A change has come in the way dental school applicants and national test examinees will be identified to help protect sensitive, identifying information while facilitating data collection and reporting.  Starting in December 2009, DENTPIN® (DENTal Personal Identifier Number), a unique personal identifier for applicants and students involved with the U.S. dental education system and standardized testing programs, will replace Social Security Numbers, Canadian Social Insurance Numbers, or Reference Numbers.

The DENTPIN system offers a simple, user-friendly process with a single, self-service, Internet-based access point for students and test-takers to obtain and retrieve a personal identifier that will be used for:

- Applications for testing (e.g., Dental Admission Test, National Board Dental Examinations, National Board Dental Hygiene Examination)

- Dental school admissions (including the American Dental Education Association Associated American Dental School Application Service and the Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service)

- Admission to advanced education programs (ADEA Postdoctoral Application Support Service)

- Admission to supplemental education programs for international dental graduates (ADEA Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists)

- Reporting National Board Dental and Dental Hygiene Examination scores and pass/fail status of candidates to state boards for licensure

DENTPIN will provide a consistent means of identifying individuals across multiple interfaces and will facilitate the collection, reporting, transmission and tracking of essential student data while protecting more sensitive personal identifying information.  Development of the DENTPIN system has been a joint effort by the American Dental Education Association and the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, and Council on Dental Education and Licensure.

DENTPIN will be accessed at www.ada.org/goto/dentpin, and its launch will be announced on ada.org in early December.  Information regarding DENTPIN will also be made available over the next few weeks in the DAT Guide, National Board Dental and Dental Hygiene Examination Candidate Guides, the DAT and National Board newsletters, as well as the ADEA newsletter.