National Board Dental Examination is the United States national dental examination for students and professionals in dentistry. It is required for licensure in the United States and may also be required when applying for postgraduate studies in dental specialties after completing a dental degree.
Click here for the link to website.
- INBDE : [Available now]
- This is a new pattern of test, clubbing up both NBDE Part 1 & Part 2 tests into a single test.
- Cost of the examination is $750, for international students an additional $235 for processing fee.
- It is conducted on 2 consecutive days, total examination time is 12 hours 30mins.
- Day 1 – 8 hours 15min, with one scheduled break for 30min, comprises of 360 questions
- Day 2 – 4 hours 15 min, comprises of 140 questions.
- In the below image where it says (item sets), it mostly means you will be given case based scenarios and there will be a set of questions linked to each case.
NBDE Part 1 & 2
For NBDE there are 2 parts, for both the parts you need to apply for the test prior to scheduling the appointment, which means pay the fee and wait for 3-5 business days for ADA to send you an email, after which you will be allowed to schedule a date for the test.
Both these exams are required in order to get an interview from most of the dental school except for Boston University and Upenn which says NBDE Part1 required and NBDE Part 2 preferred.
NBDE Part 1 : [Exam discontinued in Dec 2020]
It costs $505
It is an 8 hour 30 minute test (2 sessions of 4 hours and 30 min scheduled for lunch break, you can take as many as unscheduled breaks which means the time will be running and you can still take a break if you need to.
The tests are conducted at Prometric testing centers – you have leave all your ornaments (watches, any jewelry), water bottles, bags etc outside the testing center. You will only be allowed to take your ID (Passport/ Driver’s License/ State ID ) and the key to your allotted locker with you into the testing center.
The test comprises of 400 questions from subjects – Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pathology, Dental Anatomy. Recommendation is to study Dental Decks and First Aid to pass this test.
The questions are not sequenced in any specific order, they are all jumbled up.
The results are out in usually 2 weeks after the test date. You will get an email when the results are out.
The score is calculated for 100, 75 and above is pass (you wont be able to see the exact marks), 75 and below is fail (clear breakdown of marks is given in this case)
NBDE Part 2 : [Exam can be taken only until July 31st 2022]
It costs $575
This is a 2 days test.
Day 1 – 8 hours 30 minutes same as Part 1. The test comprises of 400 questions from subjects – Pharmacology and all Dental subjects.
Day 2 – 4 hours. The test comprises of 100 questions. You are given a case based scenario with evidences such as radiographs, perio charting, pictures and asked 8-10 questions on each scenario. Recommendation is to study dental decks for the most of it, you can also refer to Dentin Books, First Aid, Mosby’s and some Facebook groups for latest remembered questions (rq’s) to pass the test.
All the remaining details are same as Part 1.
Life of Foreign Dentist in USA 