Pediatric Dental Residency Programs in the US: The Complete 2026 List

There are 91 accredited pediatric dental residency programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Because one of them, NYU Langone Dental Medicine, trains residents at 14 sites in 11 states, those 91 programs add up to 105 places you can actually train. Together they take in about 520 first-year residents a year.

Below is every one of them, grouped by region, with its city, how long it runs and how many residents it takes each year. If you are a dental student deciding where to apply, a general dentist thinking about going back, or a faculty member who wants the full map, this is the list.

The short version

• Most programs run 24 months. A few go longer: UCLA (25 months), Michigan (30), and UCSF and UNC (36 each). UIC and Boston University offer longer tracks for residents who add a master's or doctoral degree.
• Most are small. The typical program takes 4 to 6 residents a year. The largest classes, 9 or 10, are at Montefiore, Temple, UIC, NYU, Tufts, Boston University, USC, Texas A&M and UT Health San Antonio.
• New York has more than anyone. The state has 20 training sites, 11 of them in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. California, Florida and Pennsylvania come next with 6 each.
• Four programs are new. Akron Children's Hospital, Carilion Clinic, Healthcare Network in southwest Florida and Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Missouri hold initial accreditation, the status CODA gives a program before its first residents graduate.
• Twelve states have no program. Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

How to read the tables

Each program name links to its own residency page, or to its ADEA PASS listing when the program does not keep a dedicated page. Months is the standard length of the certificate program. First-year spots is the number of residents the program says it accepts each year. Programs are sorted by state, then city.

New England

New York

New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware

Maryland, DC, Virginia and West Virginia

The Southeast

Ohio and Michigan

The Midwest and Plains

Texas, Oklahoma and the Mountain West

The West Coast and Hawaii

NYU Langone's 14 training sites

NYU Langone Dental Medicine is one accredited program, but it is built differently from the rest. It started in 1994 at what is now the Sunset Park Family Health Center in Brooklyn and, since 2003, has added training sites at community health centers in underserved areas. Residents at every site follow the same curriculum, with the classroom part delivered online and live by video, and do their clinical training at their own site.

For applicants, the sites matter because they put pediatric training in places that otherwise have none nearby, including Arizona, Hawaii and Rhode Island. If you want to train close to home and your state has no university program, check this list first.

How the application works

1. Apply through ADEA PASS. Nearly every program takes applications through the ADEA Postdoctoral Application Support Service. A few also ask for a supplemental application or fee on their own site.
2. Watch the deadlines. Most fall between September 1 and October 1, for residencies that start the following summer. A handful close earlier, so check each program's page in the summer before you apply.
3. Register for the Match. Most programs fill their positions through the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program run by National Matching Services. You rank the programs where you interviewed, the programs rank their applicants, and the results come out on a single day.
4. Start in June or July. Most programs begin July 1. Several start in mid-June with a required orientation.

What residents learn about crowns

Full-coverage restorations are a big part of pediatric residency. Residents place stainless steel crowns on primary molars in the clinic and the operating room, learn the Hall technique, and prep and seat zirconia crowns on anterior and posterior teeth. If you are getting ready for residency, our guides on crimping a stainless steel crown, zirconia crown sizing and cementing zirconia crowns cover the basics.

Residency program directors and clinic coordinators can request free samples of KTR's pre-crimped stainless steel crowns and our zirconia crowns to try with their residents.

For residency clinics

Free Crown Samples

Try KTR zirconia and stainless steel crowns in your own hands before you order.