What Is A FAAID?

What a FAAID Actually Is

FAAID stands for Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. It is the authorized designation AAID gives to dental practitioners who have completed its Fellow-level credentialing process. Unlike a weekend course certificate, it is earned through a peer-evaluated examination in which a team of AAID examiners reviews your clinical judgment and your documented patient outcomes.

Several unrelated credentials use similar-looking letters, so precision matters. This article is only about the Fellow credential from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. If you want shorter definitions of the term, see our companion pages What Does FAAID Stand For? and FAAID Meaning.

The credential sits within a ladder. Dentists commonly progress through Associate Fellow status, which has its own written component (Part 1), and then pursue Fellow status through the oral/case examination. That Fellow-level assessment is the subject of everything below.

Who Awards the Designation

The American Academy of Implant Dentistry administers the examination, and election follows a two-step governance process. First, the Admissions and Credentials Board approves a successful candidate. Then the Board of Trustees votes on election. Only after that do you hold the right to use the FAAID designation.

This matters because passing the oral/case examination is necessary but not the final event. Successful oral candidates must also attend an Annual Business Meeting for induction within two years. Treat induction as part of the credential's lifecycle, not an optional ceremony.

Who Can Apply: Eligibility Snapshot

The Fellow track is built for experienced implant clinicians. The core requirements are:

• Licensure: you must be a licensed dental practitioner.
• Pathway status: you must either be an AAID Associate Fellow in good standing, or have passed Associate Fellow Part 1 and meet Fellow eligibility.
• Experience: at least five years of implant-dentistry experience.
• Continuing education: 400 hours of implant CE, of which 75 hours must be participatory or hands-on.
• Competence: you must demonstrate surgical and prosthetic competence, and you must have provided surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for each submitted case.

There is also an education alternative worth knowing. A qualifying full-time implant dentistry, periodontal, oral/maxillofacial surgery or prosthodontics program lasting at least one year satisfies the educational requirement. For the full eligibility breakdown, read FAAID Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

How the Virtual Oral/Case Examination Works

The Fellow examination is delivered virtually and conducted by AAID examiner teams. It is not a multiple-choice test. You talk through clinical material in real time, which means communication, reasoning and record quality all count.

Format and logistics

• Two case components: you discuss five standardized clinical cases supplied through the examination, and you defend five cases you have submitted on different patients.
• Duration: the guide specifies approximately three hours for the examination, and up to four hours when equipment testing is included.
• Equipment: an Internet-capable computer with a webcam, plus a cellular device, and a prior equipment check before exam day.
• Language: the examination is conducted in English. An AAID-supplied interpreter may be arranged at the candidate's expense.

If you want a sense of how demanding the format is relative to written-test credentials, see How Hard Is the FAAID Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

The Five Required Case Types

The submitted-case portion is the heart of the credential. You are not free to pick any five patients. AAID requires five specific case types, each on a different patient, and each must meet baseline standards.

The required case types

1. A removable full-arch implant overdenture
2. Posterior maxilla with sinus augmentation
3. Anterior maxilla
4. Extraction with immediate placement, or ridge preservation with delayed placement
5. A fixed complete implant prosthesis

Standards every submitted case must meet

• 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.
• Each case needs a narrative, diagnostic photographs and radiographs, and patient releases.

One note on sources: AAID's FAQ page still describes an older submitted-case and rating scheme. The current five-case requirements take precedence, so rely on the current Fellow requirements and credentialing guide rather than the legacy FAQ.

The Four Case-Report Preparation Headings

The credentialing guide, Demystifying the AAID Credentialing Examinations, lays out a Fellow Examination Case Report Outline. Its four principal headings are the practical backbone of how you should document each submitted case. They are required case-report preparation headings, not an official weighted exam blueprint, and AAID does not publish weights for them. They also do not exhaustively cover everything an examiner may ask orally.

For a deeper dive into how these headings relate to one another, see FAAID Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. Keep this scope separate from Associate Fellow Part 1, which has its own weighted written blueprint.

Fees, Dates and the Election Process

Fee mechanics

AAID's published fee information is not fully consistent, so budgeting requires care. The current live fee page lists the figures in the first row below, while the linked 2024 credentialing guide lists the second set:

The guide describes the substitution route as an alternative fee, not an additional charge on top of the standard fee. Because the two schedules conflict, confirm the applicable amount for your route directly with AAID before paying. Our FAAID Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown explains how to account for these figures alongside travel, records preparation and membership costs.

Application window and exam date

As of October 7, 2026, the next application window opens in November 2026 and closes February 1, 2027. The Fellow oral/case examination is scheduled virtually for April 3, 2027. Dates can change, so verify against AAID's exam schedule before planning around them. More scheduling context is in FAAID Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

What about scoring?

No current numeric passing threshold or pass-rate statistic was verified from AAID's materials, so any figure you see quoted elsewhere should be treated with caution. Our pages on FAAID Passing Score 2026 and FAAID Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows cover what can and cannot be said responsibly.

Keeping the Designation After You Earn It

Maintenance is tied to membership. The designation requires active AAID membership, and regular Fellow dues are USD 695 annually, payable January 1. Membership is governed by the AAID Bylaws, most recently amended November 15, 2025, so review those if you have questions about status.

If you are weighing whether ongoing dues and the effort of case preparation are worthwhile, our Is the FAAID Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 frames the decision, and our FAAID Salary Guide 2026 discusses earnings in qualitative terms rather than guessing at numbers.

A Preparation Sequence Built Around the Cases

Generic study habits matter less here than sequencing the actual deliverables. Because this is a case-and-oral credential, plan around your files first and your rehearsal second.

For a broader plan, see FAAID Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt and the quick-reference FAAID Cheat Sheet 2026. If you also want written-style practice on implant fundamentals, our practice test site offers additional question drills.

Who Benefits From Pursuing It

The FAAID suits clinicians who place and restore implants as a core part of their practice and want peer-validated recognition of that work. Because the process requires documented, long-term outcomes across a full range of implant scenarios, it signals depth that goes beyond attendance-based credentials.

Typical professional settings include private implant-focused practices, multi-disciplinary group practices, and academic or teaching roles. We are not publishing hiring or earnings statistics because none were verified. For a qualitative look at how the credential is used professionally, see FAAID Jobs and FAAID Certification.

If you are still in the early stages and building toward eligibility, FAAID Training outlines how to accumulate the education and hands-on hours the Fellow track requires, and our other definition pages, What Is FAAID? and What Is FAAID Certification?, offer additional context.

Frequently Asked Questions