What Is an AACD Accredited Fellow — and Why It Matters for Your Smile

When patients ask what separates a "cosmetic dentist" from a great cosmetic dentist, the honest answer is usually: credentials most people have never heard of.

The most rigorous of those credentials is Accredited Fellowship in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Of the hundreds of thousands of dentists practicing in the world, fewer than 100 hold this fellowship. And only two dental offices anywhere have two AACD Fellows under one roof — ours is one of them.

What AACD Accreditation actually requires

AACD Accreditation is not a weekend course. It is a multi-year, peer-reviewed process with three demanding stages:

1. A written examination covering comprehensive cosmetic dentistry — materials science, occlusion, smile design principles, aesthetic photography, and case planning.

2. A clinical case submission. Accreditation candidates must submit five complex clinical cases documenting their cosmetic work with before-and-after photography, treatment notes, and long-term follow-up. Each case is judged blindly by a panel of AACD examiners against exacting aesthetic and functional criteria. Most applicants are told to redo at least one case.

3. An oral examination. Final candidates sit for a structured interview with AACD examiners to defend their clinical choices and discuss edge cases.

That process — from start to Accreditation — typically takes 3–5 years. And it's only the beginning of the path to Fellowship.

What Fellowship adds

Fellowship is the highest level of AACD recognition. Beyond Accreditation, Fellowship candidates must submit additional complex cases that demonstrate mastery across every category of cosmetic dentistry — porcelain veneers, all-ceramic crowns, full-mouth reconstruction, implants, and adhesive dentistry — and pass another round of peer review.

Dr. Bill Strupp earned Fellowship after decades of practice and thousands of cases. He was the inaugural speaker at the AACD founding meeting in 1984 and has since been named by Dentistry Today as a Leader in Continuing Education for 23 consecutive years.

Dr. Michael Brumm earned Fellowship as well — and is also a Certified Dental Technician (CDT), a rare additional credential held by only a handful of dentists in the country. The CDT requires formal examination in dental laboratory techniques and ceramics.

What this means for you as a patient

Two practical things. First, the hands treating your smile have been judged by the harshest critics in the profession and found to be among the very best. That is not marketing — it is a verifiable, public credential you can look up on the AACD website.

Second, and more subtly: Accredited Fellows have completed the specific clinical cases that the credential demands. They have seen what works and what doesn't over thousands of restorations. They have built up a catalogue of techniques — how to layer porcelain to mimic natural enamel, how to design occlusion that lasts decades, how to match a single crown to neighboring natural teeth — that you cannot learn from a textbook.

How to find an AACD Fellow near you

If you are considering cosmetic dentistry and want to verify a dentist's credentials, visit aacd.com and use their "Find a Cosmetic Dentist" tool. Filter for Accreditation or Fellowship to see the credentialed cosmetic dentists in your area.

For patients in Florida, the East Coast, and the Caribbean, we are conveniently located in Clearwater — 20 minutes from Tampa International Airport, 10 minutes from Clearwater Beach. We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions about cosmetic treatment and show you the difference an Accredited Fellow's work makes.