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A Dental Hygiene student practices her skills using a typodont.
Dental Hygiene Students Achieve 100% Clinical Board Pass Rate for Fourth Consecutive Year
| Graduates of the Department of Dental Hygiene in May achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on the clinical board exam for the fourth year in a row.
Bridget Fitzhugh, M.S., RDH, chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene in the UAMS College of Health Professions, said, “That’s a feat. It’s not unusual to do that for two years back-to-back, but four is rare. So, we’re really excited about it.”
The clinical board exam, officially the CDCA-WREB-CITA Examination, requires students to demonstrate hands-on practical skills, differentiating it from the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination.
Haleigh Moss, a 2025 graduate of the dental hygiene program, confirmed the awareness among students regarding the program’s strong performance. “It was not a pressure point from the faculty.”
However, she and her classmates were aware of the precedent, based on what they had heard from former students in earlier graduating classes.
“We didn’t want to be the first class in years that’s not 100%,” Moss said, reflecting on a sense of determination among her classmates. “We didn’t want to break the winning streak.”
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the program’s teaching methodologies and student preparation in ways that ultimately may have helped, Fitzhugh said.
The transition from live patient exams to manikin-based clinical board exams in 2020 and 2021 initially presented challenges, resulting in a temporary dip in the 100% pass rate. However, the faculty adapted by incorporating mock board exams using purchased manikins and typodonts, simulating the actual exam experience. (A typodont is a physical model of the human mouth. A manikin is jointed model of the human body used in medical training).
Fitzhugh said along with faculty mentorship and the dedicated study of students, the strategic shift in teaching methods and preparation, implemented over the past four years, is why the department has continued to experience a 100% pass rate. While the program still offered live patient options in 2022 and 2023, the last two years have been exclusively manikin-based for the clinical board.
“I had scored a little bit lower on the second mock board exam than I wanted to, which made me a little bit nervous going into the real clinical board. So, I scheduled a time with Brynn McCollum, who’s the clinic coordinator,” Moss said. She took the third mock board, and “passed that one with flying colors. I did a lot better going into the actual clinical board after that.”
Beyond exam preparation, the program emphasizes real-world readiness through diverse clinical environments, including at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Central Arkansas Veterans Health System, Little Rock School District and Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute. Next academic year, the program will again include the UAMS Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Oral Health Clinic and Conway Regional Interfaith Dental Clinic.
The faculty’s dedication to student mentorship and the ability to offer remote learning options when students are ill also contribute to student success, Fitzhugh said. Additionally, the program also has invested in new typodonts for sealant placement to enhance training in preventive care.