The following suggestions are intended to help examinees who are preparing for the Clinical Examination:

1. The best suggestion is to READ, STUDY AND COMPLY with the instructions on the ABO website and be attentive to all details. Currently published ABO clinical exam specifications apply to each year's exam, no matter when the examinee began gathering records.

2. While it is understandable that compromise treatment is a reasonable alternative for patients who refuse ideal treatment, these patients' records usually do not demonstrate the examinee's ability to diagnose and treat reasonably difficult malocclusions. Therefore, they are usually not good or acceptable Board cases. As stated, you are expected to bring case reports that are challenging and represent your best work. The Board expects all case exhibits to be well treated. Simply put, poorly finished exhibits, even though they may be difficult and interesting, are not acceptable.

3. Because the Board examiners can only evaluate the records as presented, all treatment, especially occlusal interdigitation should be completely finished. Examiners will not presume that favorable changes will occur with growth or time for patients that are not completely finished. Second molars should be fully seated and in occlusion.

4. The examinee is expected to understand exactly what happened during the treatment of each patient, including work done by other specialists. It should be clear that a surgical orthodontic case had a presurgical treatment plan. You must know what surgical procedures were performed and the extent to which your presurgical treatment goals were achieved. Simple alignment of the teeth and referral of the patient to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to decide what to do is unacceptable.

5. A complete set of Interim or Pre-Surgical records must be present for two-phase treatment or for surgical cases. Interim or pre-surgical (A1) records to be complete are the same as pretreatment and posttreatment records.

6. In describing your treatment, the Written Case Report should be detailed enough so that the examiners can understand the appliance and principles that you have used in treatment. For instance, the statement "placement of a maxillary headgear" is not as precise as the statement "placement of a high-pull facebow headgear." Clearly identify your treatment objectives, evaluate whether or not you have met them, and comment appropriately in the Written Case Report. Do not confuse treatment objectives with appliances; i.e., placing a straight wire appliance, a TPA or a segmental arch is not a treatment objective. Treatment objectives relate to changes in dental, skeletal and soft tissue structures. The Case Management Form "Examinee Treatment Objectives" should be a summary of the objectives stated in the Written Case Report.

7. Cephalometric tracings and superimpositions, analog or digital, must be detailed and accurate. They must be submitted on transparent media in 1:1 ratio to the cephalometric radiograph so that reference points can be verified. The ABO welcomes and encourages hand-traced cephalograms and manual superimpositions so both the examinee and the board can access such accuracy. The examinee may be asked to produce hand-traced superimpositions to verify accuracy.

8. Common errors made by examinees:

• Transparent media is not used for tracings; therefore, reference points cannot be verified.
• Cephalogram and tracing or superimposition are not in 1:1 ratio.
• Superimpositions are not registered according to specifications at Composite Tracings.
• Treatment plan/objectives are not realistic and do not explain how the result was achieved (e.g. mechanics used, anchorage, etc.).
• Case Management Form "Examinee Treatment Objectives" do not summarize the objectives stated in the Written Case Report.