental students in joint classes with medical students for two years of basic science and pathophysiology, and it awarded graduates a DMD degree to reflect that medical integration.
Other dental schools eventually adopted the DMD title as well, while many kept the original DDS. Today, roughly half of U.S. dental schools grant a DDS and the other half grant a DMD. The American Dental Association confirms that both degrees use the same curriculum requirements. It is up to each university to decide which title it awards.
Same Education, Same Training
Dental school is a four-year graduate program regardless of whether the diploma reads DDS or DMD. Students at both types of schools take the same core coursework: anatomy, pathology, pharmacology, radiology, and clinical rotations covering restorative dentistry, periodontics, oral surgery, and other disciplines. The ADA sets accreditation standards that every dental school must meet, so the content of the education does not vary based on the degree title.
Prerequisites for admission are also the same. Applicants to both DDS and DMD programs need undergraduate coursework in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics, along with competitive scores on the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Some schools substitute a semester of biochemistry for the second semester of organic chemistry, and many encourage coursework in the arts and social sciences, but none of these variations track with the degree title. They are school-by-school differences.
Licensing and Board Exams
Every dentist in the United States, whether they hold a DDS or DMD, must pass the same national board exam to qualify for licensure. The current version is the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE), which replaced the older two-part exam. After passing the INBDE, graduates also complete a clinical licensing exam administered by a regional testing agency. State dental boards recognize both degrees equally. Ohio’s dental practice act, for example, references “D.D.S., D.M.D.” side by side when describing how dentists must display their credentials.
No state draws a legal distinction between the two titles. A DDS holder and a DMD holder have identical authority to diagnose, treat, prescribe medications, and perform procedures within the full scope of general dentistry.
Specialization Works the Same Way
Dentists who want to specialize in areas like orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, or pediatric dentistry must complete a post-graduate residency program after dental school. These residency programs require applicants to hold a DDS, DMD, or equivalent degree. No specialty favors one title over the other. An orthodontic residency, for instance, evaluates candidates on clinical experience, board scores, and letters of recommendation, not on whether their diploma says Surgery or Medicine.
The same applies internationally. Dentists trained outside the U.S. who hold an equivalent degree can pursue the same specialty pathways, and the DDS/DMD distinction plays no role in that process.
How to Choose a Dental School
Because the degree title carries no practical weight, it should not factor into your decision when selecting a dental school. What actually matters is the school’s accreditation status, clinical training opportunities, location, class size, cost, and match rates into residency programs if you plan to specialize. A school that awards a DMD is not more medically oriented than one that awards a DDS, despite what the name might suggest. The curriculum standards are the same.
If you are a patient choosing a dentist, the letters after their name tell you nothing about the quality of their training. A dentist with a DDS received the same caliber of education as one with a DMD. What differentiates dentists is their clinical experience, any additional specialty training, and their continuing education, not the two or three letters on their office wall.