US Dental Schools That Accept Canadian Applicants and How to Apply Through AADSAS

How AADSAS Works

The large majority of accredited US dental schools take applications through ADEA AADSAS , the American Dental Education Association's centralized application service. You submit one application, including transcripts, your personal statement, and your DAT score, and AADSAS distributes it to every school you select, similar in structure to AMCAS on the medical side. Individual schools can still request supplemental materials or fees after you submit through AADSAS, so check each program's own admissions page once you apply.

AADSAS also asks you to enter your coursework subject by subject, matched to its own course classification system, in the same style as AMCAS. Build in time for this step, since an inaccurate course entry can delay verification and push your file behind applicants who submitted a clean one.

The DAT Split You Need to Know

Canada and the United States run separate dental admission tests. Canadian dental schools require the Canadian DAT, administered by the Canadian Dental Association, while US dental schools require the American DAT, administered through the American Dental Association . The two exams are not interchangeable for admissions purposes at most schools, so if you are applying to both countries, plan to write both tests rather than assuming one score transfers across the border.

Which Schools Take Canadian Applicants

Policy on non-resident and international applicants, including Canadians, differs school by school and changes over time, so treat any list as a starting point, not a guarantee. Some private US dental schools have a longer track record of admitting Canadian and other international applicants than others, often because they set aside a defined number of seats each year for out-of-country students. Public dental schools tend to prioritize in-state applicants heavily, similar to the pattern at public medical schools, which usually leaves fewer openings for a Canadian applicant.

Confirm current-year international and Canadian applicant policy directly on each school's admissions page, or by contacting the admissions office, before you commit application fees to that school. Policy on file for the 2025-26 cycle can change by the next cycle.

Cost Compared With Canadian Dental School

US dental school, particularly at private institutions, typically costs substantially more per year than Canadian dental school tuition, and that gap widens further once you add non-resident or international fee rates where they apply. Canadian dental school tuition also varies a lot by province, so the actual gap between your Canadian options and a specific US school depends on both sides of the comparison. Pull current tuition figures directly from each school you are considering rather than relying on a rule of thumb, since the numbers move every year and differ widely school to school.

Coming Back to Practise in Canada

Graduating from a US dental school does not automatically give you the right to practise in Canada. Canada's dental accrediting body recognizes Canadian and some US dental programs differently depending on their own accreditation status, and graduates of programs outside that direct recognition path typically go through the National Dental Examining Board of Canada's equivalency process before they can register with a provincial dental regulator. Check the accreditation status of any US school you are considering, and confirm the current equivalency pathway directly with the National Dental Examining Board of Canada before you commit, since this affects your ability to practise at home after you graduate.

Application Timeline

AADSAS typically opens for a new cycle in the summer before your intended enrollment year, and many US dental schools review applications on a rolling basis, meaning earlier submissions get reviewed and offered seats before the pool fills. Because non-resident and international seats are limited to begin with, applying early in the cycle matters more for a Canadian applicant than it does for an in-state applicant with a much larger reserved pool.

Planning Your Application

• Register for the American DAT separately from any Canadian DAT sitting, since US schools want the ADA-administered exam.

• Build your school list around confirmed current-year international and Canadian applicant policy, not reputation alone.

• Request a full cost of attendance, not just the tuition line, from every school before you compare options.

• Apply early inside the AADSAS cycle, since many US dental schools review on a rolling basis and fill non-resident seats first.