ASDA, along with the ADA, ADEA, SPEA, and many other dental organizations and school administrations believe that in order to protect the public, maintain the integrity of the profession, and ensure only competent graduates earn a dental license, performing exams on human subjects must end.
ASDA’s L-1 policy: Initial Licensure Pathways, outlines ASDA’s exact ideal alternative exam, as follows:
The American Student Dental Association believes the ideal requirements for initial dental licensure for predoctoral students include the following:
- Graduation from a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited predoctoral dental education program.
- Passing score on the National Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.
- Successful completion of a clinical assessment that addresses the following criteria and methodology.
- Criteria:
- Does not use human subjects in a live clinical testing scenario
- Is psychometrically valid and reliable in its assessment
- Is reflective of the scope of current dental practice
- Is universally accepted
- Methodology: ASDA believes demonstration of both kinesthetic and clinical decision-making competence is necessary to obtain initial dental licensure. ASDA believes this should be demonstrated through the following:
- Manikin-based kinesthetic assessment, and
- A non-patient based Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).