National Dental Assisting Examining Board
Bureau national d'examen d'assistance dentaire

Clinical Practice Evaluations

The NDAEB developed a Clinical Practice Evaluation (CPE) for use by Canadian Dental Assisting Regulatory Authorities (CDARA) in the licensing/registration of dental assistants. For more information, see the CPE Candidate Handbook.

Most CDARA require graduates of Canadian non-accredited and out-of-country educational programs to successfully complete a two-part NDAEB certificate to include the theory examination followed by the CPE. To confirm the requirement for the CPE in your province, please refer to the Registration & Licensure section of this website for CDARA contact information.

cpe-candidate-handbook-2025

NDAEB Policy Changes Beginning in January 1, 2026

Effective January 1, 2026, all candidates who have not graduated from a dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) are considered non-registered program graduates and will be required to successfully complete the Clinical Practice Evaluation (CPE) (Part I) BEFORE being granted eligibility for the Theoretical Examination (Part II). Upon successful completion of both the CPE and Exam, the NDAEB Certificate will then be issued.

  1. Candidates of existing registered non-accredited dental assisting programs will be bridged and exempted from this policy change until December 31, 2030, as such the CPE requirement will not apply with the NDAEB for issuance of the NDAEB Certificate. The CPE requirement may still apply however if required by a CDARA for provincial licensure/registration. (See the Education section for more details).
  2. Candidates who had their credentials assessed by December 31, 2025 and have completed or attempted an initial attempt on the Theoretical Examination but have not yet been awarded the NDAEB Certificate, will continue to follow the former process of completing the Examination first, followed by the CPE in order to be issued the Certificate.
  3. Candidates who had their credentials assessed by December 31, 2025, or who were in the process of having their credentials assessed by that date and have not completed an initial attempt on the Theoretical Examination, will follow the new Certificate process and will be required to successfully complete the CPE BEFORE being eligible to take the Theoretical Examination.

Supply Tray Setup

The photos represent generic setups. All evaluation sites may not provide exact instrument and supply items as shown in the photos. Some items may be substituted for similar instruments or materials.

View the Supply Tray Setup

Clinical Practice Evaluation Sites

The NDAEB administers the Clinical Practice Evaluation at up to nine sites across Canada three or four times annually, depending on demand. For CPE sessions and application deadline dates, please see the CPE Schedule on this site.

The fee for the full CPE session (9 skills) is $1785.00 made payable to the NDAEB. This includes the non-refundable $100 application fee. The fee for re-taking individual skills is $365 per skill plus a non-refundable $100 application fee. Candidates registering for 5 or more skills are required to pay the full fee of $1785.

  • The NDAEB Clinical Practice Evaluation is not available outside of Canada.

The Clinical Practice Evaluation includes the following nine (9) skills:

  • Skill 1: Exposes digital radiographic images
  • Skill 2: Obtains preliminary impressions for study models
  • Skill 3: Applies and removes dental dam
  • Skill 4: Selective coronal polishing
  • Skill 5: Applies treatment liner
  • Skill 6: Applies and removes matrix band and wedge
  • Skill 7: Applies anti-cariogenic topical fluoride gel
  • Skill 8: Applies pit and fissure sealant
  • Skill 9: Applies topical anesthetic

Evaluator Calibration

Province
City
British Columbia
Vancouver (Vancouver Community College)
Alberta
Edmonton (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology)
Saskatchewan
Regina (Saskatchewan Polytechnic)
Manitoba
Winnipeg (CDI College - Winnipeg Campus)
Ontario
Toronto (George Brown College - Waterfront Campus)
Quebec
The NDAEB will not arrange a CPE site in Quebec at this time. Should this change, details will be posted to this site.
New Brunswick
Site not available. The CPE is available only in Halifax, NS (Nova Scotia Community College) for the Maritime provinces.
Prince Edward Island
Site not available. The CPE site is available only in Halifax, NS (Nova Scotia Community College) for the Maritime provinces.
Nova Scotia
Halifax (Nova Scotia Community College)

The National Dental Assisting Examining Board ensures that clinical evaluators receive standardized training through a process known as calibration. Calibration occurs prior to every Clinical Practice Evaluation session.

The purpose of Calibration is to determine the amount of deviation from the standard that will still be considered acceptable. Calibration is designed to improve inter-rater reliability which is defined as “the ability for multiple evaluators to understand and apply a set of criterion in the same way” (ADEA Washington, DC, 2000)

Why Calibration?

  • Reduces evaluator subjectivity, bias and individual interpretation in high stakes evaluations
  • Improves inter-rater reliability by developing consensus in the application of criteria
  • Provides critical analysis of the evaluation instrument, ensuring reliability and validity
CPE Schedules

CPE Schedules are subject to change. Candidates are responsible for fully reading all e-mail correspondence and documentation posted to the Candidate Portal. Failure to do so may result in a missed session and fees will be assessed.

CPE Site Capacity and Availability

Availability and capacity are limited so register early! Registration for the CPE is on a first-come, first-served basis. Each site can only take a limited number of candidates. Once the maximum number of registrants is received, the site will be closed.