ADA, American Board of Dental Examiners advance dental licensure exams through new agreement
ADEX Dental Examination to incorporate DLOSCE by Aug. 1
A new agreement between the American Dental Association and the American Board of Dental Examiners marks a significant step forward in modernizing dental licensure and advancing patient safety.
The two organizations finalized an agreement to license the ADA’s Dental Licensure Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or DLOSCE, for incorporation into the ADEX Dental Examination. The integration of the DLOSCE simplifies licensure pathways and supports licensure portability, benefiting candidates seeking to practice in 48 states and other jurisdictions — including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands — that currently accept or require the ADEX Dental Examination.
“This agreement represents an important milestone for the dental profession,” said ADA President Richard Rosato, D.M.D. “By aligning pathways to licensure and advancing candidate assessment, we are strengthening licensure portability, supporting a more mobile and responsive workforce, and ensuring that patient safety remains paramount. The ADA has long championed solutions that modernize licensure while protecting the public, and this collaboration reflects our commitment to shaping a strong, sustainable future for dentistry in service to public health.”
The ADEX Dental Examination will continue to assess candidates’ clinical hand skills alongside their treatment‑planning and decision‑making abilities. Through inclusion of the DLOSCE, the ADEX Dental Examination will benefit from the DLOSCE’s extensive use of images and 3D models that allow candidates to demonstrate their clinical judgment in scenarios that closely mirror real‑world practice, according to a news release from the ADA.
“ADEX has long served state dental boards to support licensure processes that reflect both public protection and clinical competence,” said Mark Armstrong, D.D.S., chair of the American Board of Dental Examiners. “This agreement continues that work by strengthening alignment across assessment components while preserving the clinical hand-skills evaluation that remains central to licensure in most U.S. jurisdictions.”
The agreement follows extensive collaboration among the ADA, American Board of Dental Examiners, Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, and ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure that began in 2025. In March 2026, the ADA Board of Trustees and the American Board of Dental Examiners’ Board of Directors voted to approve the general terms that led to this joint agreement.
Central to discussions was a shared commitment to ensuring that dental licensure assessments continue to evolve in step with advancements in clinical education, technology and patient care, the ADA news release stated. Both organizations emphasized the importance of strengthening public protection while also enhancing the portability of dental licensure for candidates navigating an increasingly mobile profession.
The American Board of Dental Examiners will sunset its Diagnostic Skills Examination Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or DSE OSCE, no later than Aug. 1. Upon sunset of the DSE OSCE, all ADEX Dental Examination administrations will include the DLOSCE.
After Aug. 1, new DLOSCE candidates will only be able to take the DLOSCE as part of the ADEX Dental Examination, not as a standalone exam. Those seeking to retake the DLOSCE will have until Oct. 9 to take it as a standalone exam. After Oct. 9, all standalone administrations of the DLOSCE will cease.
