When to start using Dental Decks

[Smiley25]

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I will be starting dental school this summer and am wondering if it would be beneficial to start learning 1 dental decks card every day before I take NBDE 1, starting now. I plan to take NBDE I winter of my sophomore year so this would give me plenty of time to get through a good portion of the deck without feeling like I had to cram it all in during my D2 year.

Also, do you think it would be helpful to study them while taking the relevant classes? Just a thought I had when I came across a reasonably priced set for sale on here. Would appreciate your feedback!

 

[Fido00]

If you were really serious you would have already started studying.

Honestly, relax, take a deep breath and at the earliest start a couple of months before the test.

I crammed in a few weeks, which worked for me.🙂

 

[HupHolland]

I would start the decks 1 month before your boards and not a day before that. Relax...

Hup

 

[Smiley25]

Thanks! I just was wondering if anyone found it helpful to study them along with their classes. Seems like everyone rants about how horrible studying the dental decks are so I thought spreading it out wouldn't make it so bad. I guess not! ;-)

 

[flabernak]

I tried using them a bit for some exams last semester, didn't last long. The decks are pretty basic compared to what we needed to know for the courses. Plus finding the right cards that apply to the specific material being tested is a major time factor. Much better off studying notes/lectures and heaven forbid the textbooks...

If you really must study before starting school (which I don't recommend), look at what you lacked in undergrad courses and maybe focus there. For me that would have been embryology, neurology, and immunology. You will become best friends with the trigeminal and facial nerve, knowing them wouldn't hurt...

 

[cmcner]

If you can't allow yourself to have fun before you get to dental school, which you should, use this time to learn for the love of learning. Biology is an amazing thing, once you get to school its like drinking from a fire hose and there is little time for personal ventures into academia. As far as boards go they're pass/fail now, 1 month before at most, unless you're using the decks for the love of learning.

 

[OG1]

The test is pass/fail. It doesn't matter. You won't even fully comprehend or grasp the content on the cards until you have taken the relevant classes. I would study for a few months before the test at most; you will be wasting your time if you start now. The days where doing well on the boards matters are gone.