FAAID Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify

What the Fellow of the AAID Credential Actually Is

Fellow of the AAID, abbreviated FAAID, is the designation awarded by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry to licensed dental practitioners who demonstrate surgical and prosthetic competence in implant dentistry through a rigorous case-based examination. It is not a written multiple-choice test. The Fellow pathway centers on a virtual oral/case examination in which you discuss five standardized clinical cases and defend five cases you submitted from your own practice, each on a different patient.

If you are new to the credential, start with What Is FAAID? and What Does FAAID Stand For? for the basics. This article focuses on the practical question: do you qualify, and what exactly must be in place before you apply? Because the requirements are stacked, with licensure, experience, continuing education, a prior credential step, and a portfolio of mature cases, the order in which you satisfy them matters.

Core Eligibility: Licensure, Experience and CE Hours

Every applicant must clear the same baseline requirements, regardless of pathway. These are the foundations of the FAAID requirements:

• Licensure: You must be a licensed dental practitioner.
• Experience: At least five years of experience in implant dentistry.
• Continuing education: At least 400 hours of implant-related CE, of which at least 75 hours must be participatory or hands-on.
• Demonstrated competence: You must demonstrate surgical and prosthetic competence, and you must have provided surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for each case you submit.

The educational-program alternative

A qualifying full-time program in implant dentistry, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, or prosthodontics lasting at least one year satisfies the educational requirement. If you completed such a program, you should confirm with AAID how your training maps onto the CE-hour and experience requirements rather than assuming it covers everything. The facts above describe the educational requirement being satisfied; they do not state that residency training substitutes for the five-year experience requirement, so verify that point directly.

Documenting your CE

Four hundred hours is a substantial figure, and the 75 participatory hours are the stricter subset. Begin compiling certificates, course syllabi, and attendance records early. Lecture-only attendance will not satisfy the hands-on portion, so audit your history for live-patient, simulation, or workshop-style participation and note any gaps while you still have time to fill them.

Two Pathways Into the Fellow Examination

The second layer of eligibility concerns your standing within the AAID credentialing ladder. Applicants must either:

1. be AAID Associate Fellows in good standing, or
2. have passed Associate Fellow Part 1 and meet Fellow eligibility.

The second route is sometimes described as an alternative route after Associate Fellow Part 1, and it carries its own fee line (covered below). Importantly, AAID describes this as an alternative fee, not an additional charge, so you do not pay both the standard Fellow exam fee and the alternative fee for the same attempt.

The Five Submitted Cases and What Each Must Contain

The case portfolio is where most candidates spend the bulk of their effort. The current requirements call for five cases on five different patients, and each case must meet shared criteria:

• The final prosthesis must have been in function for at least one year by the examination period.
• Implants must be at least 3 mm in diameter.
• You must have provided surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for the case.
• Each submission needs a written narrative, diagnostic photographs and radiographs, and patient releases.

The five required case types

A note on the older FAQ

AAID's credentialing FAQ page still contains an older submitted-case and rating scheme. When it conflicts with the current Fellow requirements, the current five-case requirements take precedence. If you have been reading older forum posts or archived summaries, double-check anything that mentions a different case count or rating system.

Exam Format and Technical Requirements

The Fellow examination is delivered virtually by AAID examiner teams. The guide specifies approximately three hours for the examination itself and up to four hours when you include equipment testing. You will discuss five standardized clinical cases and defend your five submitted cases.

• Equipment: an Internet-capable computer with a webcam, plus a cellular device.
• Equipment check: a prior equipment check is expected; do not treat it as optional.
• Language: the examination is conducted in English. An AAID-supplied interpreter may be arranged, at the candidate's expense.

For a candid look at how demanding the format is, read How Hard Is the FAAID Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026. One caution on results: no current numeric passing threshold or pass-rate statistic was verified for this credential, so be wary of any source quoting a precise figure. Our pages on FAAID passing score and FAAID pass rate explain what can and cannot be stated responsibly.

Fees, Conflicting Schedules and Dues

Fee information for this credential requires care because two official sources disagree. The table below lays out both so you can see the discrepancy clearly.

For the full financial picture, including membership and preparation expenses, see FAAID Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Ongoing dues

Maintaining the Fellow designation requires active AAID membership. Regular Fellow dues are USD 695 annually, payable January 1. Factor this recurring cost into your long-term plan, particularly if you are weighing the investment; Is the FAAID Certification Worth It? walks through that decision.

Application Window and Exam Date

As of October 7, 2026, the published schedule is:

• Application window opens: November 2026
• Application window closes: February 1, 2027
• Fellow oral/case exam: scheduled virtually for April 3, 2027

The application-window notice is shared across the Associate Fellow and Fellow credentials, so make sure you are reading the Fellow-specific details. Work backward from February 1, 2027: your five cases need to be assembled, your narratives written, your imaging organized, and your patient releases secured before you submit. Our FAAID exam dates guide tracks scheduling updates as they are posted.

Election, Induction and Maintaining Fellow Status

Passing the oral examination is not the final step. The process continues as follows:

1. Your results go through Admissions and Credentials Board approval.
2. A Board of Trustees vote follows to confirm election.
3. Successful oral candidates must attend an Annual Business Meeting for induction within two years.
4. You maintain the designation through active AAID membership.

Once elected, you are authorized to use the designation FAAID. The authorized form is "Fellow of the AAID," abbreviated FAAID. For how the designation is used in professional settings, see FAAID jobs and the FAAID salary guide for context on how this credential figures into practice and career decisions.

Mapping Your Preparation to the Four Case-Report Headings

The Fellow Examination Case Report Outline in AAID's credentialing guidebook organizes the written case documentation under four principal headings. These are required case-report preparation headings, not an exhaustive oral-exam blueprint, and AAID does not publish weights for them or an official domain count. Treat them as the structure your documentation must follow.

For a deeper treatment, see FAAID Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. These headings also come from guide material dated 2024 with Fellow requirements and study-guide revisions dated July 2022, so cross-check against the current guide on AAID's credentialing documents page.

A short, FAAID-specific scheduling approach

For a fuller preparation framework, our FAAID study guide expands on this, and the FAAID cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts. If you want to reinforce clinical recall alongside your case work, the practice test site offers question-based review.

A Readiness Checklist Before You Apply

Use this list to confirm you meet each FAAID requirement before the window closes:

• Active dental license verified.
• Associate Fellow in good standing, or Associate Fellow Part 1 passed.
• Five or more years of implant-dentistry experience documented.
• 400 CE hours logged, with 75 participatory/hands-on hours clearly identifiable.
• Five cases on five different patients, each with a final prosthesis in function at least one year by the examination period.
• All implants at least 3 mm in diameter.
• All five required case types covered: overdenture, posterior maxilla with sinus augmentation, anterior maxilla, extraction with immediate placement or ridge preservation with delayed placement, and fixed complete prosthesis.
• Narratives, diagnostic photographs and radiographs, and patient releases complete for every case.
• Route fee confirmed with AAID given the conflicting schedules.
• Computer with webcam and cellular device ready; equipment check scheduled.

To compare this credential's overall scope against other options, browse FAAID certification and What Is FAAID Certification?, or visit the main practice test site for additional exam-preparation resources.

Frequently Asked Questions