Your dentist is a Fellow or Master of the
Academy of General Dentistry
What does FAGD or MAGD
stand for after your general
dentist's name?
Your dentist is a member of the
Academy of General Dentistry
(AGD), an organization of general
dentists who are dedicated to
professional development and
continuing education. All AGD
members must remain current with
advances in the profession to
provide quality patient treatment.
A general dentist who is a
"Fellow" in the Academy of
General Dentistry (FAGD) has
been recognized by other general
dentists as a leader and an example
to other dentists of the importance
of quality continuing dental
education to patient care. A
general dentist who has earned the
designation "Master" of the
Academy of General Dentistry
(MAGD)-- a big step up from
Fellowship-- has completed a
structured and rigorous set of
requirements involving all the
dental disciplines. Both
Fellows and Masters have
accepted the charge to keep
abreast of advances in dentistry
for the benefit of patients and the
betterment of dentistry. They
serve as mentors and leaders to
other dentists pursuing continuing
dental education. They set
examples in their communities
with their hard work, concern and
involvement.
What are the steps to Fellowship
in the Academy of General
Dentistry?
To earn a Fellowship Award, your
dentist must earn a minimum of
500 approved continuing dental
education credits and pass a
comprehensive 400-question
examination. Your dentist must
also be an Academy of General
Dentistry member for five
continuous years. While attaining
Fellowship is a challenge, it allows
dentists to remain current with
what is new in dentistry, and to
incorporate the latest techniques
into their practices.
What is the requirement for
Mastership in the Academy of
General Dentistry?
To attain Mastership, members
must first be Fellows in the
Academy of General Dentistry.
Then they must earn an additional
600 approved continuing educa-
tion credits, meeting minimum
requirements in certain dental
disciplines, of which 400 hours are
hands on courses. Thus, a Master
of the Academy of General
Dentistry has taken a total of 1,100
hours of continuing education. A
Master has studied 16 disciplines
in dentistry, such as periodontics,
orthodontics and implants.
What's special about a dentist
who has an award from the
Academy of General Dentistry?
Fellows and Masters of the
Academy of General Dentistry
follow a lifelong pursuit of
continuing education to provide
the highest quality of dental care
to patients. The award symbolizes
the professional responsibility of
general dentists to remain current
in their profession and reminds
each member of the dental profes-
sion to continue to learn new
techniques for their dental
practice. These are awards,
however and should not be
confused with post-graduate
degrees or certification. Every
dentist who applies for the
Fellowship or Mastership award
has their application reviewed by
the AGD Council on Dental
Education to assure that the high
standards
of the Academy of General
Dentistry are met.
How many dentists have
achieved Fellowship of
Mastership?
To date, more than 10,000
members of the Academy of
General Dentistry have become
Fellows and more than 1,000 have
gone on to receive Mastership. The
Academy is proud of all of its
members who must take at least 75
hours of continuing dental
education every three years, and
especially proud of its members
who have made the commitment to
pursue these awards. When your
dentist has achieved the
Fellowship Award or Mastership
Award, you can be assured that
they are dedicated to providing the
finest care in general dentistry.
This information was compiled for General Dentistry. Your dentist cares about long-term dental health for you and your family and demonstrates that concern by
belonging to the Academy of General Dentistry. As one of the 35,000 general dentists in the United Sates and Canada who are member of the Academy, your dentists
participates in an ongoing program of professional development and continuing education to remain current with advances in the profession and to provide quality patient
treatment. Visit the AGD’s website at www.agd.org. You have permission to photocopy this page and distribute it to your patients.
