Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cost Of Living
Undergraduate Fees International Students
Post Graduate Fees International Students
What really sets ACTA apart is its razor-sharp selectivity: this isn’t a place that opens the doors wide. It accepts just 128 students into its Master's program each year—making it one of the most competitive dental schools around. ACTA doesn’t coast on reputation—it drives global leadership in research on oral infections, inflammation, and regenerative dentistry. Its work on biofilms, fluoride-based prevention, tissue engineering, and host response digs deeper than most. And because both UvA and VU are heavyweight universities, ACTA draws top-tier academics and dentists to both teach and learn. In short, it's a tight-knit, elite hub carving out the future of dental science.
ACTA’s campus is a modern feat of dental design—purpose-built to bring teaching, research, and clinical care under one roof. Lecture halls, simulation labs, research suites, patient clinics, and a specialized dental library all sit neatly in one complex. It’s a vibrant academic ecosystem, where students scrub in next to researchers who are testing the next big innovation. Beyond that core, it taps into the broader VU and UvA infrastructure—so students enjoy sports, food courts, study lounges, and recreation just a short walk away. The facility isn’t just functional—it’s a living lab, tailored to dental science and built for action.
Student life at ACTA strikes a balance between intense study and community. Days are packed with hands-on clinical work, lectures, and lab sessions, but there’s space to connect through student associations and social events. The campus vibe is close-knit—small cohorts mean strong peer bonds and easy collaboration. Beyond dentistry, students tap into the vibrant Amsterdam scene for culture, nightlife, and outdoor escapes. The mix of rigorous academics and a supportive social environment keeps motivation high and stress manageable. Life here isn’t just about learning teeth; it’s about growing as a person in a lively, diverse city.
ACTA’s career services are tailored to prepare students for the dental profession and beyond. They offer personalized guidance on internships, job placements, and postgraduate opportunities. Workshops and networking events connect students with industry leaders, alumni, and potential employers. The center also assists with CV writing, interview preparation, and professional development. Career advisors stay updated on the evolving dental job market to provide relevant advice. Overall, ACTA equips students with the tools and connections needed to launch successful dental careers.
The below information is required while
completing the university application :
key admission requirements for the Bachelor in Dentistry program at ACTA—straightforward, no fluff:
Dutch Language Proficiency
You must speak and understand Dutch fluently—enough to communicate with patients and follow your classes. This is essential for both learning and future dental practice.
VWO-Equivalent Diploma
Your secondary school diploma must match the Dutch VWO standard. If you're applying from abroad, your credentials will be evaluated (via Nuffic or similar equivalency assessments).
Selection Procedure (Numerus Fixus)
Dentistry is a numerus fixus program—meaning admission is competitive and limited. Even with the right diploma, you’ll need to go through ACTA’s selection process, which could include assessments or ranking.
Good Academic Foundation in Sciences
You must already have a strong background in natural sciences—specifically chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics—to qualify. Admissions may check if you've covered these in your previous studies.
Complete & High-Quality Application File
Even before your performance gets judged, the quality of your application matters. Make sure it's complete, well-written, and includes all required documents. Scribd
Tests and Assessments
ACTA selects candidates via live tests—possibly covering scientific principles, language skills, spatial awareness, social intelligence, and numerical reasoning. These tests are often held during an assessment day.
ACTA recruits talent across teaching, research, and administrative roles, drawing professionals who want to contribute to world-class dental education and innovation. Faculty positions often focus on specialist fields like oral radiology, orthodontics, or regenerative dentistry, while support roles keep the academic and clinical operations running smoothly. The recruitment process is competitive, mirroring the institute’s high academic standards. Diversity, collaboration, and professional growth are at the heart of their hiring approach. New hires benefit from being part of a globally ranked institution with access to cutting-edge facilities. Whether academic or support staff, joining ACTA means stepping into a role that shapes the future of dentistry.
ACTA stands as one of the world’s top dental institutions, ranked among the very best globally. Since 1984, it has grown into a powerhouse combining education, research, and patient care, treating around 300 patients daily. Its groundbreaking studies on periodontitis, the oral microbiome, and dental materials have earned global recognition and high citation counts. The institute was also among the first accredited by the European Federation of Periodontology for specialist training. With elite rankings, impactful research, and exceptional clinical output, ACTA has firmly secured its place as a leader in dentistry.
Beyond standout papers, ACTA’s true achievement is the consistent output of high-impact research across fields—oral microbiology, regenerative medicine, materials science, and more. It’s not a flash-in-the-pan. Their publication numbers are vast—thousands of articles, chapters, reviews, and reports stretching from 1985 through the mid-2020s. That scoring depth shows institutional strength, where diverse fields feed into each other, cross-pollinate ideas, and generate long-term influence in dental science
Research means little if you can't test it in practice. ACTA has built a clinical apparatus that treats around 300 patients every single day—over 33,000 annually. That’s massive. It’s in that daily clinical throughput where treatments based on ACTA’s research can be tried, refined, and scaled. It transforms academic outputs into real-world care. For a research institution to manage that volume and maintain scholarly output? That’s institutional muscle—education, science, and service all rolled into one.
