The Southern Regional Testing Agency (SRTA) and Promethean Dental Systems (PDS) have formed a partnership to offer on-demand dental licensure exams for graduating dental students in locations across the country. The new exam locations will be at testing facilities using PDS’s advanced Simodont dental simulation systems.
“Our collaboration with PDS is an exciting move in the right direction for dental and hygiene students, educators, and state boards,” said SRTA President Gerry Walker, DMD. “With PDS, we are providing a new model of testing for candidates that no other agency offers, allowing the ultimate flexibility for our students.”
Dental schools across the country already use PDS’ Simodont Dental Trainer, but it has not been used for testing in this manner until today. The new testing process offers unprecedented real-life dental situations in a safe environment using a combination of manikin and simodont with analytical computerized grading instead of patients, as has typically been the dental exam process. Using the Simodont with the manikin for testing also brings completely objective grading via machine learning and precision computations.
Simodonts can create situations for each portion of the SRTA licensure exam, endodontic, fixed prosthodontics, restorative and periodontal scaling, and can change and expand testing modules with ease. This combination approach allows a nimble strategy for testing that SRTA can update with minimal overhead costs each year.
The multimodel dental exam, first to be offered in Athens, GA, at a Promethean testing facility, will be a hybrid exam that will begin with a virtual haptic simulation along with manikin-based testing.
“Our testing centers offer a stress-free examination environment for students. Candidates can now take a dental licensure exam on their terms, without the stress of the typical masses of students and patients on exam day,” said PDS senior vice president Mary Jane Hanlon, DMD. “Our multimodel system and research-proven fidelity provide an outstanding and effective testing experience for our candidates.”
This new exam system continues SRTA’s tradition of continuing to seek improvements and modernization for dental exams. The agency prides itself on being the first in the market to offer manikin-based exams in response to the COVID pandemic. SRTA’s manikin exams were being created and piloted by the agency well before the pandemic in response to the industry’s concerns about the safety, efficacy, and ethics of performing examinations on live patients.
“SRTA has always prioritized students and patients in the development of our exam. PDS has expanded our ability to be flexible in our exam, including the ability to expand our testing modules to allow for us to be the most comprehensive and impartial exam on the market today,” said Gerry Walker, DMD.
For more information, visit srta.org or contact Jessica Bui, executive director of SRTA, at jbui@srta.org.
About SRTA
SRTA has been a trusted testing agency in the U.S. since 1975. Its innovative approach to examinations and the vast network of examiners from across the country allows it to be the most responsive and flexible testing agency to meet the dental industry’s present challenges.
About Promethean Dental Systems
PDS provides dental education that is integrated with advanced technology. We provide the highest dental fidelity, objective assessments, visual feedback, and simulated testing and resources. We provide services to our customers from the time they aspire to be a dentist or hygienist until they retire.
