DIPLOMATE DIGEST, AUGUST 2011

One orthodontist’s approach to the Initial Certification Examination

Orthodontist Dr. Waleed Soliman of Sacramento, CA, graduated from the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific in 2009. In February 2011, he passed The American Board of Orthodontics’ (ABO) Initial Certification Examination.

At the University of the Pacific, orthodontic faculty members encourage the orthodontic residents to complete board certification. "It is our program policy that every resident must look for ABO cases as soon as we start the residency, and our faculty were guiding and encouraging us," Dr. Soliman said. "After 9 months of my residency, I had identified 12 board cases."

After graduation, Dr. Soliman returned to the school once a month for 17 months to treat his patients and to complete case records. In the end, he accumulated seven finished cases. From these seven cases, he selected six for the examination. He took extra care to get the best records for every patient under his care. This attention to detail made it possible for him to present the six cases. "I spent more than two months of daily work to put my case reports together," he said.

"It (board certification) is a process that I encourage every resident to go through," Dr. Soliman said. "The certification process was a great learning experience and refined my clinical skills."

Dr. Soliman is continuing to build on this experience by looking ahead to his recertification in 10 years. He’s already looking for cases that will meet the requirements of the First Recertification Examination.