American Board of
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology

About ABOMP

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• Policies, Procedures, and Requirements
• Organizational History
• Title, Objectives, Definition of Terms
• Board of Directors
• Officers and Standing Committees
• Duties of Officers
• Duties of Committees
• Meetings
• Quorum
• Funds
• Amendment of Bylaws
• Requirements, Procedures, and Fees for Certification of Diplomates
• Candidates with Disabilities
• Qualification Period for Examination
• Irregular Behavior
• Examinations
• Certification
• Certification Maintenance

This document supersedes all previous publications of The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (ABOMP) (formerly The American Board of Oral Pathology) concerning its policies, procedures, and requirements for certification.

All candidates for ABOMP certification are admitted to the examinations at the discretion of the Board. The admission of a candidate to an ABOMP certifying examination is governed by the policies, procedures, and requirements in effect during the current application period. The ABOMP reserves the right to make changes in its policies, procedures, requirements, and fees at any time.

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Organizational History

The American Academy of Oral Pathology (AAOP) was officially organized in 1946 and, accordingly, a plan for an American Board of Oral Pathology (ABOP) was developed. At the third annual meeting of the AAOP on February 6, 1948, the formation of the ABOP was announced. It was incorporated in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 1948 with Drs. Joseph Bernier, Paul Boyle, Lester Cahn, Henry Goldman, Donald Kerr, Hamilton Robinson, and Kurt Thoma as the original Board of Directors. Officers were: Drs. L. Cahn, President; H. Robinson, Vice President; J. Bernier, Secretary-Treasurer. The first certifying examination was held in the Fall of 1949 and no members, save the founders, have become diplomates of the Board without examination. The ABOP was approved by the American Dental Association in 1950. In 1995 the ABOP became The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in keeping with the official name changes of the specialty to Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and of the sponsoring organization to the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.

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Section 1. Title. The name of the Corporation shall be The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (ABOMP). The Corporation shall have a corporate seal bearing the name, "The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology," and the words, "Incorporated in the District of Columbia 1948." 

Section 2. Objectives. The objectives of the Board shall be: 

1. To encourage the study of oral and maxillofacial pathology. 

2. To protect the public interest by maintaining the standards and advancing the practice of the specialty of oral and maxillofacial pathology. 
3. To determine the competence of those wishing to practice the specialty of oral and maxillofacial pathology through evaluation of their credentials and the examination of eligible candidates. 
4. To issue certificates to those who successfully complete the certifying examination administered by the ABOMP. 
5. To serve the public, the dental and medical professions, hospitals, and dental and medical schools, by maintaining a list of diplomates of the ABOMP. A list of registered diplomates shall be prepared annually by the Secretary-Treasurer and submitted to the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association.
6. To establish criteria for certification maintenance and conduct an on-going recertification program.

The ABOMP does not seek special privileges for its diplomates, nor does it:

1. Confer an academic degree.

2. Confer a legal qualification or license to practice oral and maxillofacial pathology.

3. Define hospital privileges.

4. Define the scope of the diplomate specialty practice.

5. Delineate who may or may not engage in the practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology.

  Section 3. Definition of Terms.

1. Oral and maxillofacial pathology is the specialty of dentistry and the discipline of pathology that deals with the nature, diagnosis, and management of diseases affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions. It is the science that investigates the causes, processes, and effects of these diseases.

2. The practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology includes the diagnosis of disease using clinical, radiographic, biochemical, microscopic, molecular or other examinations; and the treatment and/or management of patients.
3. Active Candidate in the Process of Certification: Applicants approved by the Credentials Committee of the Board of Directors shall be granted a period of qualification within which they are allowed to challenge the examination for certification.
4. Diplomate. Candidates who successfully complete all of the requirements for certification are issued a ten-year time-limited certificate and designated a "diplomate."  Certificate maintenance will be granted following successful performance on the certification maintenance examination administered by the Board.
5. Emeritus Diplomate. A diplomate who has reached the age of 65 and is not receiving any remuneration from the practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology may apply for Emeritus status. A diplomate who provides physician confirmation of a permanent disability may apply for Emeritus status prior to age 65 provided he/she is not receiving any remuneration from the practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology. To apply, a request must be made in writing to the Board. A form will be sent that states that the diplomate is no longer receiving any remuneration from the practice of oral and maxillofacial pathology, which must be signed and retuned. Upon approval by the Board of Directors, Emeritus diplomates shall pay no annual registration fee but shall retain all of the privileges previously enjoyed.  
   

