NDBE I Board Thoughts

[booshwa]

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I'm half-way done! (Or only half-way done! for you pessimists).

I thought the anatomy section was pretty hard. I new it was one of my weaker subjects coming in, but I'd still been getting raw scores in the low 70's, high 60's...and I'll be surprised if I got more than 60 right here.

The biochem/physio. was not that bad. There were definetely some stuff that I hadn't seen EVER before, but all in all not too bad.

Hope everyone did well! (and hope my afternoon goes smoothly, with minimal falling asleep during the test).

 

[gonnabdds]

I thought all parts were pretty tough. Dental anatomy was not that bad, but there was one question that I tried to answer (what interference would cause the mandible to shift to the right). Maybe I'd normally be able to answer it, but I was mentally exhausted by that point.
There were so many questions with all of the following EXCEPT. Those types of questions always require you to know a lot of detail about the subject. I just hope the curve is pretty generous. The consensus in my class was that it was really hard. There was a post last week about there being very few repeat questions, and it was true.
Maybe I'll be retaking it on computer in 3 months. I hope not, though.

 

[DDSSlave]

We always do better than we think. I'm sure you did fine. Congrats on finishing!

 

[DrSmile]

I'm soooooo glad this crap is over, and hope I dont' have to retake it!!! Thought the anatomy part was really difficult...i apprently didn't think we had to know so much detail on the brain and all the tracts...didnt' study that at all. Biochem was better than anatomy for me but I don't know if that was for real or just because I was getting "guess-happy"...

Microbio made me happy b/c there were lots more repeats but on the other q's I hadn't heard of a lot of the stuff...so I had to blatently guess...like on some of the diseases and organisms...probably should have learned the organisms better...
Dental Anatomy wasn't that bad...but I started moving REALLY SLOW!!! I was so tired that I had to read some of the q's 3/4 times to comprehend what it was trying to ask...there were some repeats I recognized..but there were also some on there that I was like wow...HARD question lol...like that CR one and the jaw moved to the right on closing...

But overall, I just hope I passed, don't think i could go thru this again...I'm exhaused right now!
I wonder how long it takes to get our scores back....??

 

[gonnabdds]

thanks for the encouragement. i'm glad to be done, too. when a test is that long and you are allowed to miss a lot (due to the standardization), it feels like you are really crappy. on normal tests, i can usually count on one hand which questions i missed. with this, it's like over 100 questions missed! BTW, how long does it take to get the scores back?

 

[DDSSlave]

They came out in mid august last yr.

 

[Blue Tooth]

Expect your scores about a week before labor day. That's when they came last year but I've heard that they've been better about getting them back soon recently. Don't worry about failing, you didn't. It's equally as hard to fail as it is to get a 95+. You all did fine.

 

[jg68]

That test was a bit more difficult than past exams. Just happy that it is over. I thought that the biochem and micro sections were the most difficult. They seemed to test areas that were different than those tested in past years. Hope I did alright, guess I will wait and find out.

 

[12YearOldKid]

I've heard it takes about 6 weeks to get scores back.

I didn't think the last three sections were too bad, but, man, there were hardly any repeats.

And anatomy was simply brutal. Looking over old tests I thought I had anatomy down pretty good -- in the past knowing your muscle origin, attachment and innervation, and having a good grasp of the heart and circulatory system seemed to cover about 80% of the test. But today it seemed like the whole test was histology and neurology -- WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? 😱 There better be a HUGE curve for that puppy or I'll be back in December to do it over again. That section was a monster!!!!

 

[Zurik5]

Micro/Path was my worst section. Thought it was pretty damn hard. I started to get tired during the Dental anatomy/occlusion section, but overall I thought it was by far the easiest of the four. We’ll see how I did in six weeks, but for now it’s all-star baseball and massive amounts of booze. Cheers!

 

[booshwa]

Well I've finished up the second two sections, and I thought the dental anatomy section was utter crap. Some of those questions were just ridiculous, and in no way reflect my knowledge of dental anatomy. They must have asked 20 questions on the max. 1st molar, and like 2 on the TMJ. The interference/deflection to the right ? was hard, I must have spent a good 5 minutes on it, and was never satisfied with my answer.

The micro/path section was pretty easy I thought. For me the section just seemed to fly by, not that I am by any means an expert in the subject-so maybe that is a bad thing. Compared to past tests, there seemed to be very few questions on oral pathologies or microbio.

But, its done! It is now time to put some of those liver pathologies into practice.

