PREPARING FOR INBDE BUT NOT SURE FROM WHERE TO START?
HERE'S YOUR 5 STEP GUIDE TO ACE THE INBDE
Written By:
Dr. Harman Kaur
BDS
Reviewed By:
Dr. Sujit Pradhan
Co-Founder & Mentor, Simpli Boards
Table of Content:
STEP 1: All about INBDE
The governing body for the INBDE is the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (“JCNDE” ) and the examinations are administered by Prometric across the United States and Canada. The purpose of the INBDE exam is to assist dental boards in determining the qualifications of those who seek licensure to practice dentistry in the United States . The exam is conducted throughout the year and can be booked based on availability. This exam assesses important knowledge, skills, and abilities required for safe practice.
Know about the exam structure
The exam is conducted over 2 days and consists of 360 multiple choice questions on day 1 (300 stand alone items and 60 case based box questions) and 140 case based questions on day 2. The exam duration is 8 hours 15 minutes on day 1 and 4 hours 15 minutes on day 2.Below is the breakdown for each day.
Example of standalone MCQ
What are case based box questions?
In INBDE exam, the case based questions would include a patient box with information and a set of questions will be based on the same case or scenario.Below is an example of case based question from Simpli Boards platform.
For further details, Visit the JCNDE Website
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO TAKE INBDE?
INBDE is the first step in getting a licence to practice in the United States. Eligibility requirements for INBDE depends upon the candidate’s educational background; whether he has been educated by a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) or not and current stage of education ( current student or graduated). Dental graduates from accredited program means those who have graduated from CODA accredited programs like four year dental programs like DDS or DMD or residency program like specializations.A foreign educated dentist can obtain a D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree from a CODA-accredited program by attending an advanced standing program in the United States. An advanced standing program allows an individual to complete the D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree within two to three years of study. For detailed information on eligibility, visit or download the JCNDE Document from here.
Always refer to the latest updates from the JCNDE and ADA to ensure that you have the accurate and current information regarding eligibility requirements and other information for the INBDE.
STEP 2: Creating Your DENTPIN
Now that you have checked your eligibility, it is time to create a DENTPIN. DENTPIN (DENTal Personal Identifier Number) is a unique, eight-digit number that helps protect your personal identifying information. DENTPIN is used for ECE evaluation, registration for the INBDE exam and for the ADEA CAAPID and ADEA PASS.
Visit the ADA website and create the DENTPIN for yourself. It is a very simple process of 10 minutes.
STEP 3: ECE Verification
All candidates educated by non-CODA-accredited dental programs must have their educational degree confirmed through Educational Credential Evaluators Inc. (ECE). ECE prepares reports providing confirmation of candidate educational degrees earned in other countries and also calculates GPA (Grade Point Average), which is an assessment of the progress of your education in your home country .It is calculated on a scale of 1.0 to 4.0 and constitutes an important part of admission process as different universities have set their own standards for GPA and other parameters. For registration of exams and then later admission to the dental schools through CAAPID or PASS application you have to get a Course by course report which usually costs $195. Check the most updated guidelines at the ECE website.
STEP 4: APPLYING FOR THE EXAM
Once you have completed all the above steps, you can now proceed to applying for your INBDE exam by filling up the application. You will be required to fill up the application and pay the examination fee at this step. After the application has been reviewed and processed by JCNDE, candidates will be eligible to test for a six-month period. Thus, it is advisable to be aware of each detail of the exam and plan accordingly.
Sample of Approval report
To apply for the exam visit the ADA website here.
FOR LATEST UPDATES ON FEE AND OTHER EXAM UPDATES, ALWAYS VISIT THE JCNDE WEBSITE.
On receiving your eligibility , you can schedule your exam through PROMETRIC by following the below link ADA – American Dental Association | Prometric
Be aware of the time taken for each registration step , preparation time and visa requirements. A well formulated plan can save a lot of time and we have been guiding our candidates to utilise their precious time in the most benefitting way.
Visa Requirements
We highly recommend not to neglect the visa part and work on it from the beginning .You should at least have a B1/B2 visa for entering the US to appear for the exam. Below link will provide information on the visa types and requirements.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html
STEP 5: Preparing for Your INBDE Exam
This is one of the most important aspects in your INBDE journey. WHICH HAS TO BE PLANNED IN BEGINNING Although, there are many free as well as paid resources for INBDE online,YOU TUBE CHANNELS it’s advisable to join a trusted prep course for the latest updated material and exam pattern which is different from part 1 and part 2 administered earlier.
We at SIMPLI BOARDS have the best curated and flexible courses designed to adapt to the busy schedules of everyone and provide one on one mentorship to the candidates . With 99% passing result for first time aspirants, Our highly structured Simpli notes, critical thinking sessions ,ample box questions , live and recorded video lectures , mastermind test series , mock tests and mentor connect have helped us in maintaining 99 % passing result for the first time aspirants and many of our aspirants are enrolled in top universities of US through our admission assist services as well. Simpli Boards would definitely help you to save time,score high in this exam at affordable cost and without any mental torture.
Our success stories are what our aspirants achieve in their life, but we are overwhelmed by how vocal they are for us. Experience some of their valued words here.
To know more about our program visit our programs page or drop in an email at admin@simpliboards.com
STAY HEALTHY AND POSITIVE
It’s a challenging exam and one needs to take care of their mental as well as physical health .We advise you to keep yourself active and healthy both mentally and physically .
At Simpli Boards, we know that each one of you has different challenges while preparing for this exam .We have highly tailored courses designed to suit each one of you and help in achieving your dreams of practicing dentistry in the United States.
“If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles.” – Confucious
Dr Suresh Sharma
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Saloni Agarwal
Hands down the best platform out there. The lectures are amazing, pure teaching happens. The brain- storming sessions are helpful not only for the exams but have improved my application of it in the clinics too. Dr. Pradhan is just the right mentor one needs. Dr. Nida, Dr. Anand are great too. In no time, tackling questions have become a breeze. Just be consistent with the lectures. The notes are the latest and the most updated ones out there. Grateful for the day, I was recommended to join SimpliBoards by a friend.