Maintenance of Certification
The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine values ongoing learning to expand knowledge, improve dental practices, and increase patient safety. For this reason, Diplomates and International Certificants of the ABDSM must adhere to the following requirements to maintain their certification.
Maintenance of Certification Requirements
For maintenance of certification (MOC), the ABDSM requires continuing education and an annual fee. Lack of compliance with these requirements may result in the suspension of a Diplomate's or International Certificant's status as determined by the ABDSM Board of Directors.
CE Requirements
Maintenance of certification requires a total of 25 hours of recognized CE (ADA CERP or AGD PACE) in dental sleep medicine earned from any provider every two years.
CE does not need to be submitted unless requested by the ABDSM. Each year, the ABDSM will audit the participation of a random sample of Diplomates and International Certificants. Each person selected for audit will receive information on how to electronically submit documentation meeting the CE requirements.
CE Audit Information for 2023
Diplomates and International Certificants who earned certification in 2020 or earlier may be requested to submit documentation of their compliance with the CE requirements during the ABDSM's 2023 audit.
Newer Diplomates and International Certificants will not be included in the 2023 audit. Those who earned their certification in 2021 are not eligible for the audit until 2024; and those who earned their certification in 2022 are not eligible for the audit until 2025.
Documentation
The following documentation is required for all CE being used for MOC:
CE does not need to be submitted unless requested by the ABDSM. Each year, the ABDSM will audit the participation of a random sample of Diplomates and International Certificants. Each person selected for audit will receive information on how to electronically submit documentation meeting the CE requirements.
CE Audit Information for 2023
Diplomates and International Certificants who earned certification in 2020 or earlier may be requested to submit documentation of their compliance with the CE requirements during the ABDSM's 2023 audit.
Newer Diplomates and International Certificants will not be included in the 2023 audit. Those who earned their certification in 2021 are not eligible for the audit until 2024; and those who earned their certification in 2022 are not eligible for the audit until 2025.
Documentation
The following documentation is required for all CE being used for MOC:
- A letter or certificate verifying participation in the course; transcripts are not accepted
- A detailed agenda or list of course objectives to serve as verification that the course content was in dental sleep medicine
Acceptable CE for maintenance of certification includes:
- NEW: Credit hours in temporomandibular disorder where the course objectives clearly which support a prominent dental sleep medicine focus
- NEW: Up to 5 credit hours in practice management, billing and coding for dental sleep medicine.
- Online or self-mediated CE as well as in-person CE
- The ABDSM does not limit the amount of online or self-mediated CE that may be used for MOC
- CE from any course provider as long as it meets all other requirements set forth here
- A minimum of 5 credits must be in science-based education in dental sleep medicine. Up to 20 credits in recognized CME in sleep medicine (AMA PRA Category 1 credits) may be submitted in lieu of dental sleep medicine CE
- The Diplomate or International Certificant must be the participant of the educational offering
- The ABDSM accepts up to 50% of the required CE for MOC to come from credits earned by lecturing or authoring activities. The remaining CE credits must be earned by participating in educational activities as a learner. The following criteria must be met in order to use lecturing or authoring activities toward MOC requirements.
Lectures and Presentations
- Each hour of lecture is accepted as equivalent to one CE credit.
- The material must have been presented within the two years prior to the current year and repeated presentations of the same material will not be accepted.
- Only presentations on dental sleep medicine topics in ADA CERP or AGD PACE recognized programs will be accepted.
- Submit a letter from the course sponsor or provider that verifies you as the presenter along with the date and title of the presentation.
Authoring Activities
- Articles on dental sleep medicine topics published in peer-reviewed journals are accepted as equivalent to two CE credits.
- Articles must be published within the two years prior to the current year.
- Any of the article's authors may use the article to meet their maintenance of certification requirements.
- Include a link to the article that verifies your role as author as well as the article's publication date.
- Book chapters on dental sleep medicine topics are accepted as equivalent to four CE credits.
- Books must be published within the two years prior to the current year.
- Any of the chapter's authors or editors may use the chapter to meet their maintenance of certification requirements.
- Include a link to the book that verifies your role as author or editor as well as the book's publication date.
Unacceptable CE
CE that is not accepted for MOC includes:
CE that is not accepted for MOC includes:
- CE that was previously used to gain exam eligiblity.
CE credits must meet all requirements outlined above except that they need not be ADA CERP-recognized or AGD PACE-approved.
Annual Fee
The ABDSM provides invoices at the beginning of each calendar year for payment of the annual fee.Diplomates and International Certificants $200 USD
Active-Duty Military (verification required) $50 USD
The annual fee is waived for the year in which an individual is awarded their certification. Payments are made online via the ABDSM website. For those who are also members of the AADSM, please note that the annual fee for ABDSM MOC is separate from AADSM membership dues.