In 2025, ACTA held its place among the global elite by ranking third overall in the QS World University Rankings for Dentistry. That’s not just a win—it’s consistency. The faculty had been among the top three worldwide for at least seven straight years by then, and secured its position as the very best in both the Netherlands and Europe for the discipline. It’s a stamp of enduring academic excellence—reflecting peer reputation, research output, and influence among employers and scholars. Being consistently in the top three isn’t a one-off. It shows decades of purposeful vision and execution in dental education and scholarship
By around 2013, ACTA was churning out some seriously high-quality science. That year alone, the institution published 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, with 231 in SCI-indexed publications. Nearly half of those—in both dental and interdisciplinary journals—appeared in top-tier outlets. Specifically, 23% were in the top 10%, 46% in the top 25%, and 71% in the top 50%. That’s not average output—it’s meaningful, widely cited research. ACTA was flexing academia muscle, proving that its work wasn’t just prolific, but respected and impactful in the wider scientific world
ACTA didn’t sit on its research laurels. Around 2011–2013, it launched into major collaborative projects—like initiating an “Oral Health” theme within a national top institute for food and nutrition and coordinating an EU-funded Marie Curie ITN project, Euroclast, involving seven academic centers and two industry partners, supporting 11 PhD students. These awards reflect institutional leadership and signal that ACTA not only excels in science, but also shapes the research network infrastructure
ACTA’s home isn’t just functional—it’s award-winning. The building, designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects (completed around 2011), took third prize in that year’s Amsterdam architecture competition. This modern, purpose-built facility not only accommodates clinics, research, and teaching, but also signals institutional pride and visibility. It contributes to ACTA’s identity and underscores that the place itself is as forward-looking as its research and programs
By the mid-2010s, ACTA had structured itself across multiple focused divisions—covering everything from oral regenerative medicine to oral public health, maxillofacial surgery, orofacial pain, and pediatric dentistry. This wasn’t just organizational bloat—it meant that ACTA could tackle dental problems from every angle, with specialists building depth in each domain. It positioned the faculty as not just dental educators, but as comprehensive biomedical researchers, feeding into clinical, scientific, and public health depths
By 2009, ACTA researchers produced a breakthrough study defining the “core” oral microbiome of healthy individuals. Over 1,030 citations later, it’s clear that their work shifted the paradigm. Suddenly, understanding oral health became about ecological balance—not just eliminating a single pathogen. This study laid the groundwork for modern microbiome research in oral medicine, steering both diagnostics and preventive strategies toward managing communities, rather than fighting individual bugs. ACTA earned its spot in the microbiome revolution
One of ACTA’s research cornerstones came in 2000, with a landmark paper on how periodontitis elevates systemic inflammatory markers tied to cardiovascular disease. It’s since been cited over 1,050 times—making it not just prominent, but foundational. That publication helped reshape how we see oral health—not just as isolated to the mouth, but as a factor in broader systemic diseases. It positioned ACTA as a research voice that could connect dental conditions with overall health, and helped fuel interdisciplinary studies in oral-systemic links
Way back in 1997, ACTA-affiliated researchers tackled polymerization shrinkage stress in composite dental restoratives. That paper, published in the Journal of Dentistry, crossed the 1,000-citation mark. What it did was foundational: it exposed a key failure mode in dental materials and informed the next generation of composite formulations and curing protocols. Its long citation history tells us it wasn’t academic fluff—it changed how labs and clinics approached dental restorations for years
ACTA lives at the frontier of dental science, driving breakthroughs in oral infections, inflammation, and regenerative medicine. It’s where tissue engineering and advanced host-response research aren’t buzzwords, but everyday breakthroughs shaping tomorrow’s treatments. Its labs are buzzing with experts—from academics to clinicians—pushing the science behind implants, biofilms, and preventive dentistry. The institute’s global reputation draws top-tier talent eager to innovate, resulting in truly collaborative, boundary-pushing projects. ACTA’s work isn’t just academic—it impacts real patients, every day. Bottom line: it’s a powerhouse where bold ideas become the next routine in dental care.