 

[liya]

Congrats, guys!
I just have one question do you feel like the dental decks and the past exams still pretty much enough to study for this exam? I know as i am doing exams i am learning new things but i am not reading any book i just refer to the them if i dont understand something from the cards or the test. Whats the advice?
Thanks

 

[reccos]

How much did you think the released exams helped, how about the unreleased ones?

 

[Blue Tooth]

Compared to past tests, there seemed to be very few questions on oral pathologies or microbio.

There shouldn't be any oral path on part 1. That's why there's an entier oral path section on part 2.

 

[Fulcrum_or_FAIL]

I can't believe we don't have anymore summer vacations for the rest of our lives. ever. EVER. 😱

 

[Jone]

underclassman at my school told me there were only about 2 to 3 repeats per section, and as far as he knew, NO repeats from unreleased exams... and thank God... it's so DAMN annoying having all these pricks post "FOR SALE UNRELEASED EXAMS $20, I SCORED A 97 ON NBDE WITH THESE"... put them out of business finally.

How much did you think the released exams helped, how about the unreleased ones?

 

[booshwa]

There shouldn't be any oral path on part 1. That's why there's an entier oral path section on part 2.

Thanks, I didn't realize that!!!

 

[drhobie7]

Wow, I thought that was way harder than the practice exams I did. A lot different too. Oddly enough I thought Dental Anatomy was my worst section. Too bad for me since that section usually has the weakest curve. 🙁

 

[12YearOldKid]

Wow, I thought that was way harder than the practice exams I did. A lot different too. Oddly enough I thought Dental Anatomy was my worst section. Too bad for me since that section usually has the weakest curve. 🙁

Dental anatomy is only hard because it's at the end of the day when you are tired and your brain is already fried. Then you have to read through those paragraph long questions to figure out what is being said. I was so tired, I had to read through some of the DA questions 3 times or so before I even knew what it was I was supposed to answer.

I was happy though that there was so much occlusion and not a single mid-root section question on the whole exam. Occlusion is definitely my strong point and mid root sections were killing me on the old exams. In fact, I think this might be the first DA test ever where there wasn't a single picture.

 

[SC-Z]

underclassman at my school told me there were only about 2 to 3 repeats per section, and as far as he knew, NO repeats from unreleased exams... and thank God...

I don't know what your talking about. I know for sure I like half the anatomy was PURE repeats, and about 1/3 of the micro and path. sections. The released weren't helpful, but the unreleased was definately worth every cent. I seemed to think the Biochem section was quite hard, same consensus with the dental anatomy.

And what the hell Josh??? Danforth is an ASS!

 

[aerotech]

i don't think the anatomy section was as easy as previous years...the unreleased exams were of no help. i don't think any repeats came from them, but not 100% sure. there were a few repeats from old exams, but not as many as previous years ....in my opinion, biochem/phys and dao were the easiest. there were more biochem related questions than physio. micro/path was also fair but there were a few random ques that i had no clue of (path questions were a bit more random than micro) ......overall, the exam was fair, but each section had a few random questions that you either knew or didn't...that's just my opinion


****i'm not sure if this is true...are there 15 questions that don't count towards your score...if so, if you get those 15 right, do they count that in to your score? how does this work? thanks!!!

 

[ElDienteLoco]

i don't think the anatomy section was as easy as previous years...the unreleased exams were of no help. i don't think any repeats came from them, but not 100% sure. there were a few repeats from old exams, but not as many as previous years ....in my opinion, biochem/phys and dao were the easiest. there were more biochem related questions than physio. micro/path was also fair but there were a few random ques that i had no clue of (path questions were a bit more random than micro) ......overall, the exam was fair, but each section had a few random questions that you either knew or didn't...that's just my opinion


****i'm not sure if this is true...are there 15 questions that don't count towards your score...if so, if you get those 15 right, do they count that in to your score? how does this work? thanks!!!

I'm pretty sure that is just a disclaimer so that they can put in up to 15% experimental questions...None of the released exams have more than two unscored items per section, so I think almost all of the questions will be scored.

I thought the test was overall pretty good. I think the NBDE needs to release more recent exams than 1998! I think it is really poor form to give a test that is very different than most of the released exams and then act naively when the people with 97s are the ones bootlegging and profiting (might I add) from unreleased, smuggled information...C'mon, make it fair for everyone by releasing updated and relevant information.

I dislike systems that encourage individuals, fraternities, and schools (dare I say) to take an unfair advantage by memorizing "unreleased" information to share with others - many times for a fee.

I wish the National Board could just give us more information so there would be no incentive to do anything like that.

