TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ A state regulatory board has reversed a policy that threatened to keep some dentistry students from obtaining licenses.

The Kansas Dental Board found itself Friday in the middle of a debate over whether repealing its rule would endanger public health.

But its members said they had made a mistake in imposing the rule in November and repealed it unanimously.

Before the rule, the state would license a prospective dentist if he has passed one of two exams. The new rule increased the score required on one exam.

But the result was that 19 of the 32 students graduating this year from the dental school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City couldn't be licensed in Kansas. They and the university's faculty appealed to the board.

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There are two different examining organizations, CRDTS and WREB. CRDTS grades on a percentage scale, while WREB uses points. It has been determined they are two different scales, and each group will determine what is a passing grade for the individual exams.

A passing score of 75% on CRDTS has been determined to be the equivalent of a score of 55 points on the WREB exam.

The Dental Board decided it was comfortable with dentists who could pass one of the two exams practicing in Kansas.