More recently, ACTA researchers received focused grants to explore how host factors shape the oral microbiome and its role in systemic health. Projects led by senior researchers investigated how host biology, diet, and early-life exposures influence microbiome trajectories and vulnerability to disease. The emphasis here is translational: by identifying host markers that correlate with microbial dysbiosis, ACTA aims to predict risk before clinical disease appears and to test interventions that steer the ecosystem back toward health. This host-centric framing moves the field toward prevention and personalized oral health strategies, and repositions dental care as a platform for broader health monitoring
As dental implants became routine, ACTA teams produced detailed cross-sectional analyses of the submucosal microbiome around implants, published in 2021. Those studies compared healthy and diseased peri-implant sites, linking specific microbial community shifts to clinical signs of implant disease and highlighting risk factors such as smoking and time since loading. The work strengthened the concept that implant complications are ecological events — shaped by host, implant material, and microbial community — and not just isolated infections. Clinically, these findings helped refine monitoring protocols and preventive measures for implant patients, and spurred interest in microbiome-guided implant care
ACTA scholars also contributed to conceptual reviews that clarified how to modulate the oral microbiome for health. A 2019 review co-authored by ACTA-affiliated researchers synthesized evidence on host modulation, probiotics, dietary influence, and ecological interventions, arguing that successful therapies should restore ecological balance rather than simply eliminate microbes. That synthesis influenced R&D directions: product developers and clinic researchers began testing targeted prebiotic/probiotic strategies, pH-modulating agents, and behavior-based interventions informed by community ecology. The review helped set research priorities and guided clinical translation efforts toward sustaining healthy microbial ecosystems
ACTA researchers published important methodological work comparing saliva collection methods and validating saliva as a robust diagnostic matrix for microbiome studies. These studies examined comparability between swabbed and spit saliva and optimized collection protocols to reduce variability in longitudinal research. Method standardization matters because reliable, non-invasive sampling is the gateway to population-scale oral surveillance and point-of-care tests. By clarifying how collection choices affect downstream results, ACTA helped make saliva-based diagnostics more practical and trustworthy for both research and future clinical screening tools
A throughline in ACTA’s work is translating basic biofilm ecology into preventive therapies. Research from ACTA groups reframed cariology and periodontal disease as outcomes of disturbed biofilm ecology and host interaction, inspiring trials of ecological-based interventions: targeted antimicrobials, host-modulation agents, and behaviorally anchored prevention programs. This translation reduces invasive treatment needs and prioritizes early interventions that keep biofilms in a benign state. The practical payoff is measurable: better prevention protocols, refined patient education, and pilot projects that integrate microbiome monitoring into routine dental care planning
Beyond any single discovery, ACTA’s systemic achievement is a consistent pipeline of high-quality publications in dental, microbiological, and biomedical journals. Institutions like the Nature Index track ACTA’s presence among high-impact outputs, reflecting concentrated expertise across oral microbiology, materials science, clinical trials, and preventive dentistry. That research density creates cross-fertilization: material scientists collaborate with microbiologists, clinicians test translational protocols, and epidemiologists validate biomarkers. The net result is repeated, measurable influence—papers that move fields, inform guidelines, and seed new technologies—making ACTA a perpetual innovation engine rather than a one-off inventor
Across the 2010s and into the 2020s, ACTA consolidated its microbiome expertise into a complete, end-to-end analysis pipeline — from standardized sample collection to sequencing, bioinformatics, and clinical interpretation. This is not a single paper but a visible institutional capability: ACTA’s Preventive Dentistry group documents experience in 16S and ITS sequencing, sample prep, automated workflows, and downstream statistical interpretation. That infrastructure enabled reproducible research, multi-cohort comparisons, and collaborations where biological insight rather than technical noise drives conclusions. For clinicians and collaborators, the pipeline turned saliva and swab samples into clinically relevant microbial readouts, enabling translational projects in diagnostics, epidemiology, and personalized preventive care
One of ACTA’s landmark contributions came from early next-generation sequencing work that helped define a “core” oral microbiome in healthy adults. That 2008 study used high-throughput sequencing to map the diversity and overlap of bacterial communities across individuals and oral sites, shifting how dentists and researchers think about oral health: rather than a single pathogenic species causing disease, oral health depends on a resilient ecosystem. The paper provided proof that many healthy people share a substantial fraction of identical bacterial sequences, which opened the door to diagnostic and preventive strategies based on ecological balance rather than one-off pathogen hunting. This work underpins much of ACTA’s later microbiome and preventive dentistry research
Following the same methodological leap, ACTA researchers were among the early adopters of pyrosequencing for oral samples, demonstrating that deeper, culture-independent profiling reveals previously hidden diversity. That technique made it possible to detect low-abundance taxa, compare communities across individuals, and link microbial signatures with clinical measures. For dental research this was transformative: suddenly longitudinal studies, early-stage disease detection, and ecological interventions became feasible at scale. ACTA’s use and refinement of these sequencing approaches catalysed subsequent projects on saliva diagnostics, biofilm ecology, and peri-implant infections, giving the faculty practical tools to move from descriptive lists of bacteria to actionable biological hypotheses
Finally, ACTA’s real innovation is organizational: since its founding, it deliberately combined education, patient care, and research under one roof, accelerating translation. The purpose-built campus enables students and clinicians to participate in research, while research teams test interventions in real clinical settings that treat hundreds of patients daily. That integration shortens the loop between discovery and impact—students learn techniques grounded in cutting-edge science, clinicians access newest diagnostics, and researchers get rapid clinical feedback. This institutional design is why ACTA’s research often crosses into tangible clinical advances rather than staying purely theoretical
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