PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY
[ 49 PA. CODE CH. 33 ]
Clinical Examinations
[39 Pa.B. 5595]
[Saturday, September 26, 2009]The State Board of Dentistry (Board) proposes to amend § 33.103 (relating to examinations) to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The amendment will be effective upon publication of the final-form rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Statutory Authority
The proposed rulemaking is authorized under section 3(c), (d), (e) and (o) of the Dental Law (63 P. S. § 122(c), (d), (e) and (o)). Section 3(c) and (d) authorize the Board to license dentists and dental hygienists by examination. Section 3(e) authorizes the Board to provide for the conduct of licensure examinations. Section 3(o) provides the general authority of the Board ''to adopt, promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary by the Board.''
Background and Purpose
Currently, the Board requires that applicants for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist take and pass the National Board Dental or Dental Hygiene Examination administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, Inc. (written examination) and the clinical examination administered by the Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners, Inc. (NERB). Over the last few years, the Board has been, and will continue to be involved in the efforts to adopt a National clinical examination, but to date, it has not come to fruition. In the absence of a National clinical examination, the Board has determined that applicants for licensure by examination should be able to take any of the five regional clinical examinations; that is, those examinations administered by NERB, the Southern Regional Testing Agency, Inc. (SRTA), the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB), the Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc. (CRDTS), or the Council of Interstate Testing Agencies, Inc. (CITA).
In March of 2009, the Board solicited comments from stakeholders and interested parties regarding the proposal to expand the list of acceptable clinical examinations to include those administered by each of these five regional examining agencies. All of the commentators agreed in theory with the proposal to expand the list of acceptable examinations. However, the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) suggested that the Board consider, instead of listing the five regional testing agencies, defining the criteria by which a clinical examination will be considered valid and reliable. However, the Board believes that, while many of the Board members are experienced dentists and dental hygienists, they are not psychometricians, nor are they trained in education measurement or quantitative psychology. Therefore, the Board is not able to evaluate whether a particular examination is psychometrically sound, valid, reliable or legally defensible. The Board currently relies on NERB to develop and administer an examination that is valid, reliable and legally defensible. The Board will continue to rely on each of the regional testing agencies to defend their examinations if challenged. The Board, however, has reviewed the content of the examinations, and finds them to be substantially similar. In addition, the American Dental Association (ADA) has advocated that each state dental board consider accepting all of the examinations administered by the various regional testing agencies, all of which, with the exception of CITA, have been in existence for decades.
The PDA also noted that the proposed rulemaking does not address State-administered clinical examinations, nor does it include the American Board of Dental Examiners' ADLEX (dental) or ADHLEX (dental hygiene) examinations. The examinations administered by the five regional testing agencies, in combination, are accepted in all but a few states that administer their own examinations. In addition, some states that administer their own examinations also accept the results of at least one of the regional examinations. If an applicant for this Commonwealth licensure has not passed an examination administered by one of the five regional testing agencies as proposed by this rulemaking, that individual could still apply for licensure under § 33.107 (relating to licensure by criteria approval). Therefore, the Board determined that it would not address state administered examinations in this proposal. In addition, the ADLEX/ADHLEX examinations are not administered by the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX), but by a regional testing agency. In fact, NERB currently administers the ADLEX examination. To the Board's knowledge, no regional testing agency currently administers the ADHLEX examination. Therefore, the Board determined that it was not necessary to address these examinations in the proposed rulemaking at this time.
The Board did not make any changes to the proposed rulemaking based on the PDA's comments. In general, the Board has determined that it was most prudent at this time to look to the existing regional examining agencies as a means of opening up the possibility of licensure in this Commonwealth to as many qualified individuals as possible. Most of the interested parties that commented on the proposal indicated that this is a positive step to permit more qualified individuals to obtain licensure, to increase access to dental care for residents in this Commonwealth, and to allow dentists and dental hygienists more flexibility and mobility.
Description of Proposed Amendments
The Board proposes to amend § 33.103 to provide that applicants for licensure by examination may take and pass a clinical examination administered by any of the five regional examining agencies.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed amendment should have no fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions because the costs associated with examinations will be borne by candidates for licensure. The proposed amendments should not have an adverse fiscal impact on applicant because the fees for the various regional examinations are comparable and an applicant could choose the most cost-effective examination to take.
The proposed amendment should not result in any additional legal, accounting or reporting requirements for the Commonwealth or the regulated community.
Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on September 16, 2009, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the House Professional Licensure Committee and the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey any comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review of comments, recommendations and objections by the Board, the Governor and the General Assembly, prior to final publication of the rulemaking.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions or objections regarding the proposed amendments to Cynthia Montgomery, Regulatory Counsel, State Board of Dentistry, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, within 30 days following publication of this proposed rulemaking.
JOHN V. REITZ, D.D.S.,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-4620. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 33. STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY
Subchapter B. LICENSURE OF DENTISTS AND DENTAL HYGIENISTS § 33.103. Examinations.
(a) Dentists. Candidates for licensure shall pass the National Board Dental Examination (written examination) and the [Northeast Regional Board (NERB) Dental Examination (clinical examination)] dental clinical examination administered by one of the following:
(1) The Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners, Inc. (NERB).
(2) The Southern Regional Testing Agency, Inc. (SRTA).
(3) The Western Regional Examining Board (WREB).
(4) The Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc. (CRDTS).
(5) The Council of Interstate Testing Agencies, Inc. (CITA).
(b) Dental hygienists. Candidates for licensure shall pass the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (written examination) and the [NERB Dental Hygiene Examination (clinical examination)] dental hygiene clinical examination administered by one of the following:
(1) The North East Regional Board of Dental Examiners, Inc. (NERB).
(2) The Southern Regional Testing Agency, Inc. (SRTA).
(3) The Western Regional Examining Board (WREB).
(4) The Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc. (CRDTS).
(5) The Council of Interstate Testing Agencies, Inc. (CITA).
* * * * * (d) Additional requirement. The Board will recognize successful completion of the [NERB Dental Examination or NERB Dental Hygiene Examination] dental or dental hygiene clinical examinations or the expanded function dental assistant examination approved by the Board for up to 5 years from the date scores are reported to the Board. After 5 years, the Board will accept passing scores on the examinations only if the candidate has been engaged in postgraduate training or in the practice of dentistry, as a dental hygienist or as an expanded function dental assistant in another jurisdiction.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 09-1784. Filed for public inspection September 25, 2009, 9:00 a.m.]
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