BECOME CERTIFIED
Application Process
APPLICATION WILL BE AVAILABLE OCTOBER 15, 2021!
Interested candidates may apply once a year by downloading the application on the AVDT website from October 15, 2021 with a due date of November 30, 2021.
The Applicant must be a currently credentialed veterinary technician/nurse and in good standing in their state. The applicant 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. 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.
Prior to submitting an application packet, 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 these hours in the practice of veterinary dentistry within two years prior to applying. Candidates must have access and the ability to take intraoral dental x-rays 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 advanced dental procedures to fulfill the requirements.
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. Applicants are required to provide the mentor with an outline detailing how they intend to accomplish the training program. The mentor must then approve this outline. Once the training methods are agreed upon, the applicant must sign and submit the proposal to the AVDT Board of Directors for further approval. If an applicant needs help finding a mentor, they should contact our Secretary at avdtsecretary@gmail.com.
Once the application is accepted, the applicant 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 all the current information required for the credentials packet to be submitted for review. The Credentials Chair will communicate with tracking veterinary technicians and their mentors throughout the process and can be contacted with any questions. The credentialing process takes approximately 2 years. Please see Credentialing Process tab for more detailed information on the credentialing portion.
After the credentials packet is accepted, the applicant is then known as a candidate and will be eligible to sit for the exam, which is held yearly. The exam is a two-part exam that will evaluate all aspects of being a VTS (Dentistry). Please see The Exam tab for more detailed information on the exam portion.
Once the candidate has successfully passed both parts of the exam, they will be granted the VTS (Dentistry) designation. 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 wishes you the Best of Success!