SUNY Orange dental hygiene graduates keep 100 percent board pass rate

SUNY Orange’s dental hygiene program is doing two jobs at once: turning students into licensed professionals and helping fill a local need for preventive oral care in Middletown and across Orange County. For four straight years, every graduate who sought licensure passed both the national and clinical board examinations, a streak that matters because New York requires dental hygienists to be licensed before they can practice.

That outcome gives the college a workforce story with direct local consequences. SUNY Orange says its associate degree program prepares students for licensure by the New York State Board of Dentistry and points graduates toward private practices, hospitals, schools and other public institutions. In a field where staffing can shape how quickly patients get appointments for routine cleanings and exams, a steady stream of newly licensed hygienists can make a measurable difference.

The exams behind that streak are demanding. The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination is administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, while the clinical board is part of the CDCA-WREB process. SUNY Orange’s results also show the consistency is not a one-year spike: in 2023, the college said all 17 graduates in its Class of 2023 passed both exams on their first attempt.

The pass rate is tied to a program built around hands-on training. SUNY Orange says dental hygiene students earn the practicum hours they need for licensure on campus in the patient care clinic, where all treatment is supervised by licensed dental hygienists and dentists. The educational clinic operates only during the fall and spring semesters and closes for winter break and summer, but while it is open, it serves as both a classroom and a public-facing care site.

That clinic also has a community role beyond student training. SUNY Orange says it accommodates about 1,000 patient visits each year and offers a low-cost option for cleanings and x-rays. Because it is operated for teaching purposes, appointments can take longer than they would in a private office and patients may need multiple visits, but the tradeoff is access to supervised care in a region where affordable dental services can be hard to find.

Mary Ann McGinnis-Adamo, the program’s chair, has credited the results to a dedicated faculty. The bigger takeaway for Orange County is more practical than ceremonial: SUNY Orange is helping create licensed dental hygienists while also giving residents a place to get preventive care, linking education, employment and access in one pipeline.