Admission Test for Dental Hygiene (ATDH) FAQ
- Dr. Paul R. Leary, DMD (Chair, ATDH Steering Committee)
- Dr. Wanda Cloet, DHSC, RDH
- Dr. Uri Hangorsky, DDS, MS
- Ms. Joyce C. Hudson, RDH, MS
- Dr. Stephen M. Lepowsky, DDS
- Ms. Donna Warren Morris, RDH, Med
- Dr. Michelle Roman
- Ms. Ebony Thomas-Butler
- Ms. Tammy R. Sanderson, RDH, MSDH (consultant to the Steering Committee)
Dental hygiene program directors requested the development of a standardized, nationally administered admission test for use in evaluating the qualifications of applicants to their programs.
ADA’s Department of Testing Services has the expertise to develop, administer, and score standardized, nationally administered examinations. The DTS worked with the ATDH Steering Committee and a select group of test construction volunteers to clarify the scope of the examination and develop questions for the examination.
The ATDH Steering Committee was charged with overseeing the development, launch, and validation of the ATDH. Key areas of oversight for the committee included the following:
- Examination development
- Establishment of operational policies
- Accumulation of validity evidence (i.e., psychometric research)
If you have already submitted an initial application and indicated where scores should be sent, additional score requests can be made when you log in with your DENTPIN.
Fee waivers for 2024 are available and application information is provided below.
In documented cases of severe financial hardship, a limited number of partial fee waivers are available to ATDH examinees each calendar year (January - December). The partial fee waiver covers 50% of the ATDH fee. The partial fee waiver does not apply to any charges associated with rescheduling/canceling a test date or score reporting after the time of initial application. Partial fee waivers are granted on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible examinees who have submitted the required documents. An examinee is eligible to request a partial fee waiver if each of the following criteria are met:
- First-time examinee
- Has not previously received a partial fee waiver
- U.S. citizen or resident alien
- Has demonstrated financial hardship
- Received financial aid from their school
Once you have signed in, select ‘Submit Request’ and then ‘Waiver Request.’
You will be prompted to select the test for which you are requesting a waiver. Select ‘ATDH.’
The ATDH Program will review all partial fee waiver requests and make the final approval/denial decision. After the partial fee waiver request is reviewed, you will receive an email notification of the decision and instructions for submitting an ATDH application online. Please allow up to 10 business days for review of all partial fee waiver requests.
Candidates interested in preparing for the ATDH may download the ATDH practice questions (PDF). The intent of the practice questions is to help candidates understand the types of questions that will be asked on the ATDH.
Also, available to download is a list of reference text (PDF).
The review materials for the DAT may be helpful in reviewing for the ATDH. Download a list of DAT reference books (PDF).
The ATDH score report is anticipated to contain six topic scores (one for each test section) and two composite scores. The two composite scores are:
- English Language Skills (based on performance on Reading Comprehension and Language Usage) and
- The ATDH Overall Score (based on performance on all test sections, and representing candidate critical thinking in foundational skill areas).
Candidates must first register for a DENTPIN. Candidates can then submit an application to take the ATDH. Once a candidate's application is processed, testing appointments can be scheduled on Prometric.com