Dental licensing in 2020: Where are they now? Part 2

As discussed in a blog post earlier this week, 2020 grads faced challenges obtaining their dental licensure until ASDA stepped in to assist with this effort. Elizabeth Stapleton, a 2020 graduate in Virginia, shared, “The original plan for my licensure included a manikin exam with ADEX for prosthodontics and endodontics, and a live-patient exam for restorative and periodontics.”

Dental licensing in 2020: Where are they now?

In March 2020, many dental schools shut classroom and clinic doors. A deadly virus was circulating the globe, known as SARS-CoV-2, or more commonly referred to as COVID-19. With many clinics and testing centers closed, students were prevented from taking licensing exams. Additional barriers stood in the way of students in states that required a live-patient exam, or a live-patient component of the exam, that could not be fulfilled under a state of emergency.

Non-patient-based exams and licensure during the pandemic

This time of the year usually signifies great celebration for graduating dental students across the country. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, graduation ceremonies look a lot different this year with virtual walks across the stage and celebrations at home in quarantine. How graduates will become licensed is different as well, and non-patient-based alternatives are now coming to the forefront.

Taking the licensure exam: A timeline

Each year, more than 6,000 dental students across the United States obtain dental licenses through a patient-based clinical licensure exam. As a dental student, I’ve learned all about what the test will entail: performing two fillings and a cleaning on a live patient, and then preparing a crown, bridge and an anterior root canal on plastic teeth. I’ve also learned about the controversies surrounding the exam.