Section 2. The directors of the Board, each of whom shall have been certified by the ABOMP, shall be elected in staggered terms by the Fellows of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (AAOMP). 

Section 3. Each director shall serve a term of seven years and is not eligible for re-election. 

Section 4. The official term for each director shall begin at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the ABOMP that follows the election of the director. 

Section 5. A vacancy for any unexpired term shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Council of the AAOMP.  

Section 1. The officers of the Board shall consist of a President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer, and shall be elected annually for one-year terms by the directors.  The Board will employ an Executive Secretary to assist the Secretary-Treasurer in the administrative functions of the Board.

Section 2. The President shall appoint from among the directors the following standing committees: 
     Credentials Committee 
     Test Construction Committee 
     Certification Maintenance Committee. 

Section 3. All appointments to standing committees shall be subject to approval by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. 

Section 4. The President may appoint ad hoc committees to carry out activities of the Board that require special attention. 

Section 5. A director and/or officer of the Board may resign by submitting a written resignation to the Secretary-Treasurer. 

Section 6. A director and/or officer of the Board may be removed from the Board by unanimous written ballot of the remaining Board of Directors present and voting at two successive annual or special meetings.  

President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board. He/She appoints committees (Article II, Sections 2, 3, 4) and their chairpersons and shall be an ex officio member of all committees. He/She shall submit an annual report to the Executive Council of the AAOMP and represents the ABOMP at all times. 

Vice President. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform the duties of that office. 

Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer, with the assistance of the Executive Secretary, shall be responsible for development and maintenance of minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors and maintenance of other correspondence and records relating to affairs of the Board. He/She shall be responsible for the conduct of all business relative to examinations as directed by the Board and the President, including notification of time, candidates’ status before and after the examination, and such other business as the Board may find necessary in this regard. He/She shall supervise and be responsible for all records and correspondence relating to annual registration, continued competency assurance, and certification maintenance. The Secretary-Treasurer shall receive all moneys and pay all indebtedness authorized by the Board and shall be suitably bonded. He/She shall serve as the chairperson of the Test Construction Committee.  

Section 1. Credentials Committee. The Credentials Committee shall evaluate the credentials of all candidates and shall recommend to the Board those candidates who are eligible for examination. 

Section 2. Test Construction Committee. The Test Construction Committee shall have responsibility for reviewing, revising and approving certifying examination questions. 

Section 3. Certification Maintenance Committee. The Certification Maintenance Committee shall make recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the development, institution, and operation of a certification maintenance program for ABOMP diplomates.  

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the President or upon written request by two or more directors of the Board.  

Section 2. Meetings of the Board for transaction of business shall be according to the latest edition of "Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised," Scott, Foresman and Company.  

Section 2. Disbursements of Funds. The Secretary-Treasurer shall disburse funds for the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the ordinary operation of this Corporation. This being a not-for-profit Corporation, no funds shall accrue to any of the Board of Directors other than for reimbursement of reasonable and necessary expenses incurred directly in the furtherance of this Corporation’s activities. 

Section 3. Dissolution. In the event this Corporation is dissolved, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of the Corporation, transfer all assets of the Corporation to the AAOMP.  

Section 2. Proposed amendments to these bylaws must be seconded by two directors of the Board. 

Section 3. An affirmative vote of five or more directors of the Board shall be required for the adoption of the amendments. 

1. Successfully complete an advanced training program in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology approved by the ADA Commission on Accreditation of Dental and Dental Auxiliary Education Programs. 

2. Submit a completed application and the nonrefundable application/examination fee and be approved by the Credentials Committee. 
3. Achieve a passing score on the certification examination. 

Section 2. Procedures. 

1. Each candidate shall submit a completed current application form, available on the ABOMP website. The application is to be downloaded, saved, completed and printed.  A hard copy of the completed application is to be returned to the ABOMP accompanied by the required credentials and the application-examination fee.

2. The application shall be accompanied by a current curriculum vitae, two recent passport-size unmounted photographs of the candidate, and satisfactory documentation of successful completion of an advanced training program in oral and maxillofacial pathology from the appropriate institution(s) and the program director(s) under whom training was received.

Section 4. Fees. All application, examination and other fees are determined by the Board and are nonrefundable.  As of 2005, the examination fee is $1,000.

