Purpose of the Dental Match

The Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (the Dental Match) provides an orderly process to help applicants obtain positions in postdoctoral dental education programs of their choice, and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice.

The Dental Match is administered by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS) and is overseen by eight Sponsoring Organizations.

Similar matching programs are used across North America in the annual recruitment of doctors, pharmacists, psychologists, optometrists, podiatrists, and other health professions.

How It Works

• 1. Register for the Dental Match

  Each applicant and program that wants to participate in the Dental Match must register online in the NMS Match System.

  • Applicant Registration
  • Program Registration

• 2. Apply to Programs

  Applicants must apply to programs they are interested in independently of the Dental Match. Each program sets its own procedures for applications, but most collect applications using the ADEA PASS application service.

  • ADEA PASS application service

• 3. Interview with Programs

  Programs evaluate applications and invite selected applicants to interview. Programs can schedule interviews however they choose. The NMS Match System has a module called NMS Interview which helps programs and applicants streamline interview scheduling. Some programs use NMS Interview, while others schedule interviews independently. No offers are made during the interview period, allowing both applicants and programs to fully evaluate each other before submitting their rankings.

  • Read about interviews

• 4. Submit Your Rank Order List of Preferred Placements

  After all interviews are completed, each applicant submits a Rank Order List on which the applicant lists the desired programs, in numerical order of the applicant's preference (first choice, second choice, etc.). Similarly, each program submits a Rank Order List on which the program lists the desirable applicants, in order of the program's preference. Each program also indicates the number of positions the program has available.

  The Dental Match is conducted in two Phases. ORTHO, PERIO, PROS, ANES and Canadian GPR programs, and all applicants interested in those positions, submit Rank Order Lists in Phase I of the Dental Match.

  AEGD, US GPR, OMS and PED programs, and all applicants interested in those positions, submit Rank Order Lists in Phase II of the Dental Match.

  All Rank Order List information is submitted online in the NMS Match System and is confidential.

• 5. The Matching Algorithm is Run

  NMS uses a matching algorithm to process the preferences stated in the Rank Order Lists and place individuals into positions.

  • Read about how the Matching Algorithm works

• 6. Get Your Result

  The result of the Match is that each applicant is placed with the most preferred program on the applicant's Rank Order List that ranks the applicant and does not fill all its positions with more preferred applicants. Similarly, each program is matched with the most preferred applicants on its list, up to the number of positions available, who rank the program and who do not receive positions at programs they prefer. Results are available by email and online in the NMS Match System.

• 7. Post-Match Process

  It is possible that all of a particular program's positions will not be filled in the Match, and that some applicants will be left unmatched. When the results of the Match are released, information regarding positions that remain available is provided to applicants who are not matched. Similarly, information regarding unmatched applicants is provided to programs with unfilled positions. These unmatched applicants and programs with positions available are free to contact each other and to negotiate directly with each other, independently of the Dental Match, to fill available positions.

Read more about the Dental Match:

Benefits of the Dental Match

The Dental Match ensures a fair and transparent process where all applicants and programs follow a common schedule and consistent rules.

The Dental Match allows programs and applicants to evaluate each other fully before determining their preferences. This structure helps reduce stress, promotes ethical behavior, and allows decisions to be made based on complete and timely information. Applicants and programs can list their desired placements in order of their true preference, without worrying about how they will be ranked by the other party.

Because all offers, acceptances, rejections, and placements are finalized at the same time, the matching process is an efficient and equitable way to process offers. It guarantees that each applicant and program receives the best possible result available to them.

The Match also prevents programs from overfilling positions and eliminates common problems seen in typical recruitment processes, such as extremely time-limited offers, applicants holding multiple offers, and programs or applicants backing out of prior commitments because a more preferred option arises.

Governance

The Sponsoring Organizations of the Dental Match are jointly responsible for establishing the rules of the Match, and for monitoring the implementation of the Dental Match. The Sponsoring Organizations of the Dental Match are:

• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Special Care Dentistry Association
• American Association of Orthodontists
• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• American Academy of Periodontology
• American College of Prosthodontists
• American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists
• American Student Dental Association

The administration and implementation of the Dental Match is carried out by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS), on behalf of the Sponsoring Organizations.

The Dental Match has been endorsed by the American Dental Association Council on Dental Education and Licensure, the American Dental Education Association, and the Veterans Administration.

History

The Match to fill postdoctoral positions in dentistry has operated successfully since 1985, when it was initially developed and organized by the Committee on Residency Education and Training of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. The Dental Match has expanded since that time, and now includes the following types of programs: Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD), US General Practice Residency (GPR), Canadian General Practice Residency (GPR-CAN), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), Orthodontics (ORTHO), Pediatric Dentistry (PED), Periodontics (PERIO), Prosthodontics (PROS) and Dental Anesthesiology (ANES).