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Read more →The honest truth about the NBDHE
Take the advice from someone who did it already.
Annie
RDH and creator of the nook & notes
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The day is here. It's you, a computer, 350 questions, and one laminated notepad. Let's go!
What the NBDHE is actually testing
By now you know that you have 350 questions to tackle. Check out the JCNDE Candidate guide for an explanation of how the exam is structured and which topics are worth more points. DON'T SKIP THIS!
Go into the exam knowing what they are testing and I don't mean the questions themselves, but know what the core of the NBDHE truly is and why it even exits.
The NBDHE is a gatekeeper. Point, blank, period. Once you see it this way, you can better prepare for it by anticipating the types of questions you'll get and filtering your study notes accordingly which will then make you feel more confident in your knowledge.
GK
If we give this person a license today, will they provide safe, effective care without harming the patient?
With this in mind, I recommend you to have an exceptional grasp of patient characteristics and important lab results that modify your treatment such as INR, TP time, A1C levels. You should also be able to spot medically compromised patients by the characteristics given to you by the exam because the answers to the questions rely heavily on you identifying what is wrong with the patient.
When you study this way, eventually you will notice how the scientific basis for dental hygiene practice starts to intertwine, making it easier to comprehend and remember.
Resources that are worth your time
My friends and I all bought subscriptions to NBDHE Booster Prep 3 days before the exam because we had FOMO, and we are SO glad we did. Their practice exams look almost identical to the real exam interface. Same layout!
Then there's Mosby's. The book is old, everybody knows it's old, and it's still the best question bank I ever used. The questions are noticeably harder than what shows up on the real exam. You get dragged by them every single time but then you sit down on test day and the actual questions feel easy by comparison. I got mine on Amazon from a used book retailer and it came brand spanking new with the code for the online platform. Best money I ever spent.
One of my classmates didn't pass her exam the first time, I had her buy this book and Booster prep and she passed on her 2nd try.
an oldie & but a goodie
Mosby's Review Questions for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination
If you can answer these questions, you can answer anything. Just know some guidelines might be outdated but they are common knowledge such as BP guidelines.
Get it on AmazonThe day itself
Don't change routine
If you drink coffee every morning, drink coffee. This is not the day to find out what your body does without caffeine.
Eat before, hydrate early
Something with fiber. I had overnight oats with banana. Hydrate when you wake up.
My other move was bringing Gatorade for the breaks. I don't have the science to back it up, but I felt great after taking a few sips and heading back in. This might be TMI, but we're being real here: water makes me go to the bathroom a lot and Gatorade doesn't so it was also a strategic move. Also, during my lunch break, right before starting the case-based portion, I took an ibuprofen to keep any headaches at bay.
Write the brain dump sheet first
This is the tip I'd give if I could only give one.
You can't bring notes. What you do get is a laminated notepad and one fine tip marker. The rules are specific: you can't write in it before the exam begins or during scheduled breaks. So the dump has to happen once the timer is running.
15
I spent about 15 mins at the very start writing everything down before answering a single question. Your brain is fresh, so the recall is easy, and by question 200, when you're second-guessing an answer you just look at the sheet.
What went on mine:
- Community water fluoridation levels
- Blood pressure categories
- Cranial nerves
- Vitamin mnemonics
- Perio staging and grading (the whole table, yes)
- A1C ranges and INR safe ranges
- Cardiac dose limits
- Pharmacology drug classes with their generic name endings and one common brand name each
- Dental anatomy odds and ends
- Radiopaque means white, radiolucent means black
That last one looks ridiculous, I know. I put it there because I had lost points on it during quizzes just from going so fast that I'd flip them. Don't judge me. It ended up being very useful and that's all I'm gonna say.
So build your own list the same way. Ask yourself what you got wrong the most in school and put that on the sheet.
Pro tip
Practice writing the whole sheet at home on a notebook, as many times as you can until you can write it in your sleep.
Take the breaks
I don't care what others said. I took all my breaks. I went to the bathroom, got some snacks, went outside to stretch, got my Gatorade, you name it and I still finished the whole thing in 2.5 hours. I wasn't going to let my brain get fried trying to power through it. So I recommend taking the breaks.
It's probably not the monster you've been told about
I want to say this plainly, because the way people talk about this exam online does nobody any favors. The questions are straightforward. They are not written to trick you.
Look at how the thing is built. Every item has one best answer and sometimes they are obvious. The negative questions capitalize EXCEPT and NOT so you can see them. Questions are not sneaky. Ok, except community because I still don't know how to answer those.
In my opinion, what makes it hard is the length. 350 questions will wear down anybody regardless of how well they studied. That's the part worth preparing for, and it's why the breaks and the dump sheet do more for you on exam day than one more pass through your flashcards.
Another post is coming specifically on how to tackle the multiple choice science portion and the case - based questions. Keep on the look out for that!
