BECOME CERTIFIED
Interested candidates may apply once a year starting October 15.
The application is due November 30.
The Applicant must be a currently credentialed veterinary technician/nurse and in good standing in their state and must provide proof that they are legally credentialed to practice in their state or province. A photocopy of your current license that hasn't expired will need to be submitted with your application packet. Graduation from an accredited veterinary technology program is considered according to the requirements of the credentialing state.
In addition to credentialing in the state in which they practice, the potential applicant must meet training requirements as specified: 3 years work experience with a minimum of 6000 hours in the field of veterinary medicine as a credentialed veterinary technician with 2000 of those hours in the practice of veterinary dentistry within the two years prior to applying. Candidates must have access to and the ability to take intraoral dental radiographs at a location where they acquire their submitted case logs and reports. Upon acceptance into the two-year AVDT mentorship program, the applicant must commit to a minimum of 4000 hours practicing veterinary technology with 3000 of these hours spent in veterinary dentistry. The applicant does not have to work for a veterinary dental specialist to be able to earn their VTS (Dentistry) designation, but they do need to obtain access to all advanced dental procedures to fulfill the requirements.
The applicant must be of high ethical and professional standing (AVDT By-laws, Article III, Section II: Active Members). It is required that each applicant be a member in good standing with NAVTA (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America). The application will ask for your NAVTA membership number. The applicant must be a subscriber to the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry. This organization is the approved organization of the AVDT and holds an Annual Veterinary Dental Forum where the applicant will have access to most of the CE required for credentialing.
All applicants must establish a VTS (Dentistry) mentor. Mentors can be anyone that has become credentialed as a VTS (Dentistry) by the AVDT. A list of available mentors will be provided to you in the current year application packet; as this list changes annually. No other list will be provided prior to the application packet. No other veterinarians, veterinary technicians, or people in human dentistry are eligible to serve as an AVDT mentor. If an applicant needs help finding a mentor, they should contact our Secretary at avdtsecretary@gmail.com.
As part of the application packet, applicants are required to provide their mentor with an outline detailing how they intend to accomplish the training program. The outline will include an intended schedule for study, CE, case reports, and other requirements. This important step ensures you understand the requirements, that applicant is actively planning to be successful, and shows organization and critical thinking. The mentor must approve this outline before submission. Once the outline and training plans are agreed upon, the applicant must sign and submit the entire packet to the AVDT Board of Directors for further approval.
Once the application is accepted, the applicant (now referred to as a mentee) will receive a credentials packet with information on the required case logs, case reports, CE requirements, and all other necessary requirements. Notice of acceptance will be issued within 30 days. The packet will also contain the current information required for the credentials packet to be submitted for review. The Credentials Chair will communicate with tracking mentee and their mentors throughout the process and can be contacted with any questions. The credentialing process takes 2 years. Please see the Credentialing Process tab for more detailed information on the credentialing portion.
After the credentials packet is accepted, the applicant is then referred to as a candidate and will be eligible to sit for the written exam. After passing the written exam, the candidate will be eligible to sit for the practical exam which is held annually at the Veterinary Dental Forum. The Credentialing exam will evaluate all aspects of veterinary dentistry. Please see the Exam tab on our website for more detailed information on the exam process.
Once the candidate has successfully passed both portions of the exam, they will be granted the VTS (Dentistry) designation as a member of the AVDT. New career opportunities may be available such as teaching clinical skills, local and/or national lecturing and possibly publishing. Earning your VTS (Dentistry) is challenging but attainable for the Veterinary Technician who commits the time, energy, financial investment, planning, and resources to the process.
The AVDT looks forward to your successful completion and expertise in dentistry!
Previous credentials packets (with a list of requirements and policies can be found here. Most questions can be answered by reading previous packets!
Accepted applicants will receive the most up to date packet with acceptance notification.