In November 2024, CDA held a 2-day meeting that brought together representatives from all 10 Canadian dental schools to discuss how CDA programs, most notably the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT), can continue to support the work of admissions officers at the schools in helping to identify future dentists. The meeting of the Committee on Dental School Admission Assessment Tools was co-facilitated by Dr. Benoit Soucy, CDA’s chief knowledge officer, and Dr. Steven Patterson, professor and associate chair of the faculty of medicine & dentistry at the University of Alberta, who represented the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry. Dr. David Waldschmidt, senior director of testing services at the American Dental Association, made a presentation to the group about the validity of the DAT within the selection process. Dr. Waldschmidt shared research that showed that DAT scores were the best predictor of academic success in the first two years of dental school, more so than grade point average. “We had dynamic and wide-ranging conversations about the traits and skills required to become successful dentists, as well as the diversity of motivation and goals that future dentists should possess to meet the oral health (L. to r.): Isabella Yuan Yu-Ting, Dalhousie University, Vicki Koulouris, University of British Columbia, Dr. Anuradha Prakki, University of Toronto, Dr. Vanessa Swain, University of Manitoba, Rosanna Glover-Punko, University of Alberta, Chelsea Johnson, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Dr. Benoit Soucy, CDA, Dr. Caroline Nguyen, National Dental Examining Board of Canada, Dr. Walter Siqueira, University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Steven Patterson, University of Alberta, Dr. Raphaël Godue, University of Montreal, Crystal Noronha, McGill University , Dr. François Boulanger, Laval University, Fatna Moussali, CDA, Dr. Kavita Mathu‑Muju, UBC, April Carr, CDA CDA Convenes Event on Dental School Admission Tools care needs of people in Canada,” says Isabelle Gingras, CDA’s programs advisor. “It was also helpful for us at CDA to learn, in more detail, about the tools, processes and challenges that each school has in selecting their first-year class.” “The DAT program is administered by CDA in service of the 10 dental schools and for the future of the profession, so a strong relationship with the schools is very important,” says Fatna Moussali, CDA’s DAT associate who has helmed the program for over 30 years. “Understanding the complexity of the needs of the dental schools allows us to look for better and new ways to meet their needs. Also, the DAT is the first interaction that prospective dentists have with CDA, so we work very hard to make it a good beginning to a career-long connection.” We had dynamic and wideranging conversations about the traits and skills required to become successful dentists. 9 Issue 1 | 2025 | CDA at Work
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