EDPA Certification Test Candidates:

 

All EDPA Certification Candidates MUST be Pre-approved prior to testing. Pre Approval Guidelines are below as well as Certification Test Guidlines. The Certification Application, Sample Case Study and Test Resources are on on the EDPA Forms page. All Candidates must PASS the Written Exam prior to taking the Practical Exam.

 

The NEXT EDPA Certification Test will be held at the 2020 EDPA Conference in Katy, Texas. Deadline for Pre-Certification is September 1, 2020. 

For more information email:

EDPA Certification

 

The EDPA Certification is a Texas State Veterinary Board approved testing process in order to verify a provider’s knowledge and skill of practicing equine dentistry. Before becoming licensed in Texas, applicants who pass Certification may then apply for the state licensing exam. The state licensing exam includes jurisprudence questions related to the Veterinary Licensing Act (laws), and Licensing Rules (Chapter 571) and Rules of Professional Conduct (Chapter 573). The EDPA Certification is also approved by Oklahoma and Minnesota State Veterinary Boards.

 

The EDPA Certification is a 3- step process. First an applicant must pass Pre-Certification. The pre-requisites include a “Certificate of Completion” in fields of equine/animal education either as an under graduate or graduate school, technical school, continuing education, other equine dentistry courses or an apprenticeship under a Certified Equine Dental Provider or licensed Veterinarian. Then the applicant must submit 10 Case Studies of routine dental maintenance performed and evaluated under the direct supervision of a licensed DVM. These case studies must be submitted with before and after photographs, dental charts and Supervising Vet Evaluation Form. All applications are reviewed and approved or denied by a panel of Certified Equine Dental Providers and Licensed Veterinarians in order to move forward with Certification Testing.   

 

Second, an applicant must pass a Written Exam covering Equine Dental Anatomy, Terminology, Documentation and Charting, Diseases and Disease Control, Tools and Equipment Use and Safety, and Laws associated with the scope of practice.

 

Third, after passing the written exam, an applicant is then eligible to take a Practical Exam. This practical is similar to a university style test. The Applicant will be required to evaluate 5 equine skulls. Each applicant will have 25 minutes per skull to complete proper charting, assessment of malocclusions and conditions, describe the approach and procedures to address conditions, describe proper tools used to do such and then document after care and recommendations.

 

After successfully passing all 3 steps, an applicant is then considered to be an EDPA Certified Equine Dental Provider and may apply to the State for licensure.

 

Equine Dental Providers of America

 

Pre-Certification Evaluation Requirements

 

1. The Applicant must fill out the application form and pay the Evaluation Fee.

*EDPA Member Evaluation Fee: $50.00

* Non – EDPA Member Evaluation Fee: $100.00

 

2. In order to qualify for EDPA Certification Evaluation, the applicant must complete either “a” or “b” and submit “Case Studies” as stated below:

 

        a. Provide a “Certificate of Completion” in fields of equine/animal education.

* This can include under graduate or graduate school, technical school, continuing education courses, or other equine dentistry courses. 

            NOT ALL Equine Dentistry Schools or Programs are approved sources of                          education for EDPA Certification!

 

        b. Apprenticeship.

*Applicant must complete an apprenticeship under supervision of a veterinarian or

certified equine dental provider. Applicant must provide the EDPA Apprentice

Evaluation form signed by referenced supervisor.

 

3. Case Studies: Case Studies are representative of a LIVE HORSE PRACTICAL TESTING.

    Age Range Requirements: 2-4 years old----3 cases
                                             5-15 years old---3 cases
                                             20+ years old----3 cases
                                             1 additional case of their choosing
     Suggestion is to also submit 1-2 extra cases on the chance 1 of the 10 does not pass         as there is no eligibility for resubmitting cases. 

All cases must be submitted with a Chart, Supervising Vet Evaluation Form, and required pictures. 

     Cases are to be submitted as followed:
      1. Chart first- * Applicant must have ALL Case Charts signed by the attending or                                  supervising veterinarian.

      2. Vet Evaluation Form- *The vet evaluation form MUST be filled out on each                   horse. The Supervising Vet is to be present and evaluating each and every case and
          must sign both the evaluation form and chart for that horse.  The vet may be                      contacted by the Director of Certification after the cases are submitted. 
      3. Pictures: Can be submitted either with Before Pictures LABELED on 1 page and                    then the After pictures LABELED on 2nd page OR submitted side by side                             LABELED: Before and After. There is a sample case study below for reference. 

       

           

 4. Applicant must have references and letters of recommendations from two (2) horse owners as well as two (2) additional veterinarians.

 

Applicant must have all necessary documentation and case studies to the EDPA before the evaluation process will begin. It is recommended to save all case studies and application materials on a Flash Drive and mail to the Membership Director address below for fastest processing time. The EDPA has 30 days to review the application and respond with approval or denial with recommendations to the applicant.

 

Once the applicant has received EDPA Pre-certification Evaluation Approval, the applicant may then sit for the EDPA Certification Written Test. See the EDPA Certification Test Guidelines for more details.

 

For questions or more information, contact the EDPA Certification Director: 
Carl Mitz

 

Approved Pre-Cert Applicants that are EDPA members and non veterinarians may apply for the Miller Educational Scholarship. There are 8 annual scholarships available on a first come basis. For more information click here!

 

MAIL ALL APPLICATIONS AND CASE STUDIES TO:

 

Kristina Rector - Membership Director

785 Fields Rd.

Dansville, MI 48819

 

or EMAIL:

 

If mailed to Texas address there will be a $75.00 re-mailing fee added to your cost of application. 

