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Title says it all. Thanks for your replies!
Did you pass NBDE? What was your Boards Mastery Score?
- Thread starter kieronoreik
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I was scoring 65% overall on the mastery app, figured I'd take the exam anyway since some of classmates passed with the app alone = failed real exam.
Second time, studied with first aid, YouTube video, and went over old anatomy ppt; reset the app and scored 86% overall = passed real exam.
BTW, the app alone is insuccient in the dental anatomy/occlusion and head neck anatomy. Just watch the 300 dental things to know for NBDE 1 on YouTube. The guy is god sent.
Second time, studied with first aid, YouTube video, and went over old anatomy ppt; reset the app and scored 86% overall = passed real exam.
BTW, the app alone is insuccient in the dental anatomy/occlusion and head neck anatomy. Just watch the 300 dental things to know for NBDE 1 on YouTube. The guy is god sent.
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The app, free or premium, is not sufficient by itself to pass the boards. You really need some additional resources like First Aid, Dental Decks or ASDA papers. The app is really good for getting conecpts down or as a refresher, but I really would not rely on it alone.
Thank you so much for the answer!
I have some asda papers and bought DENTIN but seriously dentin looks so overkill to me, it's 400pages long...I dont know what and where to start... Can you plz give me some advice? I was thinking 1.to watch youtube videos first, 2.memorize asda paper? 3.app. What do you thibk about this plan?? How many similar or same questions do appear?
Hope to hear from you
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I was getting 60-65% on the app for both parts I and II but i felt like it still helped me learn a lot. I also read the first aid book and those two alone were enough for me to pass both exams.
I was getting 70s-80s in the mastery app, used First Aid, course notes, Pass the Dental Boards on youtube and passed first try. However I did find the anatomy questions quite hard - a little more thoracic anatomy that I had hoped for
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I scored 65% on the button. Only used the app and passed the real exam.
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I was scoring in the mid to upper 70s on the App and on ASDA tests before I took the exam and I passed. The app and exams are SIGNIFICANTLY easier than the actual exam so please do yourself a favor and do better than the bare minimum.
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I took a different path, I used First Aid for USMLE step 1. I cannot recommend this book enough. It shores up your basics and provide enough details to get those questions that will definitely show up on the NBDE part 1. I went over this book 2 times in 4 weeks. Used the Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology, Pathology, some Pharmacology sections. I also went over the High-yield organ systems. I did not use the Boards Mastery app although I paid for the 1200 questions. I did 3 of the ADA reprints, on week 3, scored around 75 on them. On week 4 I just skimmed through the whole book again.
For dental anatomy and occlusion, I used First Aid for NBDE part 1. I also used some old lecture notes I had for my head and neck course (KNOW THIS COLD). I also supplemented with 300 Dental Facts and Learn Occlusion of Pass The Dental Boards on youtube nightly for the whole 4 weeks.
I just found out I passed today. Good luck to those studying for it and those who will take it in the future.
For dental anatomy and occlusion, I used First Aid for NBDE part 1. I also used some old lecture notes I had for my head and neck course (KNOW THIS COLD). I also supplemented with 300 Dental Facts and Learn Occlusion of Pass The Dental Boards on youtube nightly for the whole 4 weeks.
I just found out I passed today. Good luck to those studying for it and those who will take it in the future.
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Most dental students don't do the "bare minimum" to pass. You absolutely do not need to be scoring in the mid to upper 70s on the app or ASDA tests in order to pass the boards. This is the exact type of reply to a thread that caused me unnecessary anxiety before I went and took my boards.
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I would respectfully disagree. The ASDA tests are significantly easier than the actual exam. I found most ASDA exams and app questions (which were based on previous exams) were high yield first order thinking questions. Not all board questions are that straightforward. Could someone pass while scoring lower than that, maybe. But why risk it?
National averages for each section for passing students on the actual exam are in the mid 60s in each section with the exception of the dental anatomy section which is usually around the mid to upper 70s. If you’re scoring in the mid to upper 70s on the ASDA tests (and higher for DA) that indicates you are getting the majority of the material and with the difference in difficulty, you should be able to score in the passing range.
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Well, I spoke to numerous classmates about what they were scoring on the mastery app before taking the exam. I only heard of one person scoring over 70%. The rest ranged from about 62%-70% and not one of them failed Part I. As for Part II, I have no idea.
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Just found out I passed today.
My first run thru the app I got 75% on DA, 70% on Biochem and Phys, 49% on both micro/path and anatomy.
Second time (only made it halfway) I got in the 80s, mostly from remembering the answers.
I did the released ASDA papers (L-N). That’s pretty much all I did for studying. I studied for two weeks!
I felt wrecked by the exam as there was a lot of stuff I never studied. I wanted to cry and just sleep afterwards. I got very few repeats. So I’m pretty sure you can do horrid and still pass.
If I had to retake this and thank god I’m not, do the DECKS and mastery app.
My first run thru the app I got 75% on DA, 70% on Biochem and Phys, 49% on both micro/path and anatomy.
Second time (only made it halfway) I got in the 80s, mostly from remembering the answers.
I did the released ASDA papers (L-N). That’s pretty much all I did for studying. I studied for two weeks!
I felt wrecked by the exam as there was a lot of stuff I never studied. I wanted to cry and just sleep afterwards. I got very few repeats. So I’m pretty sure you can do horrid and still pass.
If I had to retake this and thank god I’m not, do the DECKS and mastery app.
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decks and mastery app.
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I did dental decks, mastery app, ASDA reprints, 300 dental facts on YouTube. Repetition is key. What I did is went through each of these once and then for the next 2 weeks, just focused on the questions I got wrong and actually learning them, rather tha just repeating the question til I got them correct. After I made it through everything I got incorrect I went back through all questions and got nearly all correct. Then again went back through what I got wrong, only took a couple days this time as there was much less.
I noticed a number of questions that were nearly identical to questions from the study methods I used. So for me, the repetition of going through all of those questions really helped me. I would say for parts 1 & 2, about 25-30% of the questions were identical or very similar to questions I'd seen while doing boards prep
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