American Board of Endodontics

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Diplomates have historically been committed to the advancement of the specialty of endodontics and to life-long learning. Recognizing that the continued progression of our specialty requires that same commitment, the ABE implemented the Maintaining Your Board Certification program. Certification Maintenance (formerly termed Recertification) has been instituted as a requirement for those Diplomates who began the process with submission of their Preliminary Application after 1996.

Partnered with the honor of being a Diplomate is the obligation to maintain excellence in endodontic endeavors. We must continuously seek opportunities to learn, to expand our knowledge base, to improve and expand our clinical skills, to keep abreast of the latest technologies, to teach, to do research, and to contribute to our specialty by sharing our knowledge with others through reading, lecturing and publication.

The ABE developed the requirements for issuance of a new ten-year time-limited certificate incorporating the core values associated with the title of Diplomate, continuing education, authorship, and teaching. 

Although Certification maintenance is mandatory for only those Diplomates who hold time-limited certificates, all Diplomates are encouraged and welcome to participate in the process. 

The Diplomate may begin to accumulate credits following his/her initial certification date, thus establishing the maintenance process as a continuing learning experience. The formal application for certification maintenance shall be made between the seventh and tenth year from the original date of Board Certification. Following approval of the application by the Directors of the American Board of Endodontics, the Diplomate will be issued a new ten-year time-limited certificate to date from the tenth anniversary of the initial certificate.

The Diplomate must earn a minimum of 25 credits, every ten years, to maintain Board Certification.  Credits may be earned by the following professional activities that are directed to the scientific and/or clinical scope of the specialty of endodontics:

1. Attendance at the Annual Session of the American Association of Endodontists – 2 credits per Annual Session with a maximum of 16 credits.
2. Attendance at continuing education courses for endodontists that are within the scope of endodontics and approved or sponsored by the AAE, state or affiliate endodontic associations or international associations that foster research and discovery – 1 credit per one full-day equivalent.  A maximum of 15 credits can be earned. Examples: evening meeting of the XYZ Study Club = 0 points, two morning sessions of the Southern Endo Study Group = 1 point (one full-day equivalent), all-day Wednesday CE prior to AAE meeting = 1 point, two and one-half day AAE sponsored conference = 2 points (1 point per full-day).
3. Primary authorship of an article that is published in a peer-reviewed journal and/or a published book chapter (the topics must relate to the specialty of endodontics). Two credits each with a maximum of 6 credits earned.
4. Full-time faculty teaching endodontics – credit equal to full-time equivalent (FTE). One credit per year can be earned for full-time commitment during the academic year.  Example (FTE) commitment per year = 1 credit. Maximum of 5 credits can be earned.
5. Part-time faculty teaching endodontics – credit earned per year is based on the proportion of full-time equivalent (FTE) that is working during the academic year.  Example: 0.2 FTE = 0.2 credits. Maximum of 2 credits can be earned.

Each Diplomate, who is required to be recertified, must submit a Credit Verification Form and Credit Tabulation Form (information should be updated on an annual basis). These forms provide for listing the types of activities and the number of credits that have been earned. Although these forms rely on a self-report mechanism of credits earned, Diplomates must be able to produce acceptable documentation. Each year, every tenth application will be audited.  The audit will require acceptable copies of the following original documents:

The Diplomate may begin to accumulate credits following his/her initial certification date, thus establishing the recertification process as a continuing learning experience. The formal application for recertification shall be made between the seventh and tenth year from the original date of Board certification. Following approval of the Recertification Application by the Directors of the American Board of Endodontics, the Diplomate will be issued a new ten-year time-limited certificate to date from the tenth anniversary of the initial certificate.    

Access the recertification forms.