Objectives: The Central Regional Dental Testing Service in the United States administered its first manikin-based (M) dental hygiene licensing exam in 2020. The aim of this study was to compare the licensure exam results of dental hygiene students examined using manikins versus live patients.
Methods: After obtaining the ethical approval, the de-identified exam scores of three different cohorts (2019, 2020, and 2021) were collected from the academic record database of Carrington College, Dental Hygiene School, San Jose, California. The exam scores of the students were grouped based on the exam format conducted: either M or patient-based (P). Mann-Whitney U test and two-tailed Fisher's exact were used to compare the scores of the groups.
Results: The scores of 108 dental hygiene graduates between 2019 and 2021 were analyzed. The study included 65 participants examined in group P and 43 participants in group M. There was no significant difference in the mean score between groups P and M (p = 0.46) or in the passing rate between the two groups (p = 0.52). However, a higher first-attempt passing rate was noted in the M group. Moreover, calculus removal scores were comparable between the two examination groups (p = 0.18).
Conclusion: The findings of this study supported the comparability of both manikin and live P exam outcomes. Therefore, the use of M exams may be considered for future examinations. Further studies are needed in other settings to confirm the efficacy of M exams in evaluating the students' clinical performance.
Keywords: dental education; dental hygienists; exam scores; licensure exam; manikins.
© 2022 American Dental Education Association.