Dental hygiene board exam prep
In 2025, 89.9% of first-time candidates from CODA-accredited programs passed: the JCNDE reports a 10.1% failure rate across 7,893 first attempts. Results are pass or fail, and a scale score of 75 is the minimum passing score.
| First attempt, accredited programs, 2025 | 89.9% passed (10.1% failed, 7,893 attempts) |
|---|---|
| Retakes, accredited programs, 2025 | 45.1% passed (54.9% failed, 1,560 attempts) |
| Every administration, 2025 | 81.3% passed (18.7% failed, 9,876 administrations) |
| Passing score | 75 on a scale of 49 to 99 |
| Year | First attempts, accredited | Passed | Retakes passed | All passed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,893 | 89.9% | 45.1% | 81.3% |
| 2024 | 7,709 | 89.1% | 48.1% | 80.7% |
| 2023 | 7,456 | 87.9% | 46.1% | 78.6% |
| 2022 | 6,933 | 85.7% | 45.5% | 76% |
| 2021 | 7,478 | 86.6% | 49.5% | 77.3% |
| 2020 | 6,938 | 90.3% | 48.7% | 84.3% |
| 2019 | 7,316 | 92.1% | 50.9% | 86.2% |
| 2018 | 7,360 | 94.2% | 53.8% | 89.6% |
| 2017 | 7,262 | 93.8% | 51.1% | 89% |
| 2016 | 7,937 | 94.9% | 58.3% | 91.9% |
The exam is criterion-referenced: subject matter experts set the standard, and the JCNDE converts your answers to a scale score from 49 to 99, where 75 is the minimum pass. A scale score is not the number of questions right, and a 74 does not mean one more correct answer would have passed. Forms are equated, so the score means the same whichever version you sat. There is no penalty for guessing.
Passing candidates see only "pass". Candidates who fail get their overall scale score and performance information for the discipline areas and the case area. In 2025 the first-time accredited group averaged 83.02 with a standard deviation of 6.61 (7,650 candidates).
First attempts from accredited programs pass far more often than retakes: in 2025, 89.9% against 45.1%. Graduates of non-accredited programs passed 59.9% of first attempts and 40.3% of retakes. First-attempt failure rates rose from 5.1% in 2016 to a peak of 14.3% in 2022, and have fallen each year since.
In 2025, 89.9% of first-time candidates from accredited programs passed, and 81.3% of all 9,876 administrations passed.
A scale score of 75, on a scale of 49 to 99. The scale is not a percentage or a count of correct answers.
No. Passing results are reported only as pass. Candidates who fail receive their overall scale score and performance by area.