FAAID Jobs

What "FAAID Jobs" Really Means

Searching for "FAAID jobs" usually turns up confusion, because FAAID is not a job title and it is not a credential that lets you apply for a new category of position the way a nursing license or an IT certification might. FAAID stands for Fellow of the AAID, the authorized designation conferred by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry on licensed dental practitioners who complete its Fellow credentialing process. If you want a plain-language primer first, our explainers on what FAAID is and what FAAID stands for cover the basics.

So the honest answer to "what jobs can I get with FAAID?" is that you are already working in dentistry, and the credential changes how your clinical competence is documented, perceived and positioned. It signals that a peer-examination team has reviewed your implant cases and questioned you on your surgical and prosthetic reasoning. That signal matters in specific professional contexts, which this article maps out.

Who Holds the Credential and Where They Work

Eligibility itself tells you who the typical Fellow is. Applicants must be licensed dental practitioners, and they must either be AAID Associate Fellows in good standing or have passed Associate Fellow Part 1 and meet Fellow eligibility. They need at least five years of implant-dentistry experience and 400 hours of implant continuing education, including 75 participatory or hands-on hours. A qualifying full-time implant dentistry, periodontal, oral/maxillofacial surgery or prosthodontics program lasting at least one year satisfies the educational requirement.

That profile points to a seasoned clinician population. The people who earn the title tend to be:

• General dentists who have built a substantial implant practice and want formal recognition of surgical and prosthetic competence.
• Periodontists and oral surgeons who place implants and want credentialing from an implant-focused academy.
• Prosthodontists whose restorative work is central to implant outcomes.
• Clinicians who completed a one-year-plus implant, periodontal, oral/maxillofacial surgery or prosthodontics program and then accumulated years of case experience.

Because the exam requires that you personally provided surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for each submitted case, the credential is closely tied to hands-on clinical work. It is not a management or administrative credential.

Practice Roles Where Fellowship Carries Weight

Without inventing market data, we can reason about where a peer-examined implant credential is most useful, based on what the exam actually assesses.

Private practice differentiation

In a private implant practice, the designation is a visible, verifiable statement of competence. AAID provides guidance on announcing your credential, and the authorized designation is "FAAID, Fellow of the AAID." Patients comparing providers, and referring dentists deciding where to send complex cases, can reasonably treat it as evidence of a rigorous review.

Referral relationships

Referral-based practices, especially those receiving full-arch, sinus augmentation and immediate-placement cases, benefit from credentials that mirror those case types. The five required Fellow case categories (described below) are exactly the situations referring clinicians worry about most.

Group and multi-specialty settings

In group practices or multi-specialty clinics, a Fellow can serve as an internal implant lead, mentor associates and standardize treatment planning. The credential does not automatically confer such a role, but it supports the case for one.

Academic, teaching and mentoring paths

Clinicians who teach or lecture on implant dentistry often find that peer-examined recognition lends credibility. Again, the title supports the opportunity; it does not guarantee it.

Credentialing and privileging

Some hospital, surgical-center or network contexts review training and credentials when granting privileges. Whether FAAID specifically influences any given decision varies by institution, so treat it as supporting documentation rather than a guaranteed requirement.

What the Fellow Examination Proves to Employers

The exam format is itself the best evidence of what the title represents. It is a virtual oral/case examination administered by AAID examiner teams. Candidates discuss five standardized clinical cases and defend five submitted cases on different patients. The guide specifies approximately three hours for the examination and up to four hours including equipment testing. The exam is conducted in English; an AAID-supplied interpreter may be arranged at the candidate's expense.

Practically, that means a Fellow has demonstrated, in front of examiners:

• Diagnostic reasoning on cases they did not choose (the standardized cases).
• The ability to justify their own treatment decisions on cases they did choose (the submitted cases).
• Documentation discipline, because every submitted case requires a narrative, diagnostic photographs and radiographs, and patient releases.
• Long-term outcome awareness, because final prostheses must be in function for at least one year by the examination period.

