additional exams or training. That flexibility allows dentists to move, grow and contribute wherever their careers take them, which benefits the profession and improves access to care across Canada. Although our focus is on dentists’ competence rather than direct public protection, our work has a clear impact on public confidence. When patients know that their dentist has met a national standard, it builds trust in the individual practitioner and the profession. How does your work touch the lives of dentists across Canada? Our work connects with dentists at all stages of their professional journey. Every applicant who comes through the NDEB process, whether trained in Canada or internationally, interacts with us in some way. For internationally trained dentists in particular, we recognize that the path to certification can be complex, and we work hard to provide clarity, guidance and support along the way. We’re always looking for new ways to make the process more understandable and accessible. Beyond our work with candidates, we’re connected to the profession through the many dentists who contribute to our examinations, from the development stage through to grading. These individuals, whether they’re teaching in dental faculties or working in private practise, bring an incredible breadth of knowledge and perspective to their roles. Their involvement helps ensure that our exams truly reflect the realities of modern dental practise. What’s coming up for the NDEB in the future? It is an exciting time in exam development for the NDEB. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how exams are created and we’re embracing these opportunities thoughtfully and responsibly. We recently partnered with an organization to explore how AI can support the creation of practice examinations. This is something we’ve wanted to do for some time, and the technology is helping us to make it a reality. Supporting candidates as they move through the certification process remains one of our top priorities, and this initiative will offer valuable preparation resources to help candidates become familiar with the format and structure of the exam and allow them to identify areas for improvement. It’s a great example of how innovation can directly enhance fairness, accessibility and readiness for everyone on the path to certification. We’re also excited about the potential to make the licensure journey smoother for future dentists in Canada. Building on our existing process for the verification of credentials, we’re exploring the development of a national repository of credentials. This would be a secure system where educational and professional documents would be stored and accessed by multiple organizations involved in the licensure process. This initiative is already gaining traction in other health professions, and it could reduce duplication, save time and facilitate mobility. We’re gathering insights from regulators across the country about their requirements and learning from organizations that have already taken on similar projects. This process gives us a clear picture of what’s needed nationally and outlines recommendations to guide next steps. We’re looking forward to continuing those conversations with partners across Canada. We’re also taking a deep dive into our candidate data. This project started with a request for additional information on the duration of the NDEB Equivalency Process, which is a three-part examination process for dentists trained in non-accredited international programs to demonstrate their competency for dental licensure in Canada. As we looked closely at the data, we saw opportunities to look at correlations for success among the Equivalency Process cohorts. The analysis is providing a structured overview of 15 years of historical exam data, transforming a large and complex dataset into clear, interpretable insights. We hope that the findings can support regulatory bodies, educational institutions and policymakers in developing targeted support programs, such as preparatory courses or mentorship initiatives. At the same time, the analysis can help identify outstanding non-accredited programs that consistently produce strong candidates, providing valuable evidence to guide future recognition or collaboration efforts. ndeb-bned.ca 19 Issue 4 | 2026 | News and Events
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