A Guide to the Top Dental Schools in Canada

Canada has lots of exciting career opportunities for internationally-trained dentists. Between 2022 and 2031, the federal government projects that there will be 13,500 new job openings for dentists across the country. However, with only 10,500 Canadian job seekers available to fill these roles, Canada urgently needs the skills and experience that internationally-trained dentists have to offer.  

It's a great time to start a dentistry career in Canada. In this blog, we’ll discuss the top dental schools across the country, the average salary dentists in Canada earn and some tips for navigating the licensing process as an internationally-trained dentist. 

There’s a total of 10 dental schools dotted around the country. Each one has unique academic and non-academic requirements, tuition fees, curriculum and unique history. All of them offer accredited qualifying and degree completion programs designed to help internationally-trained dentists become more familiar with dentistry and dental practice overall in Canada. The 10 dental schools in Canada are: 

• University of Alberta 
• University of British Columbia 
• University of Manitoba 
• Dalhousie University 
• University of Toronto 
• Western University 
• McGill University 
• Université de Montréal 
• Université Laval 
• University of Saskatchewan 

It’s worth noting that some of these dental school offer a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree while others offer a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree (DMD). There is no difference between both degrees, both are recognized and accepted by The Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC). Further information about the 10 dental school is available here. 

What is the average salary that a dentist earns in Canada? 

Dentists in Canada typically earn between $150,000 and $300,000 per year – the amount varies from province to province. For example, a dentist in Ontario has an average salary of $169,210 while a dentist in Alberta earns $171,986 per annum. Salaries are even higher in Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Prince Edward Island. A dentist in Alberta has an average salary of $192,293, a dentist in the Northwest Territories makes $280,392 while a dentist working on Prince Edward Island earns $270,069 per year. Learn more about a dentist’s salary by province here. 

How to get licensed as an internationally-trained dentist in Canada? 

The other path to working as a dentist in Canada is to pass the NDEB Equivalency process. This process involves taking 3 exams – The Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK), Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ) and the National Dental Examination of Clinical Competency (NDECC). Once you’ve passed these exams, you then move on to the NDEB Certification process. Once the certification process has been successfully completed, you can then apply to any provincial regulatory authority to get your license. This license will allow you to work as a dentist in Canada. 

The process of getting licensed as a dentist in Canada is expensive, time-consuming and stressful. At Windmill, we’re passionate about helping internationally-trained dentists return to their professions. Our low-interest microloans can be put towards licensing exams, training, course equipment and even a living allowance during your period of study.  

Find out more about our microloans here. 

Read our blog to get expert tips on managing the Canadian licensing process as an internationally-trained dentist.