> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dso.getlemma.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Set up and maintain CAQH profiles
> Build a complete CAQH ProView profile per dentist, upload the documents dental carriers require, authorize payers, and survive the re-attestation cycle.
**CAQH ProView** is a shared credentialing database used by many commercial payers, including dental carriers. A dentist maintains one profile that participating payers can use during credentialing. CAQH does **not** replace payer enrollment; it supplies information to the payer's process.
## Prerequisites
* The dentist's Type 1 NPI
* Current dental license, DEA registration where applicable, specialty board certification where applicable
* A malpractice certificate of insurance
* **A complete work history with no unexplained gaps**
## Where CAQH fits in dental
Most of the major dental carriers anchor their credentialing data in CAQH: Aetna Dental's participation application is CAQH ProView-based, Cigna's credentialing leans on CAQH data, and the pattern holds across the national carriers.1 Two dental-specific caveats:
* **Delta Dental member companies use separate credentialing processes**, which differ by state and may use DDS Enroll, DentalXChange, or another channel. Keep CAQH current, but expect a separate application for each relevant Delta company. See [Enroll with dental payers](/guides/enrollment/enroll-with-dental-payers).
* **SKYGEN's Dental Hub is emerging as a multi-payer dental credentialing utility.** MetLife moved its dental credentialing onto Dental Hub effective April 2025, and more consolidation is likely.2 Treat it the way you treat CAQH: one more shared profile to keep current, sourced from the same document packet.
## Steps
Check whether the dentist already has an account from a prior practice. If not, register at [proview.caqh.org](https://proview.caqh.org/). Some payers can initiate an invitation.
Check for an existing profile before creating a new one. Duplicate CAQH profiles cause the same class of problem as duplicate NPIs.
| Section | Watch for |
| ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Personal information | Legal name matching the dental license exactly |
| Education and training | Dental school dates; residency where applicable (GPR/AEGD, specialty programs) |
| **Work history** | **Every gap over a defined period needs an explanation**, this is the most common reason a profile is sent back |
| Licenses | Every state, with numbers and expiration dates |
| DEA and state controlled substance registrations | Where applicable |
| Specialty board certification | Where applicable; most general dentists do not have one |
| Malpractice insurance | Carrier, policy number, limits, effective dates |
| Hospital privileges | Record "none" or describe the arrangement rather than leaving the field blank |
| Practice locations | Address, hours, phone, languages, accessibility, whether accepting new patients |
| Disclosure questions | Malpractice history, license actions, criminal history |
Upload the current license, DEA certificate, malpractice certificate of insurance, specialty certificate where applicable, CV, and signed release. An expired document can hold up the profile.
Explicitly authorize each payer you intend to enroll with to access the profile. **An unauthorized payer cannot see it**, and the application sits waiting for information the payer cannot retrieve.
Authorize the carriers and dental benefit administrators that may need the profile, including organizations you expect to apply to later. Authorization does not carry a CAQH fee.
The profile is not usable until attested. Attestation is the dentist's certification that the information is accurate.
**Attestation expires.** CAQH requires re-attestation on a recurring cycle, commonly described as roughly every 120 days. A lapsed attestation makes the profile invisible to payers **mid-credentialing**, and applications stall silently. This is one of the most common causes of a credentialing application going quiet.
Put it on the compliance calendar the day you attest, with a 14-day lead. Verify the current interval in CAQH's own documentation, since it has changed over time.
## Ongoing maintenance
Update the profile whenever:
* A license or DEA registration is renewed
* The malpractice policy renews, so **the COI must be updated**
* The dentist adds a state license
* A practice location is added or changed
* Anything in the disclosure questions changes
Then **re-attest**, because an update without attestation may not propagate.
## Delegating maintenance
For a group with many dentists, plan capacity for each profile and re-attestation cycle, plus any separate Delta or Dental Hub records.
Options:
| Approach | Fits |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Dentist self-maintains** | Small groups; unreliable at scale |
| **Credentialing coordinator maintains** with dentist attestation | Most groups |
| **Credentialing software** with CAQH integration | Groups with many dentists and payers |
| **Outsourced credentialing service** | Groups without internal capacity |
Attestation itself is generally the dentist's act. Everything else can be delegated.
**CAQH profiles are one of the few things that transfer when you expand.** A dentist licensed in a second state updates their existing profile rather than building a new one. Keeping profiles clean pays off at expansion. See [Enroll with payers, again](/start/second-state/payer-enrollment-again).
## CAQH EnrollHub
A separate product from the same organization, for **EFT and ERA enrollment**. Submit bank account details once for participating payers rather than a separate form and voided check for each.
Not every dental payer participates, but where they do it saves real time. See [Set up EDI, ERA, and EFT](/guides/enrollment/set-up-edi-era-eft).
## Verify it worked
* [ ] No duplicate profile created
* [ ] Every section complete
* [ ] No unexplained work history gaps
* [ ] All documents current and uploaded
* [ ] Target payers authorized
* [ ] Profile attested
* [ ] Re-attestation date calendared with a 14-day lead
* [ ] A named owner for ongoing maintenance
## Common failure modes
| Failure | Consequence |
| ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Attestation lapses mid-credentialing | Application stalls silently for weeks |
| Payer not authorized | Payer cannot access the profile; application waits |
| Expired malpractice COI | Profile incomplete; credentialing blocked |
| Unexplained work history gap | Profile returned; weeks lost |
| Hospital privileges left blank | Treated as incomplete rather than as "none" |
| Duplicate profile | Payers pull the wrong one |
| Updated without re-attesting | Changes may not propagate |
| Assuming CAQH covers Delta | Per-state Delta applications missed entirely |
## Sources
1. Aetna Dental, [apply for participation](https://www.aetnadental.com/professionals/join-aetna-dental-network/apply-for-participation.html) (CAQH ProView-based); Cigna, [credentialing](https://www.cigna.com/health-care-providers/credentialing).
2. MetLife, [dental provider enrollment](https://www.metlifedentalprovider.com/enrollment/); SKYGEN, [Dental Hub](https://www.skygenusa.com/dentalhub).