Six of the top 11 passers in the May-June 2025 dentistry licensure exam are graduates of Centro Escolar University Manila and Malolos, Bulacan. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Chloe Vernice Uy gave it all back to her alma mater, Centro Escolar University (CEU), for helping her pass the dentistry licensure examination with flying colors.
Uy, an alumna of CEU-Manila, topped the May-June exam with an 87.93 percent rating.
Five of the 11 takers with the highest scores actually came from CEU Manila, while a sixth CEU alumna who also made the topnotcher list attended the school’s Malolos, Bulacan branch.
“Community rotations and clinical exposures in the university allowed us to experience different scenarios. You’ll encounter cases that will require you to weigh different options, there’s no ideal scenario, no single path to treatment,” Uy said in an interview on Friday.
“These experiences challenge you to think critically and integrate knowledge from different fields in dentistry.”
Another CEU-Manila alumna, fourth-placed Rica Mae Sunga (85.4 percent), added that clinical trainings gave them the advantage come the licensure exam.
“As clinicians, we were able to answer questions related to real-life situations as we encountered similar cases during our clinical training,” Sunga said.
For Deborah Jane Orfanel, eighth at 84.77, making the top 11 was a huge bounce back since she thought she did not do well in the clinical simulations at CEU.
“I really didn’t expect it. I did not perform well during the clinical proficiency evaluation at CEU. One of our professors saw my potential in his class and was told I shouldn’t just be good in class alone, I should also do well in practical [application]. Hence, I needed to practice more,” Orfanel said.
Passing the licensure exam, though, is just the start, according to Gwyneth Mendoza, who ranked ninth with an 84.7 percent score.
“No one’s perfect. So I never thought of topping the boards because there’s always room for improvement,” Mendoza said, recalling how she came close to quitting but is thankful she persevered. (PNA)
