Overview

The Dental Match is a service to help applicants obtain first-year positions in postdoctoral dental education programs of their choice, and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice. The Dental Match has been endorsed by the ADA and ADEA as well as overseen by a group of eight Sponsoring Organizations representing students and the participating specialty types.

Key Dates

①  Register

To participate in the Dental Match, the Program Director must set up a new account and register the residency in the NMS Match System by May 31, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter. Accounts from previous years are not active. Participating residencies must offer through the Dental Match all available positions that start training between April 1 and December 31, 2027. A list of participating programs will be posted on the Dental Match website by August 1, 2026.

②   Manage Your Account

Once registered, you can log into the NMS Match System to update residency information, including updating contact information, modifying the number of positions offered in the Match, adding an additional program/track to your residency, or adding secondary users to your account.

If a registered program will not offer any positions in 2027, it must be withdrawn from the Match by the Rank Order List deadline.

③   Application Process

Applicants apply to residencies independently of the Dental Match. Each program sets its own application deadline and procedures for applications. The Dental Match is not involved in the application or evaluation processes. Most programs collect applications using the ADEA PASS application service, which is separate from and independent of the Dental Match.

④   Interview Process

You can schedule interviews in any way you like. The NMS Match System includes complimentary access to an interview scheduling module that simplifies and automates the interview scheduling process for programs and applicants. Residencies are encouraged, but not required, to schedule their interviews using the NMS Match System.

All applicant interviews and final evaluations must be completed before the Rank Order List Deadline for your residency.

You must provide complete and accurate information to applicants, including all institution and residency policies related to eligibility requirements for appointment, prior to the Rank Order List deadline. You may not require a commitment from or make an offer of appointment to any applicant prior to the release of the Match results.

⑤   Ranking Process

Once interviews and evaluations are complete, each program and each applicant submits a Rank Order List of their preferred choices into the NMS Match System by the appropriate Rank Order List deadline. The Rankings User Guide has step-by-step instructions for entering and certifying your Rank Order List.

The optimal ranking strategy is to list all applicants that you would be willing to accept to the program, ranked in your true order of preference. You should not factor in how an applicant might rank the program when ordering the list.

⑥   Match Results

NMS uses an established and proven matching algorithm to process the Rank Order Lists submitted by applicants and programs. Each program will be matched with the most preferred applicant(s) on its Rank Order List who have ranked that program and who are not matched to a program they prefer.

The results of the Dental Match are made available online and by email on the Match Results Day for each Phase of the Match. The results constitute a binding commitment between applicants and programs. Residencies with unfilled positions and applicants who did not match may participate in the Post-Match Process to fill available positions.