The PBO Certification Process

Written by admin on February 23rd, 2011. Posted in Certification

An orthodontist is a licensed dentist who has completed an accredited graduate program in the specialty of orthodontics. Orthodontic specialists who limit their practice to Orthodontics are eligible to become board certified through the voluntary examination process of The Philippine Board of Orthodontics (PBO). The conferment of a Diplomate to an orthodontist certifies that the practitioner is practicing within the stringent standards set by the orthodontic community worldwide as mandated by the World Federation of Orthodontists. The certification process involves four (4 ) phases:

PHASE I: APPLICATION AND DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY

  1. Applicant should communicate with the Secretary of the PBO, to obtain the official application form which the applicant should accomplish and submit together with the application fee.
  2. Orthodontic education certificate from an accredited university
  3. Residents of accredited orthodontic programs may take the exam in the year of their graduation or if they have completed eighteen(18) months of their program at the time of the exam provided their program director certifies their eligibility

PHASE II: WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS

  1. Submission of all Phase 1 requirements
  2. An accomplished application form with the necessary fees must be submitted to the secretary of the exam committee on or before the deadline set by the PBO
  3. It will be a four (4) hour examination designed to cover all aspects of Orthodontics and the allied basic sciences.
  • Upon satisfactory completion of the Phase II Examination, the name of the candidate shall be forwarded to the Association of Philippine Orthodontists. The candidate, then has the option to apply for membership to the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) as an Associate Member.
  • There are two ways in which a candidate can proceed in order to obtain his Diplomate status. The candidate has six (6) years to complete either the Phase III or IV examinations. If he/she is able to meet the criteria for the required number of clinical cases for Phase IV within the six (6) year time limit, he may skip Phase III and proceed to Phase IV.  If he/she is unable to meet the minimum number of cases required for Phase IV, he can opt to take the Phase III first and upon successful completion of this examination, will be given six (6) more years to complete Phase IV. (Note that the same five (5) cases presented in Phase III may be included in the ten case requirement for Phase IV).

PHASE III: CLINICAL SKILLS AND FIVE (5) CASE PRESENTATION

  1. The Phase III examination may be taken within six (6)  years after satisfactory completion of the Phase II Examination
  2. An accomplished application form with the necessary fees must be submitted to the secretary of the PBO exam committee
  3. A minimum of five (5) clinical case reports of treatment rendered by the examinee adhering to guidelines set by the PBO will be submitted on a designated examination date for evaluation.
  4. Phase III examination  is a two-part examination:
    1. Evaluation of the cases for presentation
    2. Oral examinations to assess the candidate’s treatment planning ability and knowledge of various aspects of treatment particularly on the cases presented by the candidate and on cases presented by the PBO.
  • Upon successful completion of the Phase III Examinations, the name of the candidate shall be forwarded to the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) for recommendation for elevation to the status of Active or Affiliate Member. The candidate may take the Phase IV examinations within six (6) years.

PHASE IV: CLINICAL SKILLS AND TEN (10) CLINICAL CASE PRESENTATION

  1. Must be in EXCLUSIVE Practice of Orthodontics and a Fellow of APO.
  2. Satisfactory completion of  Phase II or  Phase III  not exceeding the six (6) year time limit. (See details above)
  3. An accomplished application form with the necessary fees must be submitted to the secretary of the PBO exam committee.
  4. Clinical Case Reports:  A minimum of ten (10) regular or 6 (six) special (based on the discrepancy index provided by PBO, as adapted from the ABO) case reports of treatment rendered by the examinee adhering to guidelines set by the PBO will be submitted on a designated examination date for evaluation.
  5. The Phase IV examination  is a two-part examination:
    1. Evaluation of the cases for presentation
    2. Oral examinations to assess the candidate’s treatment planning ability and knowledge of various aspects of treatment particularly on the cases presented by the candidate and on cases presented by the PBO.
  • The Candidate shall be awarded the Certificate of Diplomate of the Philippine Board of Orthodontics (DPBO) upon satisfactory completion of all four (4) phases of the certification process.
**PORTIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN ADAPTED FROM THE SUGGESTED GUIDELINES OF THE WORLD FEDERATION OF ORTHODONTISTS (WFO) AND THE AMERICAN BOARD OF ORTHODONTICS (ABO) FOR THE PURPOSE OF HAVING GLOBAL STANDARDS WITH REGARDS TO DIPLOMATE CERTIFICATION.