TL;DR: Dentistry in the Philippines is a six-year Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) programme governed by CHED Memorandum Order No. 3, series of 2018. It runs as six levels — general education, then basic medical and dental sciences and pre-clinical work, then two years of clinical training — with four semesters on clinical dentistry and three on dental public health. Yes, there is a PRC board exam. Republic Act No. 9484, the Philippine Dental Act of 2007, requires it, and Section 16 makes it explicitly written and practical, with a 75% general weighted average and no rating below 50%.
Dentistry is one of the Philippine programmes where the qualification name confuses people. There is no "BS Dentistry." The degree is a Doctor of Dental Medicine, it takes six years, and the last two of those are spent in a dental school clinic treating patients rather than in lecture halls.
This guide covers what the CHED order actually prescribes for the programme and states plainly what the licence requires. The exam mechanics themselves — filing, fees, coverage, schedule — are covered in a separate guide, linked further down.
What Governs the DMD Programme
The programme runs under CHED Memorandum Order No. 3, series of 2018, "Policies and Standards and Guidelines for the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) Program," adopted by virtue of Commission en Banc Resolution No. 576-2017 dated 1 August 2017.
CMO 3 defines the degree name as Doctor of Dental Medicine and describes it as "a six-year program consisting of basic science, clinical science and dental public health courses." Its stated aim is graduates prepared for the general practice of the profession — "scientifically knowledgeable, technically-capable and socially-sensitive in the maintenance of health," advancing oral health as an integral part of general health rather than as a standalone service.
How the Six Years Are Structured
CMO 3 lays out the programme as six levels, Dentistry I through Dentistry VI:
| Stage | What it covers |
|---|---|
| First year | General education |
| Second to fourth year | Basic medical and dental sciences, then pre-clinical subjects |
| Fifth and sixth year | Clinical training |
Within that, the order sets specific requirements:
- Full-time study of at least six years, with four semesters on clinical dentistry and three semesters on dental public health.
- Clinical training is undertaken in the dental school clinic; dental public health is carried out in a community the school identifies for field training.
- The curriculum must conform with World Health Organization standards on the multi-professional patient safety curriculum.
CMO 3 also names content that must be integrated across all dental courses regardless of how a school designs its curriculum: ethics and jurisprudence, professionalism, patient safety and quality assurance, consultation skills and physical diagnosis, andragogy, leadership and management, and interprofessional education.
Two design instructions in the order are worth reading if you are comparing schools. First, clinical science courses may be introduced during the basic science years, and early exposure of dental students to patient care and the healthcare delivery system is required — so a programme that keeps students away from patients until year five is not following the spirit of the order. Second, each dental school must have a committee or unit that develops, implements, monitors and evaluates the curriculum regularly, with alumni and student representatives assisting in the evaluation.
The order deliberately leaves the exact programme of study to each school, depending on its curriculum model and institutional typology. So the subject list will differ between dental schools; the six-year length, the clinical and public health semester counts, and the integrated content will not.
The Clinic Years Are the Programme
For most DMD students the fifth and sixth years dominate everything. Four semesters of clinical dentistry means treating real patients in the school clinic under supervision, usually against case and procedure requirements the school sets — a fixed number of restorations, extractions, prosthetic cases and so on.
This has two practical consequences worth knowing before you enrol.
Patient flow matters. A dental school clinic that does not attract enough patients makes it hard for students to complete case requirements on schedule. When you visit a school, ask how its clinic recruits patients and whether students routinely finish requirements within the two clinical years.
The public health semesters are field work. Three semesters of dental public health are carried out in a community the school identifies, not in the clinic. Ask where those communities are and how travel and logistics are handled.
Is There a Board Exam? Yes
The Dentist Licensure Examination is administered by the Professional Regulatory Board of Dentistry under the PRC. CHED's own curriculum order says it directly: graduates of the DMD programme "can pursue a general dental practice after passing the Dentist Licensure Examination."
The governing statute is Republic Act No. 9484, the Philippine Dental Act of 2007, approved 2 June 2007. It created the Professional Regulatory Board of Dentistry, composed of a chairman and four members, under the administrative control of the PRC.
Who can sit it. Section 14(a) requires that an applicant for the dentists' examination:
- be a Filipino citizen, or a foreigner whose country permits Filipino dentists to practise on the same basis as its own citizens;
- not have been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude;
- be a graduate of a recognised and legally constituted university, college, school or institute with a degree of doctor of dental medicine or its equivalent; and
- have completed the refresher course required after failing three consecutive licensure examinations.
What it covers. Section 15(a) lists the subjects for dentists: general anatomy, oral anatomy, general and microscopic anatomy and embryology, general and oral physiology, general and oral pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, nutrition, dental materials, restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, orthodontics, pedodontics, paediatric dentistry, anaesthesiology, oral diagnosis and treatment planning, endodontics, periodontics, roentgenology, oral surgery, dental jurisprudence and ethics, community dentistry, and practice management. The Board may recluster, rearrange, modify, add or exclude subjects as the need arises.
Written and practical. Section 16 states that the licensure examination "shall consist of both written and practical tests." That is unusual — most Philippine health licensure exams are written only — and it is the reason clinical case requirements in dental school matter beyond graduation.
What passing takes. A general weighted average of at least 75%, with no rating below 50% in any subject.
For the current schedule, fees and application steps, use our dentistry board exam guide and confirm against prc.gov.ph, since PRC revises those each cycle.
The two other registrations under the same law
RA 9484 does not regulate dentists only. It also covers dental hygienists and dental technologists, each with its own licensure examination, its own subject list and its own qualifications. For both, the law requires a two-year certificate conferred by a recognised college or school of dentistry registered with TESDA — and for dental technologists, at least six months of on-the-job training in a registered or accredited dental laboratory.
If you are considering a shorter route into dental work, that is the legal distinction to understand: these are separate registrations with separate scopes, not stepping stones that convert into a dentist's licence.
Choosing a Dental School
- Check CHED recognition first. RA 9484 ties exam eligibility to a degree from a recognised and legally constituted institution, so this is a licensure question rather than a prestige one. Our dentistry schools guide and the general CHED-accredited schools guide cover how to verify.
- Ask about clinic patient flow and case completion, as above.
- Ask when patient exposure starts. CMO 3 requires early exposure to patient care.
- Ask for board performance across several cycles, not the best single year.
- International applicants: RA 9484 admits foreign applicants only on a reciprocity basis, which is a country-by-country question. Our guide on dentistry in the Philippines for foreign students covers the admission side.
There are no tuition figures in this guide, on purpose. Dental school costs vary enormously by institution and include instrument kits, laboratory fees and clinic charges on top of tuition, all of which schools set and revise themselves. Ask the specific school for the current published breakdown.
For a wider view of which programmes end in a licence, see courses with board exams. If you are still in senior high school and weighing health courses, the strand for medicine guide covers the usual preparation.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 3, series of 2018 — Policies and Standards and Guidelines for the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) Program — Commission on Higher Education (six-year structure, six levels, clinical and public health semesters, integrated content, early patient exposure requirement, practice settings)
- 2018 CHED Memorandum Orders — Commission on Higher Education (CMO number and title verification)
- Republic Act No. 9484 — The Philippine Dental Act of 2007 — LawPhil / Arellano Law Foundation (board creation, examination requirement, qualifications, scope of examination, written and practical tests, passing rating, dental hygienist and dental technologist registrations)
