The Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program (DSATP) is a special non-degree, non-certificate program for internationally-trained dental specialists who are not educated in programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) or the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CoDA) in the United States

Our goal is to assess your clinical skills and judgement, and to determine whether clinical skills and judgement gaps, if there are any, can be adequately addressed within the 1 year time-limited period of the program. Because of this constraint, the DSATP is not meant to be a 1 year compressed curricular version of the Faculty’s 2, 3 or 4 year M.Sc./dental specialty programs.  Rather, the DSATP makes the assumption that a candidate has completed a program of study equivalent to an accredited dental specialty program, and that they have gained the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities of a practicing dental specialist in their home country.  During the DSATP, only clinical skills and judgement gaps will be addressed and not didactic content.  Should the Program Director believe at any time that the candidate cannot achieve the required level of clinical skills and judgement equivalent to that of the cohort of senior, final year graduate students in a CDAC or CoDA accredited dental specialty program, the candidate will be dismissed from the DSATP. Should the candidate successfully complete the Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program, the Graduate Department of Dentistry or the Program Director will provide a letter of successful completion of the DSATP to the National Dental Examining Board of Canada informing the Board that the candidate is eligible to apply to write the National Dental Specialty Examination (NDSE).

This is a two-phase program: 

1. An ‘assessment phase’ of up to 3 months.
2. A ‘training phase’ of up to 9 months.

We offer the DSATP for the following specialties, subject to spaces available:

• Dental Public Health 
• Endodontics
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 
• Oral Medicine 
• Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology 
• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (no spaces available for 2024)
• Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
• Paediatric Dentistry (no spaces available for 2024)
• Periodontics (no spaces available for 2024)
• Prosthodontics

DSATP at a glance

Eligibility

To apply for the DSATP, you must:

• Have completed a specialty dental program, not recognized by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) or the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CoDA) in the United States.
• Be a Canadian citizen or have permanent residency status in Canada by the March 31 application deadline. International students are not eligible to apply to this program.
• Provide proof of your English abilities. (see how to apply)

Getting documents to us

By email

admissions@dentistry.utoronto.ca

By mail

Admissions Office
Faculty of Dentistry
124 Edward Street, Room 104
Toronto, ON M5G 1G6

By fax

+1 416 979 4944

How to apply for the DSATP

If you meet the eligibility requirements above, you can apply by following the steps below and providing documents to the Admissions Office by March 31:

1. Complete the paper application form (pdf).
2. Pay the non-refundable application service fee of $300 (CAD) payable to the University of Toronto. You can pay by credit card, bank draft, or money order. We do not accept personal checks or cash. Pay online by credit card on the Student Services Payment page.
3. Proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status (photocopy only).
4. A notarized copy of your dental school degree, and dental school marks, accompanied by a notarized English translation, if applicable.
5. A notarized copy of your dental specialty school degree, and dental specialty school marks, accompanied by a notarized English translation, if applicable.
6. Sit the Dental Specialty Core Knowledge Examination (DSCKE) Examination administered by the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB), and arrange for your results to be forwarded directly to the Admissions Office. Beginning in 2025 we will require applicants write the Advanced Dental Admission Test (ADAT).  
7. One-page statement of interest, including current activities and when you last practiced your specialty.
8. Your Curriculum Vitae/Resume.
9. Two letters of recommendation.
10. If you completed your first degree in a country where English is not the native language, you must provide proof of your English standards by completing an English proficiency test within the last two years before applying. You must request official test scores are sent by the testing agency directly to the Admissions Office using our institution code of 0982.

We recognize the following tests

Interviews 

We will contact you by email and invite you for an interview if you are successful.

If you are not successful, we will also let you know at this time.

How we select applicants and when we will let you know

The decision of the Faculty of Dentistry concerning admission into Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program is final, no appeal mechanism exists.

You will then need to pay a $2,000 (CAD) non-refundable deposit which will be applied to your fees, providing you register for the program.

How much it costs

Fees vary as they are dependent on how long it takes for you to complete the program.

The fees for the entire year for the 2024-2025 session are approximately $82,664 CAD.

Payment schedule:

1. $2000 deposit required to accept the offer of admission. This will be applied to the assessment phase fees.
2. Assessment phase fees (first three months): $44,414 CAD. Payment is required to register.
3. Training phase fees (for 9 months): $38,250 CAD. Payment will be due at end of month 3.

Please ensure that all fees are payable to the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto by certified cheque or bank draft (for both admissions deposits and program fees) are drawn from a Canadian bank. 

Have questions? Contact us

admissions@dentistry.utoronto.ca

+1 416 864 8113