How to Pass the INBDE?
A practical guide to passing the INBDE with actionable tips, resources, and a consistent, realistic study schedule.
What’s Tested on the INBDE? Here is an example schedule:
The INBDE tests your ability to think like a dentist. It covers clinical dentistry, basic sciences, ethics, and patient management. The key is to focus on high-yield topics and practice applying your knowledge to real-world scenarios.
📌 3 Things That Are Important To Know
- Practice questions > Passive memorization
(Your best teachers are the ones you argue with in comment sections.) - Sleep matters more than you think 😴
(No, 2am study sessions aren’t a flex.) - Life happens (Engagements, clinic chaos—build buffer time!)
🧰 Must-Have Resources (Without Breaking the Bank)
| Resource | Best For | Time Commitment | Hot Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anki (FrenchDentiste) | Core concepts | 2hrs/day | Skip the 3,000-card guilt trip. |
| INBDE Booster | Exam-style questions | 1hr/day | New paid version? No FOMO needed. |
| Golden File | High-yield review | 4hrs total | Treat it like Wikipedia—great for cross-checking. |
| Tufts Pharm PDF | Medication basics | 3hrs total | Suffix → MOA = 80% of pharm questions. |
| Dental Mastery | Critical thinking drills | 1.5hrs/day | Comments section = free therapy. |
💡 Students who did 3,000+ practice questions had a 92% first-time pass rate (2024 ADEA survey).
🗓️ 6-Week Study Plan to Pass the INBDE
Phase 1: Foundation Building (Weeks 1-3)
Daily Routine:
- Morning Clinic: Survive patients (and connect cases to INBDE topics).
- Evening: 100 Anki cards + 50 Dental Mastery questions.
- Night: Cross-reference wrong answers with Mental Dental notes.
Phase 2: Practice Problem Overload (Weeks 4-5)
Resource Rotation:
- INBDE Booster for confidence-building.
- Bootcamp Free Questions for reality checks.
- Dental Mastery for humility training.
Pro Tip: When 3 resources give 3 different answers? Check the Golden File 😅
Phase 3: Final Countdown (Week 6)
Last 7 Days:
-
Day 7-5:
- 200 Anki reviews/day.
- ADA Ethics Code breakfast reading.
-
Day 4-2:
- Golden File speed-run (Ctrl+F is your best friend).
- Make a cheat sheet of "Things I Always Forget."
-
Day 1:
- Netflix therapy session.
- Pack snacks (see below).
- Sleep 8 hours (non-negotiable).
🍫 Exam Day Survival Kit
What Actually Works:
- Food: Bananas (nature’s energy bars), PB crackers (no crumbs!), meal shakes (when chewing feels like effort).
- Mindset: Flag liberally (30% is normal!), use ALL breaks (bathroom dances encouraged).
- Pro Move: Arrive early Day 2—some testing centers let you start before your slot.
📝The Kind of Topics That Have Come Up in the Past
Day 1 Highlights:
Fluoride Fun: Think scenarios where you’re calculating fluoride supplements for kids in non-fluoridated areas. (Yes, you’ll need to know the numbers!)
Infection Control Drama: Picture this: a patient walks in with active TB. What’s your PPE setup, and how do you handle their appointment? (Latent vs. Active TB always keeps things interesting!)
Prosth Puzzles: Imagine a blurry crown impression photo with questionable margins. Do you retreat, recement, or start from scratch? (Spoiler: Blurry photos are the real enemy here.)
Day 2 Curveballs:
Kennedy Classics: Partial edentulism cases that make you go, “Is this a Class II or a Class III? And what clasp design works best?”
Oral Path Head-Scratchers: Radiographs with lesions that look like Rorschach tests. “Is this an OKC, ameloblastoma, or just a really bad day?”
Pharm Favorites: Scenarios where a patient on clindamycin develops diarrhea. What’s the likely culprit, and what’s your next move? (Hint: It’s not always C. diff!)
🚫 5 Mistakes That Can Sink You
-
Ignoring Sleep
(2am study sessions → next-day clinic zombie mode.) -
Practice Question Panic
(Scoring 58% on Dental Mastery doesn’t mean you’ll fail.) -
Engagement Distraction
(Protect your study time—even from well-meaning future in-laws.) -
Mock Exam Meltdown
(Kaplan’s version is apparently designed to crush souls.) -
Comparison Trap
("Everyone else seems smarter" is always a lie.)
🦷 Key Takeaways for Success
- Anki Works (But only if you actually do the cards.)
- Ethics is 10% of the Exam (Read it like drama—who’s violating what?).
- Oral Path is Visual (Make a photo album of lesions.)
- Pharm = Word Parts (-lol vs. -pril vs. -zole).
- You Know More Than You Think (Those clinic hours count!).
"The exam wants to see you think like a dentist, not recite textbooks. Every patient you’ve seen is preparation."
— Recent INBDE Passer
Final Advice: When in doubt, choose the safest patient option. And pack extra snacks—you’ll need them more than your notes! 🍌
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