$ .02

 

[sweetyork]

The Gross Anatomy section was a killer. But, the Dental Anatomy section was much worse; not b/c it was hard, but b/c it was sooooo anoying. Did anyone else find this as well. Some questions were so long and wordy (i.e. the mesiofacial aspect of the middle third in the occluso-cerival in the incisal view.... blah, blah, blah). I felt they purposefully wanted to confuse us on the lingo (not on the content). These questions just went on and on.

 

[chinchaz]

I thought that test was unbelievable. I thought that the dental decks were absolutely worthless study aids. Well maybe that was a little rough of a statementm but that test didnt compare to any previuos test at all. I thought that the 2004 pilot was going to be a good indicator of how well I would do on that exam, fuggetaboutit. I would have to say that I thought the Biochem section was the hardest. I felt like I would have done better had I memorized all my books and notes. Heres to december!

 

[Brutus0725]

There shouldn't be any oral path on part 1. That's why there's an entier oral path section on part 2.

There is oral pathology all over the exam. It is specified on the ADA website what is on the exam.

 

[Toothzone]

Hi Guys,
Can anyone tell what was the answer about that "Arbovirus question"..how does arbovirus spread?? in micro-patho ndb part1 exam....
there were really some vague choices given which never matched the q .!!.
Q. Arbovirus spreads...by

*Through infected soil
*Inhalation of contaminated air
*bite of an infected animal
there was some other choice also ....???

if anyone remembers , kindly post the answer to that particular q ..and also the choices...just wanted to know that all ..it really bugged me ..
I know the answer ...but ...what did the choices reflect??
Thanks
TZ

 

[lnn2]

Hi Guys,
Can anyone tell what was the answer about that "Arbovirus question"..how does arbovirus spread?? in micro-patho ndb part1 exam....
there were really some vague choices given which never matched the q .!!.
Q. Arbovirus spreads...by

*Through infected soil
*Inhalation of contaminated air
*bite of an infected animal
there was some other choice also ....???

if anyone remembers , kindly post the answer to that particular q ..and also the choices...just wanted to know that all ..it really bugged me ..
I know the answer ...but ...what did the choices reflect??
Thanks
TZ

It's over! Let it go! 🙂

Spread by infected mosqui-toes!

 

[ElDienteLoco]

Are you sure it didn't say a "bite of an insect vector?" That could easily be misread in the pace of the exam.

 

[kato999]

Are you sure it didn't say a "bite of an insect vector?" That could easily be misread in the pace of the exam.

arborvirus: spread by trees... 🙂

 

[Toothzone]

Hi....
Thanks for replying ...but there wasn't a choice that said that ...i was soi annoyed with that q ..cos i knew the answer...but there was no choice that reflected the answer.....
Thanks
TZ

\
Get ur facts straight man ..!! Your answer is FAR from funny ..when you are aiming for more than a 90+ ..NOTHING is Funny...Hope u get that 😡

.Arbovirus...does NOT grow on trees ...wonder what you re doing at school .....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

Arbovirus

Arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) are a large group of viruses that are spread mainly by blood-sucking insects. In the United States, arboviruses are most commonly spread by mosquitoes.
Birds are often the source of infection for mosquitoes, which can then spread the infection to horses, other animals, and people.
Most people infected with arboviruses have few or no symptoms, but arboviruses can cause serious and potentially fatal inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) as well as other complications.
Prevention depends mainly on public health action to control mosquitoes and on individual action to avoid mosquito bites.


What is an arbovirus?

Arbovirus is short for arthropod-borne virus. Arboviruses are a large group of viruses that are spread by certain invertebrate animals (arthropods), most commonly blood-sucking insects. In the United States, arboviruses are spread mainly by mosquitoes. Birds are often the source of infection for mosquitoes, which can then transmit the infection to horses, other animals, and people. People are not an essential part of the life cycle for most arboviruses.



Where are arboviruses found?

Arboviruses are found throughout the world. The presence of an arbovirus in a particular area depends on the availability of specific types of mosquitoes that can carry it and specific birds or animals that can be infected.

Are you sure it didn't say a "bite of an insect vector?" That could easily be misread in the pace of the exam.

 

[kato999]

Get ur facts straight man ..!! Your answer is FAR from funny ..when you are aiming for more than a 90+ ..NOTHING is Funny...Hope u get that 😡

.Arbovirus...does NOT grow on trees ...wonder what you re doing at school .....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
.

Wow, someone is wound a little tight. You should be glad it's over and you should be getting drunk, not rehashing all the questions and giving yourself a coronary.

 

[DDSSlave]

arborvirus: spread by trees... 🙂

lol.. I thought it was funny. Calm down people. Calm down....

 

[flat4]

Wow, someone is wound a little tight. You should be glad it's over and you should be getting drunk, not rehashing all the questions and giving yourself a coronary.

