ADA.org: Future of Dentistry Full Report

FUTURE OFDENTISTRY

tions to senior dental and dental hygiene students
prior to graduation. This allows the candidate to
utilize more fully the dental school resources during
the examination and to enter practice more rapidly
after graduation.

LICENSURE BY CREDENTIALS

Licensure by credentials, or licensure without
examination, is now an acceptable pathway in more
than 30 licensing jurisdictions. Credentialing allows
many established dentists and dental hygienists to
obtain a license to practice without repeating a clin-
ical performance examination.
The ADA has supported these efforts and has
established "Guidelines for Licensure," which out-
lines attributes that states should consider when

granting a license by credentials. The licensing juris-

dictions also have created individual requirements

for licensure without examination, thereby reducing

the uniformity among the requirements. Continu-

ing competence may become an important aspect of

credentialing.

The Canadian system of initial licensure is close-

ly tied to institutional accreditation. Graduates of

these accredited Canadian dental programs face

minimal additional examinations for licensure, since

licensing representatives are part of the accredita-

tion process. This system relies almost wholly on

the accreditation process and faculty evaluations,

since outside examiners do not test individual can-

didates for clinical competence.

Graduates of Canadian dental schools are treated

the same as graduates of dental schools in the

Licensure and Regulation of Dental Professionals

Agenda for Change in the Clinical Licensure Examination Process

• These objectives were developed by participants in the Invitational Conference for Dental Clinical Testing Agencies held March 4, 1997.
  The objectives were endorsed by the American Dental Association, the American Association of Dental Examiners, the American Association
  of Dental Schools, and the American Student Dental Association.

TABLE 5.1

1. Promote the interaction of all testing agencies and boards of examiners to explore the concept of
   more uniform content and methodology in licensure examinations.


2. Develop and promote the acceptance of guidelines for administration of a common content clinical
   examination and standardized examiner calibration.


3. Encourage testing agencies to work with dental school faculties to develop and participate in
   calibration activities.


4. Minimize the use of human subjects in clinical licensure examinations, but where human subjects
   are used, ensure that the safety and protection of the patient is of paramount importance and that
   patients are procured in an ethical manner.


5. Develop and promote policies and procedures to make clinical licensure examinations more
   candidate-friendly.


6. Encourage the development of publications, orientation sessions and other methods to better
   communicate to candidates information regarding clinical examination logistics.


7. Minimize the time needed to notify candidates of examination results.


8. Improve and standardize to the extent possible the testing agencies© appeals process.


9. Urge the American Association of Dental Schools to encourage all dental schools to offer
   remediation programs for candidates who fail the clinical licensure examinations.


10. Promote further study of the pregraduation examinations by the clinical testing agencies and
    encourage the testing agencies and dental schools to work together to offer the pregraduation
    examinations to the extent possible.


11. Promote the acceptance by all licensing jurisdictions of the National Board Dental Examination in
    lieu of a separate written examination on oral diagnosis and treatment planning.


12. Address the profession©s concerns regarding the failure rates on clinical examinations, by collecting
    statistical data on examination results within the limits imposed by the need to protect
    confidentiality.