American Association of Dental Boards

What American Association of Dental Boards does

The American Association of Dental Boards (AADB) is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1883 (formerly the American Association of Dental Examiners) that serves as the national forum for state dental boards and oral health regulatory stakeholders in the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Chicago with a Washington, D.C. office, AADB represents virtually every state dental board plus Canadian provinces and U.S. protectorates, with membership totaling 400+ individual and agency members and influence over the licenses of more than 500,000 oral health practitioners including dentists, dental therapists, hygienists, and dental assistants.

AADB's core technology is the Clearinghouse for Board Actions, a centralized database (computerized under a 1989 HHS/HRSA contract) that records disciplinary actions against dental practitioners and is queryable through an On-Line Query System with manual and electronic submission channels. Complementary products include the Self-Query Service (a $25 per-order practitioner self-screening tool), the Practice Act Database (a co-developed resource with the Dental Assisting National Board), Monthly Board Reports for dues-paying members, the ACE Program, and the 34th Edition Composite publication. Its flagship 2025+ initiative is the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure (IDDHL) Compact, a multistate licensure portability framework administered through a dedicated digital property (aadbcompact.org), with Louisiana as the first adopting state (2025) and Mississippi as the second (2026).

AADB operates a membership-based revenue model anchored in annual membership dues from boards, individuals, associates, and lifetime members; supplemented by transactional fees from the Self-Query Service ($25/order), voluntary compact licensure fees from multistate practitioners, and ancillary revenue from publications, event sponsorships, and the annual meeting (143rd edition scheduled for October 2026 in National Harbor, MD). The organization reaches members and stakeholders through its website, social media, press releases, and direct member engagement, and is governed by a board including a President, Vice President, Treasurer/Secretary, and member representatives, with Kimber Cobb serving as Executive Director since June 2025.

Name

American Association of Dental Boards

Legal name

American Association of Dental Boards

Website

https://aadbdentalboards.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The American Association of Dental Boards (AADB) is a 501-style nonprofit founded in 1883 that serves as the national association for U.S. and Canadian state dental boards, operating the Clearinghouse database of practitioner disciplinary actions and administering the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Self-Query Fees: The AADB charges $25.00 per self-query order for practitioners seeking information about their records. Reports are mailed in sealed envelopes within 10 business days.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for individual members (current board members, past board members, attorneys, administrators), associate members, agency members, and lifetime members. Dues-paying agency and agency associate members receive monthly board reports at no charge.
3. Compact Licensure Fees: Voluntary fees from compact license applicants under the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact. Costs for the compact are covered through these voluntary fees from dental professionals seeking multistate licensure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The AADB is a national nonprofit membership association serving state dental boards and dental regulatory bodies across the U.S. and Canada. It provides a centralized Clearinghouse database that tracks disciplinary actions against dental practitioners, administers the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure (IDDHL) Compact for multistate practice, and offers supporting services including Self-Query record checks, monthly board reports, a Practice Act database, publications, and an annual meeting.

