JCNDE: who runs the INBDE, and what a DENTPIN is

What does the JCNDE do?

Its 16 members come from dental schools, dental practice, dental examining boards, dental hygiene, dental students and the public. The JCNDE sets the policy. The ADA’s Department of Testing Services (DTS) runs the exam program day to day, and Prometric delivers the exam. So booking questions go to Prometric, and policy, scores and eligibility go to the JCNDE or DTS. The JCNDE’s site calls its exams the National Board Examinations, but it isn’t a licensing body. Your state’s board of dental examiners licenses you, and the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) runs a clinical exam.

What a DENTPIN is

DENTPIN stands for Dental Personal Identification Number. It’s an eight-digit number used in place of your Social Security number across dental testing and applications. The same one works for the Dental Admission Test and the application services, so you may already have it.

If you’ve applied for or taken any dental exam, or you’re licensed as a dentist or hygienist in the US, the ADA says you already have one and shouldn’t register again. A second one won’t fix a wrong name, either. Use the self-service feature after you log in.