NBDHE 

The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) is the United States national dental hygiene exam. Its purpose is to assist U.S. State Dentistry Boards in determining qualifications of dental hygienists who seek licensure to practice dental hygiene. The examination assesses the ability to understand important information from basic biomedical, dental, and dental hygiene sciences and also the ability to apply such information in a problem-solving context. Therefore it helps boards to ensure that each examination candidate and applicant for licensure has achieved the level of knowledge, skill and judgment necessary to practice in a safe and responsible manner.

Indian Dental/Dental Hygiene Students

All Indian dental students/ practising dentists (BDS/MDS) who wish to join U.S. Dental Hygiene programs are required to take NBDHE. They need to consider two main issues, before they decide to take the exam. One, they are required to travel to the U.S on a visitor visa to appear for the exam and two, they must have their credentials evaluated by the Educational Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org).

Eligibility Requirements for NBDHE

To participate in the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, a candidate must qualify through one of the provisions listed below:

Dental Hygiene Student

A dental hygiene student in an accredited program is eligible for examination when the dental hygiene program director (or designee), certifies that the student is prepared for examination and is within four months of anticipated issuance of a dental hygiene diploma. If the dental hygiene program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (CODA) at the time the application is filed, the signature or electronic approval of the director (or designee) on the application meets this requirement. Only dental hygiene programs in the United States and in Canada (by reciprocal agreement) are accredited by the Commission.

Graduate of an Accredited Program

A dental hygienist who is a graduate of a dental hygiene program that was accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation during the time the dental hygienist was enrolled is eligible for examination following the Joint Commission’s receipt of evidence of graduation.
The means of fulfilling this eligibility requirement for participating in the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination is a letter from the director of the accredited dental hygiene program from which the individual was graduated. Graduates of accredited programs who send an application without proof of graduation will have their application returned. Recent graduates who are retaking the examination must also provide proof of graduation with their application and fee.

Graduate of a Non-Accredited Program

A dental hygienist who is a graduate of a dental hygiene program that was not accredited during the time the dental hygienist was enrolled is eligible for examination only if the program was equivalent to an accredited program (see summary of accreditation standards below). Accreditation standards in effect at the time the candidate applies for examination are used in evaluating the program.
The means of fulfilling the eligibility requirement must be in the form of a letter of recommendation from the (a) dean of an accredited dental school, or (b) director of an accredited dental hygiene program, and the (c) secretary of a board of dentistry of a U.S. licensing jurisdiction. The letter from two of the three possible sources must certify that the non-accredited program that the candidate completed met each of several requirements in terms of length of study, subjects, functions and hours.

Dental Student

A dental student from an accredited dental school is eligible for examination if the dean of the dental school certifies that the student has completed the equivalent of an accredited dental hygiene program. The means of fulfilling this requirement is a letter from the dean of the accredited dental school.

Dentist

A dentist is eligible for examination if the eligibility requirements for National Board Dental Examinations are met. This provision does not apply to a dentist who was endorsed for the NBDE Part I by the dean of an accredited dental school that was considering admission of the dentist with advanced standing. The dentist must provide the necessary documentation to fulfill the dental eligibility requirements.

An individual who failed the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination is not allowed to retest before the next regular examination date on which the examination is offered.

Examination Content

Scope of the Examination

The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination is a comprehensive examination consisting of approximately 350 multiple-choice examination items. Although performance on the examination is reported by means of one official score, the examination has two components. The discipline-based Component A includes 200 items addressing three major areas:

• Scientific Basis for Dental Hygiene Practice
  
• Provision of Clinical Dental Hygiene Services
  
• Community Health/Research Principles
  

Component B includes 150 case-based items that refer to 12 to 15 dental hygiene patient cases; these cases present information dealing with adult and child patients by means of patient histories, dental charts, radiographs, and clinical photographs. Each examination includes at least one case regarding patients of the following types: Geriatric, Adult-Periodontal, Paediatric, Special Needs, and Medically Compromised.

The case-based items address knowledge and skills required in:
1. Assessing patient characteristics
2. Obtaining and interpreting radiographs
3. Planning and managing dental hygiene care
4. Performing periodontal procedures
5. Using preventive agents
6. Providing supportive treatment service
7. Professional responsibility

Examination items cover functions that a dental hygienist is expected to be able to perform. Only functions that may be delegated to a dental hygienist in a majority of states will be included in the examination.

Examination items are selected by examination construction committees in accordance with the Dental Hygiene Examination Specifications. Examination constructors are appointed based on expertise in six areas: basic sciences, radiology, periodontics, dental hygiene curriculum, clinical dental hygiene and community dental health.

The American Dental Association Universal/National tooth notation system is used on all National Dental and Dental Hygiene Examinations. This system is a sequential tooth numbering system, designating the permanent dentition with numbers 1-32, and the primary dentition with letters A-T.

Scores

Two factors affect a candidate's score on the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination: the number of correct answers selected by the candidate and the score scale conversion for the examination. For the NBDHE, there is no penalty for selecting an incorrect response. A candidate's total score is reported in terms of a standard score, which has been converted from the total number of correct answers. If two or more answers are marked by a candidate for the same test item, credit is not awarded. The minimum passing score on the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination is a standard score of 75. The minimum passing score and the remaining score scale is based on the judgments of experts. The examination results are reported in standard scores of 49 to 99. The Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations uses consistent methods including equating to guarantee that scores accurately and fairly reflect the knowledge and problem solving skills assessed by the examination.

Test Centers

The NBDHE is administered by Pearson VUE Test Centers only in the United States, its territories including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and Canada. Indian students are required to get a visitor visa and travel to the U.S. to appear for the test.