Dental board examinations are critical to maintaining the integrity of the educational systems. From the number of recent articles and statements from organized dentistry floating the ideas of accrediting foreign dental schools and eliminating board requirements for licensure, I feel compelled to speak out.
The system of board examinations is our check on the quality of the educational product. It in effect holds the dental schools accountable. Without board oversight, I expect—I know—we will see the quality of the educational product, the student, deteriorate.
Here in Arizona, there is a new start-from-scratch dental school. The school is trying a different educational approach. Board exams will validate the quality of their educational product. If all their students pass their board examinations, then the dental community and the community-at-large will be assured of the quality of these new graduates.
Accreditation simply does not measure each individual student. Accreditation measures only the overall program. In our profession, we need to measure each practitioner’s individual competency. With a movement stirring to perhaps accredit foreign dental schools, we need to have third-party oversight of dental schools more than ever.
In addition, some of our historically excellent schools are changing from a traditional curriculum to a new "problem-based learning" approach. At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, or USC, for instance, this has meant a significant drop in the preclinical experience for first-year students. As these students enter the fourth-year clinic this year, they are struggling. If a significant number of these students fail the clinical boards, then USC will have to make adjustments. The school is being held accountable to deliver the education that the students paid for with their tuition dollars.
The studies that show that dental school performance does not correspond to board results, such as Dr. Richard Ranney and colleagues’ report in August JADA, further validate my argument. What do grades really have to do with success? At least the board can validate that the student can prepare and place a nice Class II restoration. Accreditation says nothing about the individual. We must all be held individually responsible.