Product overview

The American Association of Dental Boards (AADB) offers a suite of regulatory and membership services for dental boards across the United States and Canada. The core offerings include the Clearinghouse (a central database for disciplinary actions against dental practitioners), the Self-Query Service (a search tool for practitioners to check their records against State Dental Board reports), and the AADB Dental & Dental Hygiene Compact (IDDHL) which enables interstate licensure portability for dental professionals. Additional services include Monthly Board Reports, the Practice Act Database (in collaboration with DANB), and the ACE Program. The AADB also publishes the Composite (34th Edition) and organizes the Annual Meeting for dental regulatory stakeholders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AADB Clearinghouse for Board Actions A central database containing disciplinary actions taken by boards of dental examiners against dental practitioners (DDS/DMD dentists, Dental Hygienists, and Dental Assistants). The Clearinghouse is designed to restrict the ability of incompetent practitioners to move from state to state. Accessible to state dental boards, federal agencies, and contracted organizations via an online portal and on-line query system.
• Self-Query Service A search service that checks if information provided by a dental practitioner matches records previously submitted to State Dental Boards, including malpractice payments, adverse licensure actions, privileged actions, judgments, and convictions. Reports are mailed in sealed envelopes within 10 business days. Priced at $25.00 per query.
• AADB Dental & Dental Hygiene Compact (IDDHL) The Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure (IDDHL) Compact creates a pathway for qualified dentists and dental hygienists to practice across multiple states while maintaining state authority over licensure and discipline. AADB administers the compact through its Repository. Costs are covered through voluntary fees from dental professionals seeking multistate licensure.
• AADB Composite (34th Edition) The 34th Edition Composite publication of the AADB, available for purchase through the AADB Online Store. It is a reference resource for dental regulatory boards and stakeholders.
• Monthly Board Reports A monthly published report listing all of the board orders submitted to the Clearinghouse each month. Available to all dues-paying agency and agency associate members at no charge.
• Practice Act Database A collaborative resource between AADB and Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) providing access to state statutes, regulations, and administrative rules governing the practice of each member of the dental team.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500,000 oral health practitioners' licenses influenced through state board regulation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Dental AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The National Dental Association endorsed the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact in 2025, providing organizational support for the compact initiative designed to enable dental professionals to practice across state lines.
• Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAADB collaborates with DANB on the Practice Act resource initiative. The partnership provides state statutes, regulations, and administrative rules governing the practice of dental team members through a shared platform. This is an ongoing collaborative endeavor between both organizations.
• State Dental BoardscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAADB membership is comprised of state boards of dentistry for licensing jurisdictions within the United States and Canada. These boards are the primary constituents and governing members of the association, representing virtually every state dental board.
• American Association of Dental AdministratorsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAADB references the American Association of Dental Administrators (aadadmin.org) as a related organization providing membership to administrators of agencies involved in testing, licensure, and discipline of dentists.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB): National nonprofit association of U.S. medical boards that operates the Physician Data Center (a centralized disciplinary database analogous to AADB's Clearinghouse) and administers the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact — the closest direct analog to AADB in the medical profession.
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN): Association of nursing regulatory bodies that runs Nursys (a centralized disciplinary database) and the Nurse Licensure Compact, mirroring AADB's clearinghouse-plus-compact model in the nursing profession.
• National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP): Pharmacy board association that maintains a centralized disciplinary/action database and operates the Pharmacist Licensure Compact — a structurally parallel peer operating in the pharmacy regulatory domain.
• Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT): PT regulatory body that runs the centralized disciplinary database (clearinghouse) and the Physical Therapy Compact — a structurally comparable peer in allied health regulation.
• National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE): Chiropractic regulatory organization providing national examinations and a centralized practitioner information service, comparable in function and regulatory scope to AADB.
• Dental Assisting National Board (DANB): Dental-focused credentialing partner of AADB that administers certifications for dental assistants and co-publishes the Practice Act database; a strategic collaborator with overlapping regulatory scope.
• Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS): Regional dental testing agency whose former Executive Director now leads AADB; CRDTS administers clinical examinations used by state boards for licensure decisions, intersecting AADB's regulatory scope.
• American Association of Dental Administrators (AADA): Sister association providing membership to dental board administrators involved in testing, licensure, and discipline — closely aligned mission and overlapping membership base with AADB.

Broad incumbents

• American Dental Association (ADA): The largest U.S. dental professional association, representing practitioners rather than boards. ADA's Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations overlaps with AADB's regulatory policy agenda, but ADA is a practitioner-side incumbent rather than a board-side peer.
• Council of State Governments (CSG): Nonpartisan interstate organization assisting state governments in adopting compacts and interstate agreements; comparable in supporting the legislative pathway for instruments like AADB's IDDHL Compact.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aadbnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/AmericanAssociationOfDentalBoards
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-association-of-dental-boards/?viewAsMember=true

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Association of Dental Boards