S/he's probably starting to study for Part II already

 

[txdent2be2007]

I took the exam on 6/25 and received my scores back yesterday...I did better than I expected. Before the exam I took all of the old tests back to the early 80s, and my final score was a little better than my scores on those practice sessions. So take heart all you worriers -- you did better than you think! 👍

 

[31MOD]

I am compiling a list of questions and topics from the recent written NBDE Part I Exam. If you would like to contribute anything (questions, topics, stuff not found in the decks) that you may have remembered from the exam, please e-mail me at [email protected] or send me a PM and your information will be included on the list. Also, you will receive a copy of the information that I am compiling just in case you may have to retake a section in the future. 😉

 

[FutureDMD]

That NBDE Part I exam was RIDICULOUSLY hard! Nothing like ANY old released or unreleased exams. I expect the curve for all sections to be in the upper 30s to mid 40s at most. It was so hard that one of my classmates just had a heart attack! Nuff said.....

 

[Jone]

dude chill OUT.
what is it with you people who think the end of the world will come because you got one answer wrong and only scored a 98 instead of a 99.

Hi....
\
Get ur facts straight man ..!! Your answer is FAR from funny ..when you are aiming for more than a 90+ ..NOTHING is Funny...Hope u get that 😡

.Arbovirus...does NOT grow on trees ...wonder what you re doing at school .....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

 

[lnn2]

or maybe 74 instead of 75!

 

[DrSmile]

you classmate literally had a heart attack...like for real?! 🙁

That NBDE Part I exam was RIDICULOUSLY hard! Nothing like ANY old released or unreleased exams. I expect the curve for all sections to be in the upper 30s to mid 40s at most. It was so hard that one of my classmates just had a heart attack! Nuff said.....

 

[cleanline]

Just wanted to say hi to everybody first since I'm new to this forum. Here's what I thought about the exam, broken down:

Anatomy: Not bad at all. Fairly straight forward but I'm a visual learner and felt comfortable going in with this section. Plus it was the last section I'd reviewed.

Biochem: Extremely difficult. I felt a little underprepared for this section but I thought they were going overboard with the type of questions they'd asked. Very abstract and details that you wouldn't expect to see even on an exam in this class. I took 2 semesters of Biochem in undergrad, was a Bio major, too the 2 semesters in dental school and stuff came up that I'd never seen in my life nor expected on this exam. I wanted to do the best I could on the boards but I started to panic in this section and literally wanted to get out passing, haha.

Micro/Path: I thought this section was fair. I'd marked quite a few questions (on the order of 40) but felt good about the rest. I thought the questions were relevant outside of maybe a few. Most of my difficulty came from the fact that I couldn't remember things, not that I hadn't seen them in class or in the decks.

Dental Anatomy: Very challenging but fair. Like everybody else said, I was burned out by this section (esp. going into the exam with a total of 8hrs of sleep the past 2 nights). Had about 5 primary anatomy questions that were fairly involved. We really never had too much of this in class though.

My best advice to those who have to take it in the future. Study Biochem and Micro/Path but get your Dental Anatomy and Anatomy down. You have the most control over the latter 2 sections and can use them to help pull up the former 2.

 

[flat4]

I am compiling a list of questions and topics from the recent written NBDE Part I Exam. If you would like to contribute anything (questions, topics, stuff not found in the decks) that you may have remembered from the exam, please e-mail me at [email protected] or send me a PM and your information will be included on the list. Also, you will receive a copy of the information that I am compiling just in case you may have to retake a section in the future. 😉

Pretty ballsy request if you ask me. Good luck with it.

 

[cameltoe]

Pretty ballsy request if you ask me. Good luck with it.

i was thinking the wink at the was noting some sort of sarcasm 😕

 

[flat4]

i was thinking the wink at the was noting some sort of sarcasm 😕

I doubt it or my sarcasm meters borked. Sounds more like "Hey, send me questions/answers to the recent boards so I don't have to study as hard as everyone else/make some $$$ off you guys. What do you get for sending me the answers? I will send you this list when you find out you failed in a few weeks(insert wink here). Hahahaha. You guys soooo stuuuupid". Just study like everyone else.

 

[ItsGavinC]

That NBDE Part I exam was RIDICULOUSLY hard! Nothing like ANY old released or unreleased exams. I expect the curve for all sections to be in the upper 30s to mid 40s at most. It was so hard that one of my classmates just had a heart attack! Nuff said.....

The anatomy section on last year's exam was absolutely brutal--it was by far the lowest scored section accross the nation. And, from what I can tell, the curve wasn't nearly as good as I thought it should have been.