Iowa Code r. 481-572.14 - Clinical examination required for licensure

(1) Pursuant to Iowa Code section 147.34, the board and dental hygiene committee will approve examinations for the purposes of licensure. Applicants shall comply with the following:

a. Examinees must meet the requirements for testing and follow procedures established by each respective testing agency. Examinees must take all parts offered by the respective testing agency, including the periodontal scaling component for dental examinees if offered by the testing agency.

b. The examinee must attain a passing score on each clinical and written portion of the examination.

c. Applicants for licensure pursuant to rule 481-572.3(147, 153) must provide evidence of successful completion of a board-approved clinical examination unless exempted by rule.

(2) For the purposes of licensure, the board accepts patient-based and simulated clinical examinations administered by the testing agencies as follows:

a. Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc. (CRDTS);

b. CDCA-WREB-CITA, which was previously the Commission on Dental Competency Assessments (CDCA), the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB), and the Council of Interstate Testing Agencies, Inc. (CITA); and

c. The States Resources for Testing and Assessments (SRTA), previously known as the Southern Regional Testing Agency, Inc.

(3) The board on its own motion may monitor or review any clinical examinations already approved by the board. Upon evidence that a clinical examination fails to satisfactorily demonstrate clinical competency to practice dentistry or dental hygiene, the board may revoke the approval of a clinical examination.

(4) For the purposes of counting examination failures, the board and dental hygiene committee may utilize policies adopted by each respective testing agency. An examinee will only need to retake those parts of the examination that the examinee failed. However, an examinee who has not passed all parts of the examination within the time frame specified by the testing agency may be required to retake the entire examination at the discretion of the testing agency. The examinee should refer to the policies of the testing agency to determine applicable standards and time frames.

(5) Following a second or subsequent failure, an examinee must complete additional formal education or clinical experience at an accredited school or other program approved by the board. Ongoing education and training completed by the examinee prior to graduation from an accredited school will be accepted for the purposes of remediation. The applicant will provide evidence of remediation upon request.

a. Prior to the third examination attempt, an examinee must complete additional formal education or clinical experience.

b. Prior to the fourth examination attempt, an examinee must successfully complete a minimum of 40 hours of formal education or clinical experience.

c. For subsequent examination attempts, an examinee must successfully complete a minimum of 40 hours of formal education or clinical experience following each failure.

(6) If an examinee applies for an examination after having failed any other state or regional examination, the failure shall be counted for the purposes of retakes.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 147.34, 147.36, 272C.3, 272C.9, and 272C.13 and chapter 153.

Notes

Iowa Code r. 481-572.14

Adopted by IAB March 5, 2025/Volume XLVII, Number 18, effective 4/9/2025