The board is the second oldest licensing board in Oregon, created by an act of the Legislature on February 23, 1887. The mission of the board is to promote high quality oral health care in Oregon by equitably regulating dental professionals. 

The goals of the board are to protect the public from unsafe, incompetent or fraudulent practitioners and to encourage licensees to practice safely and competently in the best interests of their patients. The board does this by testing the competency of applicants through written and clinical examinations, requiring continuing education, investigating complaints and enforcing the provisions of the Dental Practice Act and rules of the board, communicating board policies and other pertinent information on a regular basis, acting as a resource to consumers in determining the adequacy of their dental treatment, and working with other health care boards and associations to develop partnerships for forging a viable health care delivery system.