 

Equine Dental Providers of America

Certification Test Guidelines

After completion and approval of the EDPA Pre-certification Evaluation, an applicant may apply for the EDPA Equine Dental Provider Certification. The Certification Test will be held annually. Texas resident applicants have first option for certification testing within the deadline set by EDPA.

 

The Applicant must register for the EDPA Certification Test and pay the applicable fee by EDPA posted deadline to be eligible to test in the same year.  

            * EDPA Member Fee- $500.00

            * Non- Member Fee- $650.00

 

Applicants for Equine Dental Provider (EDP) Certification must pass a written exam and a practical exam for EDPA Certification.

The EDPA Certification Written Test will include questions regarding the following:

1. Anatomy, including musculoskeletal structures, organs of the head and neck

2. Tooth anatomy and morphology

3. Diseases that show up in the mouth so that an  (EDP) would know when to refuse                   to treat and send the case to a vet.

4. Knowledge of tools, function and hazards of equipment and instrumentation                       used in tooth floating

5. Potential harm and side effects caused by tooth floating, and possible results of                    poor tooth floating technique.

6. Disease control and sterilization of equipment

7. The limits of the scope of practice for an EDP, including the use of sedation, the                    requirement of veterinary supervision, and ensuring that a proper veterinary-                    client- patient relationship is established and maintained

8. Universal terminology

9. Texas law

10. Documentation- Charting

 The applicant has one hour to complete the test and must pass the written test with 80% or above before eligible to move on to the EDPA Practical Exam.

*If the applicant fails the written test, the applicant has the opportunity to retake the test the following year (and only the following year) without additional cost.

 

The EDPA Practical Exam will follow the EDPA Written Exam and will consist of the following:

 

EDPA Certification Practical Test Procedure

 

*All Practical Test Applicants must have passed the EDPA Written Test prior with an 80% or better.

 

All Applicants will be given a Practical Testing Time to be at the approved testing site.  The applicant must correctly chart and address the skull’s pathology.

 

The following steps will be followed for the EDPA Certification Practical Test

 

1. The skulls to be used will have variable routine dental conditions. There will be a total of 5 skulls to be charted and evaluated by each applicant.

 

2. Up to 5 Certification Testing Applicants will test at the same time. Each Applicant will have 25 minutes per skull to evaluate. A maximum of 3 testing sessions per day with a total of 15 applicants per day in 3 hour intervals.

 

3. The Team of Evaluators will access each skull prior to testing. The EDP Evaluators will chart the skull noting the dental issues using the EDPA Certification Evaluator Chart. All Evaluators will compare and agree on the skull pathology and assessment pre-test.

 

4. After all Pre-test Evaluations are completed. The Evaluators will leave the test area and will not return until all applicants are completed.

 

5. The Certification Director will be present during the entire Practical Testing process.

 

6. The Applicants will be assigned a skull to start the testing.  The applicant will rotate to the next skull station when directed by the Director. The applicant will have a separate chart per skull. The applicant has 25 minutes per skull station to complete each chart. The total time for the Practical Exam is 2 hours.

 

7. The Applicant is to chart the skull using the EDPA Certification Test Dental Chart. The applicant must correctly chart the conditions in the skull’s oral cavity. The Applicant is to then address the issues in writing with appropriate tool usage and detail all on the appropriate skull chart.

 

8. When applicant is completed with addressing dental issues, it is expected the applicant will do post evaluation of the skull and after care instructions.

 

9. The Applicant then must turn in their EDPA Certification Test Dental Charts for all 5 skulls to the Certification Director and leave testing location.

 

10. When all Applicants are completed (or 2 hour time limit has expired), all applicants must leave the testing site.

 

11. The Team of Evaluators will review each skull chart per applicant comparing the Pre- Evaluation Chart to the Applicant's Test Chart. The Evaluators must determine if the applicant addressed the malocclusions while preserving functionality of the oral cavity, and practicing the policy “to do no harm” by the following standards:

1. To remove sharp enamel points which cause harm to soft tissue.
2. To remove malocclusions which interfere with occlusion and lateral excursion, of the molars and incisors.
3. And to maintain and maximize occlusion of the opposing chewing surfaces
4. Overall balanced and functional mouth.

 

12. The Evaluators will then score each applicant on the following categories and point scale:  Test= 250 total points with a Pass/Fail Scoring:

 

The evaluation by the team of Evaluators will be determined by the following categories:

Each Skull is worth 50 points for a total practical test of 250 points (5 skulls).

1. Proper charting with legible writing (5 points)
2. Assessment of malocclusions and identifiable conditions (15 points)
3. Describe approach and procedure to address conditions (15 points)
4. Describe tools used for approach and procedures (10 points)
5. After Care/Recommendations (5 points)

 

The EDPA Certification Applicant must pass the Practical Exam with an 80% or better.

 

13. The Certification Director will award in writing via mail/email within 14 days Certified EDP Certificates to the applicants that passed the EDPA Certification and notify any who failed.

 

The skulls will be charted by a team of evaluators and the applicants work will be evaluated by the team. The team will consist of the EDPA Director of Certification, one (1) Certified EDPA member  and one Texas Licensed DVM and these team members are those which have no conflict of interest associated with the candidate’s testing.

 

 *If the applicant fails the practical test, the applicant has the opportunity to retake the test the following year (and only the following year) without additional cost, unless applicant is a recipeint of the Miller Scholarship (applicant will have to pay to retest). 

 

For more information regarding the EDPA Certification Guidelines or Exam, please contact the EDPA Certification Director:

Carl Mitz - email: