Voluntary Recertification

Voluntary Recertification Board Case Exam
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Voluntary recertification does not require a trip to St. Louis. Lifetime Diplomates who volunteer for recertification must complete the following steps:

1. Submit by mail the physical records for one case treated to board standards from the personal practice of the Diplomate. Any case that meets the criteria of the First Recertification Exam is acceptable.
   
2. Submit four case reports for this case (WCR, DI, C-R Eval, CMF) to the ABO's electronic submission website.
3. Either, prepare treatment plans for two cases provided by the Board on a secured area of the ABO website;
   Or, score ten of your own consecutively finished cases using the Grading System for Dental Casts and Panoramic Radiographs (pdf);
   Or, submit three (3) cases that were a part of your original clinical exam case display. The cases need to be analyzed using the current measurement instruments for Discrepancy Index, Cast-Radiograph Evaluation, and Case Management.

Upon registration, you will receive instructions for submitting your case records by mail. You will also receive a login that will allow entry to the ABO's electronic submission website. You will follow all instructions for case presentation as published on the ABO website where you will also find helpful tips and tutorials. If you have chosen the Board Case Exam as your option, you will login using the link at the top of this webpage.

As a not-for-profit organization, it is necessary to charge a nominal fee for this process. Once you are recertified, you will receive a certificate indicating your accomplishment.

To register for Voluntary Recertification, go to Register for Clinical Examination.

In February 1999, in order to establish guidelines and procedures relative to the recertifying process, all current ABO directors were required to complete a recertification examination. This examination, while voluntary, required that each director present one case report of a patient who had been recently treated and to treatment plan a case they had not seen previously. The current directors were examined by former ABO directors. In February 2000, all former directors who continued as examiners and each newly appointed director were required to recertify in the same manner.

At present, the ABO is encouraging all Diplomates who are not required to recertify to do so voluntarily. While the ABO feels that a recertification examination should not be as extensive as the initial Clinical Examination, the Board does believe that such examination must involve diagnosis and treatment planning of clinical records, and have structured the Voluntary Recertification Exam accordingly.