For the question of how demanding all this is, see how hard the FAAID exam is. Note that no current numeric passing threshold or pass-rate statistic has been verified, so our pages on the passing score and pass rate discuss what is and is not known rather than quoting figures.

Your Case Portfolio as a Career Asset

One underappreciated career benefit of pursuing Fellowship is the portfolio you build. The five submitted cases must cover specific clinical categories:

All five cases require implants at least 3 mm in diameter, final prostheses in function for at least one year, narratives, diagnostic photographs and radiographs, and patient releases. Even if you never changed employers or practice setting, a documented set of five well-managed cases across these categories is a career asset: it is the raw material for presentations, referral outreach, mentoring and study clubs.

The Eligibility Pipeline Behind the Title

Anyone planning a career around Fellowship should understand it as a step in a sequence, not a standalone exam. The route runs through AAID credentialing: Associate Fellow status (or passing Associate Fellow Part 1) comes first, then Fellow eligibility, then the oral/case exam. Our guide to FAAID requirements walks through each prerequisite in detail.

Candidates must also demonstrate surgical and prosthetic competence and must have provided surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for each submitted case. That last point matters for career planning: if a significant portion of your implant work is delegated or referred out, you may struggle to assemble qualifying cases.

Preserve one distinction as you read AAID materials: the Fellow oral/case examination is separate from the Associate Fellow Part 1 written examination, which has its own weighted blueprint. Do not mix their scopes when planning your preparation.

Costs, Deadlines and Planning Your Career Timeline

Career decisions should account for the full cost and calendar. Based on AAID's live fee page as checked October 7, 2026:

These official schedules conflict, so confirm the fee applicable to your route directly with AAID before budgeting. The guide describes the substitution route as an alternative fee, not an additional charge. For a fuller breakdown including membership, see FAAID certification cost.

Ongoing costs of holding the title

Maintaining the designation requires active AAID membership. Regular Fellow dues are USD 695 annually, payable January 1. Successful oral candidates must also attend an Annual Business Meeting for induction within two years. Election follows Admissions and Credentials Board approval and a Board of Trustees vote, so the title is conferred through a governance process rather than automatically upon passing.

Key dates

As of October 7, 2026, the next application window opens in November 2026 and closes February 1, 2027. The Fellow oral/case exam is scheduled virtually for April 3, 2027. See FAAID exam dates for scheduling details.

Technology requirements

Because the exam is virtual, you need an Internet-capable computer with a webcam, a cellular device and a prior equipment check. A failed connection is a logistical risk you can eliminate, so treat the equipment check as part of preparation rather than an afterthought.

Preparing by Domain: A Sensible Sequence

The four domain headings come from the Fellow Examination Case Report Outline in AAID's credentialing guidebook (pp. 18-19, copyright 2024). They are the required case-report preparation headings, not an exhaustive oral-exam blueprint, and no weights are published for them. Our FAAID exam domains guide explains how to use them.

A sequencing idea tied to the domains

For a fuller plan, see our FAAID study guide and the one-page cheat sheet. For structured practice questions that sharpen clinical reasoning, visit the FAAID Exam Prep practice test site.

Presenting Fellowship in Your Practice and Job Search

Once elected, how you present the credential matters. Use the authorized designation, "FAAID, Fellow of the AAID," as AAID specifies, and avoid shorthand that could be mistaken for a different credential. Several unrelated credentials use similar acronyms, so spelling out "Fellow of the AAID" on your website, résumé and professional profiles prevents confusion.

• On your CV: List the designation with the conferring body and, where appropriate, the induction year, alongside your implant CE and training.
• On your practice website: Explain in plain language what the credential involved: five cases defended before examiners, with prostheses in function for at least a year.
• In referral outreach: Connect the five case types to the problems referring dentists actually face.
• In interviews or partnership talks: Frame Fellowship as evidence of peer-reviewed implant competence, not as a guarantee of any particular compensation.

If you are still deciding whether to pursue it, our overview of FAAID certification and the FAAID jobs hub provide additional context.

Frequently Asked Questions