The Objectives of PBO are

  • To manage and conduct examinations for testing the qualifications of dentists for the practice of orthodontics and to confer certificates upon those who meet the requirements of the Board.
  • To stimulate, promote, and support the spirit of self-improvement and research among students and practitioners of orthodontics.
  • To accredit and approve the different orthodontic programs, i.e., postgraduate programs, preceptorships, examination review courses.
  • To make the public aware of the importance of qualified orthodontic practitioners.
  • To raise the level of awareness of the public about orthodontics as a specialty of dentistry.

Who We Are

The Philippine Board of Orthodontics (PBO) was founded in 1980 as the examining body of the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) to impose measures of quality control on the standard of practice of orthodontics, and to safeguard the dental health and well-being of the orthodontic patient.

The PBO is an autonomous SEC registered body. It was recognized in 1989 by the Philippine Regulation Commission’s (PRC) Board of Dentistry and again Accredited by the Board of Dentistry in 2005 as the specialty board to accredit orthodontic specialists in the Philippines.

With the legal precedence of the new Philippine Dental Act of 2007, the 2008 Dental Code of Ethics and PRC Board of Dentistry Resolutions No. 16 & 17, Series 2008, the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) was certified and given accreditation responsibilities on January 26, 2011 by the PRC Board of Dentistry.   The PBO was then issued a Certificate of Accreditation in March 2011 by the Association of Philippine Orthodontists.

The APO is the only orthodontic specialty organization recognized by both the Philippine Dental Association AND the PRC Board of Dentistry.   Regionally the APO is recognized by the Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society and internationally by the World Federation of Orthodontists.

Internationally in 2007, the PBO was appointed, along with 10 other national and regional boards, by the World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO) to serve on the WFO Committee on National and Regional Orthodontic Boards that met during the 7th International Orthodontic Congress convened in February 2010 in Sydney, Australia. From then on, the PBO advocated the implementation of the 2009 WFO Guidelines on Postgraduate Orthodontic Education to adhere to worldwide standards. Thus the November 24, 2010 PBO Phase I: Interview and Practical Exercise was the last PBO Examinations open to non-university graduates. After 30 years this marked the focusing of the PBO to strengthen the nation’s full-time university orthodontic programs now existing in the Philippines and encourage the participation of orthodontic graduate students to take the PBO Certifiying Examinations starting with the PBO Phase I (Application) and Phase II (Written Examinations) at the time of their program’s Final Examination as recommended by WFO Guidelines.