PRC postpones dental licensure exams to 2022

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The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has rescheduled to next year dental licensure exams that were supposed to have been held this month and in December.

On its website Friday, the PRC announced that the November 23 & 24, 2021 Dental Hygienists Licensure Examination (DHLE Written and Practical Phases) would be rescheduled to May 26 & 27, 2022.

The December 16, 17, & 18, 2021 Dental Technicians Licensure Examination (DTLE Written and Practical Phases) would also be moved to December 12, 13, & 14, 2022.

PRC Resolution 1442, Series of 2021 cited the lack of test takers and testing venues, among others, for the postponement.

Specifically, the resolution, issued Monday, Nov. 15, by PRC Chairman Teofilo Pilando Jr. and Commissioners Yolanda Reyes and Jose Cueto Jr. said: “Upon deadline of submission of the applications for DHLE and DTLE and verification with the Licensure Examination & Registration Information System and the PRC-National Capital Region, there were only two applicants for DHLE and three applicants for DTLE who were issued with Notice of Admission.”

There were additional barriers for the exams.

For the DHLE, the concern was that the Practical Phase required the examinees to use live patients and the examinees were “not trained to use the articulator models.”

For the DTLE, the problem was the lack of testing venues with some schools turning down requests to use their facilities for lack of time to Covid-proof their laboratories in time for this year’s test dates, while other schools said the Commission on Higher Education had not even permitted them to hold limited face-to-face classes yet. (CTL)