Board-Certified Periodontists
What Is a Diplomate?
A Diplomate or Board Certified periodontist is one who has made significant achievements beyond the mandatory educational requirements of the specialty, and who is certified by the American Board of Periodontology. Board-certified periodontists are required to take significant hours of continuing education yearly and are recertified every 3 years.
To be educationally qualified for board certification requires:
- Certification as a dentist, including basic college education and completion of dental school to earn the D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree, and;
- Certification as a periodontist after at least three years of postdoctoral study in an ADA-approved program. This period of study is concentrated on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of periodontal disease.
In addition to the educational requirements, board certification requires:
- Comprehensive oral and written examinations that cover all phases of periodontal disease and its treatment, including dental implants.
- Presentation of detailed reports on a broad range of actual treatments personally performed by the periodontist.
What Does “Board Eligible” Mean?
Board eligibility is a term no longer used but which applied to candidates who had successfully completed the written examination. If a periodontist is not board certified, he or she is now termed educationally qualified.
Dr. Alan Fetner was certified in 1989, Dr. Hartigan in 1995, Dr. Michael Fetner in 2014, and Dr. Alex Fetner in 2019.