Section 5. Advanced Training Outside the United States and/or Canada. In exceptional circumstances, an applicant who has not met the requirements outlined in Article X, Section 1. a. may appeal to the Board for special consideration. Applicants in this category will be expected to have completed a full time course of study in oral and maxillofacial pathology of not less than three years duration (in a non-Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) OMP program) and to have spent an additional year in an advanced training program in oral and maxillofacial pathology approved by the CODA and Dental Auxiliary Education Programs. The unanimous approval of the Board of Directors is required for such applicants to be admitted to the certification examination. Requirements of Article X, Section 1. b. and c. also apply.    

Section 1. Policy.  The ABOMP will provide qualified candidates who have documented disabilities reasonable accommodations in the administration of its examination, including auxiliary aids and services, where appropriate. Such accommodations must not, however, fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test or result in an undue burden.

Section 2. Documentation of Disability.  Candidates requesting accommodation due to a disability must provide documentation of the disability and the appropriateness of the requested accommodation for the documented disability. Such documentation must include a specific diagnosis of the disability and medical records or other documentation of the diagnosis of the disability by an appropriate medical professional. The ABOMP reserves the right to verify the disability and to request additional documentation as necessary. All required documentation acceptable to the ABOMP must be received no later than the application deadline.

Section 3. Type of Accommodation.  Candidates requesting accommodation must identify the type of accommodation requested. The ABOMP, however, will determine the type of accommodation to be made for a candidate with a verified disability. Accommodations that fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test will not be offered.

Section 4. Application Deadline.  Candidates requesting accommodations are urged to contact the ABOMP as far in advance of the examination as possible. Requests for accommodation and documentation of disability must be received no later than the application deadline.
 

The ABOMP does not recognize or use the term board eligible and does not issue statements concerning board eligibility. An applicant is declared qualified for examination only after an application has been received and approved by the Credentials Committee.

Candidates who have been qualified for examination will be permitted to take the examination during a period of five years after being declared qualified to take the examination.

At any time after declaring an applicant qualified for examination, the Credentials Committee, at its discretion, may withdraw such qualification or, as a condition, may require satisfaction by the applicant of specific conditions.

If it is determined that an applicant has (a) falsified information or has withheld material information in connection with his or her application or in any other representation to the ABOMP or any committee thereof, or, (b) misrepresented to any third party his or her status as a diplomate of the ABOMP and/or (c) engaged in irregular behavior, the applicant will not be approved for the certifying examination and will be ineligible for a period of up to three years before being permitted to file a new application.
 

ARTICLE XIII.
Irregular Behavior

In the interest of protecting the integrity of the ABOMP and its certification examinations, the following irregular behaviors may be sufficient to bar a person from qualification, terminate participation in an examination, invalidate the results of a candidate’s examination, cause the withholding or revocation of scores or certificates, or merit other appropriate action by the ABOMP:

1. The giving or receiving of aid in the examination as evidenced by observation or by statistical analysis of candidates’ answers.
2. The unauthorized possession, reproduction, or disclosure of any ABOMP examination-related materials, including, but not limited to, examination questions or answers, before, during or after the examination.
3. The offering of any benefit to any agent of the ABOMP in return for any right, privilege, or benefit that is not usually granted by the ABOMP to other similarly situated candidates or persons.
4. Possession of notes, books, or any other examination aid in the vicinity of the examination room.
5. Engaging in irregular behavior in connection with the administration of the examination, including, but not limited to:

1. referring to notes, books, or any other examination aid at any time during the examination, including breaks.
2. transferring or receiving information relating to the contents or answers of the examination to or from another candidate or a third party before, during or after the examination. This prohibition includes any transfer of information between a candidate and another person at any time during the examination, including breaks, and any reconstruction of examination questions and answers and the transfer of information concerning the same after the examination.

In addition, the ABOMP may withhold a candidate’s scores and require that the candidate retake one or more portions of the examination if presented with sufficient evidence that the security of the examination has been compromised, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence of the candidate’s personal involvement in such activities.
 

The final filing dates for receipt of applications or registrations for initial examination applicants, repeat examination participants, or initial examination participants who were previously declared qualified is June 1.

Once an initial candidate has been declared qualified, they have 30 days in which to return the registration form for the current exam. If the candidate cancels an appearance for the examination after the deadline or does not appear for the examination, the entire application-examination fee is forfeited with the following exception: Personal illness at the time of the examination, validated by the candidate’s personal physician. In this case, consideration will be given in transferring a major portion of the examination fee to the following examination.

