Free National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination™ Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination™ practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A dental hygienist recognizes that a personal financial relationship with a client could compromise the client's trust in their professional relationship. Which professional concept addresses this concern?

   1. A.Professional distanceCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Professional accountability
   3. C.Professional governability
   4. D.Cultural humility

   Explanation: The competency profile defines professional distance as "An obligation to ensure that a professional relationship with a client isn’t compromised by putting one’s needs before the client’s or by a lack of impartiality or any action that may compromise the client’s trust in the professional." A personal financial relationship can compromise impartiality and the client's trust, so professional distance is the relevant concept.

   Reference: Entry-to-Practice Canadian Competencies for Dental Hygienists — p. 18, Clarifications, professional distance

2. 2Researchers recruit adults with periodontitis and a comparison group without periodontitis, then compare their past smoking histories. Which study design are they using?

   1. A.Case-control studyCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Prospective cohort study
   3. C.Cross-sectional survey
   4. D.Randomized clinical trial

   Explanation: The CDC explains that "In a case-control study, investigators start by enrolling a group of people with disease" and that investigators "compare previous exposures between the two groups." Here enrollment is based on disease status and the comparison concerns prior smoking, rather than assigning exposure or following exposure groups forward.

   Reference: Principles of Epidemiology: Analytic Epidemiology — Lesson 1, Section 7, Case-control study

3. 3A dental hygienist reflects on personal and systemic conditioned biases to build a relationship based on mutual trust. Which concept in the Canadian entry-to-practice profile describes this reflective process?

   1. A.Cultural safety
   2. B.Cultural humilityCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Cultural competence
   4. D.Cultural awareness

   Explanation: The profile describes cultural humility as "A process of self-reflection to understand personal and systemic conditioned biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust (FNHA, 2020)." The situation describes that process of reflection.

   Reference: Entry-to-Practice Canadian Competencies for Dental Hygienists — p. 15, Clarifications, cultural humility

4. 4An adult client understands the proposed dental hygiene treatment and its consequences and can communicate a decision. The client's appointed substitute decision-maker is also present. Whose decision should guide consent to this treatment?

   1. A.The client's own decisionCorrect answer: A
   2. B.The substitute decision-maker's decision
   3. C.The referring dentist's decision
   4. D.The client's family member's decision

   Explanation: Health Canada states, "Your substitute decision maker is responsible for making a decision on your behalf only if you are incapable of doing so on your own." The client in this scenario can understand the decision and communicate it, so their own choice guides consent.

   Reference: Health Canada Palliative Care: Preparing and Deciding — Substitute decision maker

5. 5A reusable periodontal scaler has been used to penetrate soft tissue. Under the CDC's dental infection prevention recommendations, which reprocessing method is required for this critical item?

   1. A.Heat sterilizationCorrect answer: A
   2. B.High-level disinfection
   3. C.Intermediate-level disinfection
   4. D.Low-level disinfection

   Explanation: The CDC states, "Critical items, such as surgical instruments and periodontal scalers, are those used to penetrate soft tissue or bone. They have the greatest risk of transmitting infection and should always be sterilized using heat." A scaler used in this way is critical, and disinfection levels do not replace the recommended heat sterilization.

   Reference: CDC Sterilization and Disinfection in Dental Settings — Classifications, critical items

6. 6A community oral health team follows a group of children who are caries-free at baseline. It divides the number who develop caries during the next year by the number of children in the group at baseline. Which measure does this calculation describe?

   1. A.Point prevalence
   2. B.Incidence proportionCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Person-time incidence rate
   4. D.Period prevalence

   Explanation: The CDC describes incidence proportion as "the proportion of an initially disease-free population that develops disease, becomes injured, or dies during a specified (usually limited) period of time." The numerator contains new cases, and the denominator is the initially disease-free group, rather than accumulated person-time or all existing cases.

   Reference: Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice: Morbidity Frequency Measures — Morbidity Frequency Measures, Definition of incidence proportion

7. 7A patient has a noncavitated carious lesion on the occlusal surface of a permanent molar. Under the ADA nonrestorative treatment guideline, which option may a clinician prioritize to arrest or reverse this lesion?

   1. A.Sealant aloneCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Fluoride varnish alone
   3. C.Acidulated phosphate fluoride gel alone
   4. D.Fluoride mouthrinse alone

   Explanation: For this lesion and tooth surface, the guideline recommends clinicians "prioritize the use of sealants + 5% sodium fluoride varnish (application every 3-6 months) or sealants alone over 5% sodium fluoride varnish alone" as well as the listed gel and mouthrinse alternatives. Sealant alone is the prioritized option among those offered.

   Reference: ADA Chairside Guide: Nonrestorative Treatments for Carious Lesions on Permanent Teeth — p. 1, noncavitated occlusal lesions on permanent teeth

8. 8A dental hygienist advocates for a more equitable distribution of oral health services among underserved groups. Which concept most directly describes this focus?

   1. A.Cultural humility
   2. B.Social justiceCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Professional autonomy
   4. D.Professional accountability

   Explanation: The profile defines social justice as "Fair and equitable distribution of resources, including health services and other determinants of health, among groups in society (CNA, 2009)." The advocacy concerns equitable access across groups, which is the defining focus.

   Reference: Entry-to-Practice Canadian Competencies for Dental Hygienists — p. 18, Clarifications, social justice

9. 9A dental hygienist reads a cross-sectional study that measured dry mouth and medication use at the same visit. Without additional historical information, what can these measurements establish?

   1. A.Whether medication use and dry mouth co-occurred at the visitCorrect answer: A
   2. B.How long dry mouth had preceded medication use
   3. C.Whether medication use began before dry mouth
   4. D.How long medication use had preceded dry mouth

   Explanation: The CDC notes that in a cross-sectional study "their exposures and health outcomes are measured simultaneously" and that such studies "usually cannot disentangle risk factors for occurrence of disease (incidence) from risk factors for survival with the disease." The measurements establish co-occurrence at that visit; they do not establish when either condition began or their temporal order.

   Reference: Principles of Epidemiology: Analytic Epidemiology — Lesson 1, Section 7, Cross-sectional study

10. 10A dental hygienist wants support interpreting cultural issues while working alongside a client to provide culturally relevant services. Which person has that role in the entry-to-practice profile?

    1. A.A cultural brokerCorrect answer: A
    2. B.A language interpreter
    3. C.A patient advocate
    4. D.A health educator

    Explanation: The profile describes a cultural broker as "A person who offers support by working alongside of professionals and clients to interpret cultural issues and deliver culturally relevant services." This is the function requested in the scenario.

    Reference: Entry-to-Practice Canadian Competencies for Dental Hygienists — p. 15, Clarifications, cultural broker