Rose State Dental Hygiene Students Pass National Board Exam Published April 8, 2019

The students of the Rose State College Dental Hygiene Program passed their first major hurdle to becoming licensed Dental Hygienists by completing the National Board Examination. On March 22, twelve second-year Dental Hygiene students took the exam, which is the first step of the licensure process. The National Board Examination consists of 350 multiple choice questions covering any functions a dental hygienist would be expected to perform. Students are given up to nine hours to complete the exam, which is divided into two sections, a disciplined-based component and a case-based component where students examine twelve to fifteen dental hygiene patient cases. 

“We are very proud of our students that pass this rigorous exam,” said Kara Hodges, Program Director for the Allied Dental Programs at Rose State College. “It gives our students such a feeling of satisfaction and relief to have made it through the first step.” 

According to Hodges, every Rose State College Dental Hygiene student who has taken the national board exam since 2007 has passed. A trend she hopes to continue. 

The national board examination is the first of three parts of the licensure process. Next, dental hygiene students must take the jurisprudence exam administered by the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry. Here students are tested over the rules and regulations of dentistry. The final component is the clinical exam where a student must perform multiple dental hygiene treatments on a willing patient. According to Hodges, this is the most stressful part of the licensure process for most students. 

Rose State College is one of three colleges and universities in the State of Oklahoma offering a program in Dental Hygiene. The Rose State program offers students an Associate in Applied Science in Dental Hygiene upon completion. Students must complete general education courses before applying to the two-year dental hygiene core program, which blends traditional classroom lectures with lab sessions and clinical rotations. Only 12 students admitted to the RSC Dental Hygiene program each year. 

For more information on the Rose State College Dental Hygiene Program, visit www.rose.edu/dental-hygiene.