Dental hygiene clinical board exams beside the NBDHE

The ADEX dental hygiene exam, and what became of WREB and NERB

WREB’s site says the Western Regional Examining Board is part of CDCA-WREB-CITA, and sends you to ADEX. The American Dental Association (ADA) lists CDCA-WREB-CITA as the former Commission for Dental Competency Assessments (CDCA), WREB and The Council of Interstate Testing Agencies (CITA), and CDCA’s site says it’s the American Board of Dental Examiners. ADEX’s score reports cover past NERB, CDCA, WREB, CITA and ADEX attempts, so ask ADEX for an old result.

ADEX describes its dental hygiene exam in two parts:

• The Simulated Patient Treatment Clinical Examination (SPTCE), on a manikin: finding and removing calculus, measuring pocket depths and managing tissue.
• The Computer Simulated Clinical Examination (CSCE), an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) on diagnosis and treatment planning, using photographs, radiographs and other clinical images.

Only students or graduates of programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) or the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada may take it. Others apply to the state board where they want to practice. ADEX sets its own fees: $1,150 for both parts, including one complimentary retake of the first clinical exam, plus a $150 typodont fee and a facility fee that varies by site.