Section 2. Content. The certification examination shall consist of the following sections: 

1. Surgical Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Diagnosis of microscopic slides of diseases or lesions of the head and neck region, including exfoliative and fine needle aspiration cytology. (This constitutes 65% of the examination score.) 
2. Clinical and Radiographic Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Diagnosis or differential diagnosis of clinical and radiographic photographs of oral and maxillofacial and systemic diseases. (This constitutes 25% of the examination score.) 
3. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and General, Systemic and Clinical Pathology.  A comprehensive written examination covering pathology, including forensic pathology, histochemistry, immunochemistry, cytology, and electron microscopy. Also included are related basic sciences (embryology, anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, and microbiology) and clinical sciences (genetics, immunology, epidemiology, medicine, radiology and diagnostic imaging, and oncology.)  (This constitutes 10% of the examination score.) 

Section 4. Issuance of Certificate.  All certificates issued by the ABOMP after January 1, 2004, will be valid for 10 years. Certificates issued prior to that date are not time-limited.

The ABOMP does not issue duplicate certificates. If a certificate is lost or destroyed, the diplomate must request a replacement in writing, stating the reason for replacement of the original certificate. The replacement will indicate that the certificate is a replacement and the date of the replacement. A fee of $50 must accompany the written request.

Section 5. Appeal Procedure. A candidate who fails a certification examination may request that the examination score be recalculated to determine whether clerical errors were made at the time of grading. Such requests must be made in writing within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing of the results of the examination to the candidate.  Members of the Test Construction Committee will recalculate the candidate's score and report the results to the Board for its action.  The report of the Test Construction Committee will be considered final and a second recalculation will not be considered. An appropriate administration fee will be charged for the review. A request for the reinterpretation of a candidate's responses and rescoring of the examination will not be considered.  

Section 6. Re-examination.  For candidates who fail a certification examination, admission to a repeat examination is permitted, but any reexamination must occur within the period of qualification. The applicant must pay the examination fee according to the current fee schedule before another examination can be taken.

Section 7. Unsuccessful Candidates.  Once the initial period of qualification has terminated, candidates who have been unsuccessful may apply for one additional 5-year period of qualification based on satisfactory experience in oral and maxillofacial pathology. This will be granted on submission of documentation of two years of appropriate and acceptable full-time experience.

-or-

Candidates may apply for one additional 5-year period of qualification based on the satisfactory completion of one additional year of training in an CODA approved training program.

ARTICLE XV.
Certification

Section 1. Diplomate Certificate.  A certificate bearing the Seal of The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and signed by its directors shall be awarded to candidates who pass the certification examination.

Section 2. Annual Registration Certificate.  Diplomates wishing to maintain specialty registration must pay the annual Board certification renewal fee by January 31 each year and will be issued a current Registration certification. Diplomates failing to pay the annual Board certification renewal fee by March 30 will be considered delinquent and will be so notified. Delinquent diplomates will be dropped from the active roll if their annual Board certification renewal fee and a late payment fee are not received by June 30.

Section 3. Reinstatement.  A diplomate may be reinstated by payment of all indebtedness to the Board and a late payment fee within thirty days of notification of being dropped from the active roll. After thirty days, a letter requesting reinstatement must be submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer along with payment of all indebtedness and a reinstatement fee. Reinstatement must be approved by the Board of Directors.
 

ARTICLE XVI.
Certification Maintenance

It is the position of the ABOMP that continuing (oral pathology related) education and practice experience are required to maintain knowledge after successful completion of the certification process.

The Certification Maintenance (CM) program is directed primarily toward those oral and maxillofacial pathologists with time-limited certificates (certificate received in 2004 or after). The process will be open, however, to all certified diplomates. A diplomate who holds a non-time-limited certificate will not put that certificate in jeopardy by participating in the CM program.

Certification Maintenance will be based on four components:

1. Evidence of professional standing (licensure).

2. Evidence of commitment for lifelong learning and involvement in periodic self-assessment (organized CME and self-learning).

3. Evidence of cognitive expertise (examination).

4. Evidence of successful evaluation of performance in practice.

Diplomates may begin the CME portion of the CM process on or after January 1 of the year following certification. If a diplomate is successful in the CM process, a new certificate will be issued. A diplomate will be allowed to sit for the certification maintenance examination in years 7 - 10 of his/her 10-year certification period. If a diplomate does not successfully complete all requirements of the CM process, including passing the certification maintenance examination, the diplomate's Board certification will expire 10 years after issuance and he/she will no longer be listed as a diplomate. Once a diplomate has lost his/her certification, he/she must take one year of additional training in a CODA-approved oral and maxillofacial pathology program before he/she will be allowed to sit for the original certification examination.

Updated 2007

© 2001-2008 American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology