Dental Exams

Dental exams:

Eligibility exam and NBDE 1 and 2:

I wrote the EE three times with scores of 74, 86, 94, respectively. Also, I wrote the NBDE 1 with a score of 84 and NBDE 2 with a score of 80

My Experience with EE:

In our case, writing such exam is an excellent experience regardless to the score that we get. I went through a very tough time when I was preparing for my first EE. But, this helped me a lot to get a high score in my second trial. The second exam led me to a dental school where I am now. The score was good to make me a competitive candidate but I was not sure at that time if it is good enough.

The Canadian system is very competitive, thus, I wrote EE for the third time. I had to make that decision because at that time it was hard to tell if my second EE score is good enough.

I got very high score in my 3rd trial, yet I was accepted depending on my score in the second trial. The conclusion is that you can never guarantee your acceptance until you get the acceptance letter itself. If you are not in the dental program yet, then you have to keep improving your situation.

Study strategy:

EE is about basic and clinical knowledge. I have used this strategy in my preparation for EE in the following order:

1. Studying dental decks, part 1 and part 2 (mainly). It gives you a good background about many topics in general. The information that undergoes under note, important or in a box are most probably related to a question in NBDE.

2. Studying ASDA thoroughly. It gives you a chance to connect what you have study before.

3. Studying Past EE questions. It gives you the ability to concentrate on the important topics.A GROUP STUDY IS EXTREMLY IMPORTANT. So talk to other candidates who are writing the exam with you and with those who got accepted in dental schools too. Discuss these questions together and listen to each other. Some may be wrong, some may be right.

4. After studying questions as mentioned in points 2 and 3 above, you will find that you need more information about certain topics. Now, you should use the textbooks to read more about them. ACFD has posted a list of textbooks that you may use. It is helpful and you can go to any faculty of dentistry and use the references. No need to read the whole textbook, what we are looking for is few pages or even one page sometimes. Your undergrad lectures and references are useful too; it has to be up-to-date though.

5. At this point, you can tell what is needed to be done. Few days before the exam, revise what you feel you need to know the most. For instance, I reviewed impression materials, chronology ......etc.

6. On the day of the exam, just relax! It is hard to do it but you have to keep trying.

7. During the exam, for sure, we are not in a high school anymore and therefore we will not find questions that we can answer them right away. Be confident and think well and wisely. At the end, you are a dentist and you prepared well for the exam. Do your best and be sure you can do it.

The textbooks that I have used are written below. Pay attention that the revision of past EE questions is a very crucial thing. Practice as much as you can. With time, you will find that some questions are related to specific topics, so make sure you cover them very well.

Resources for EE and NBDE exams:
1. Dental decksYou can buy them from some libraries in Toronto downtown, from ex-students , online through eBay or through Dental Decks’ website.
2. ASDA papers. American Student Dental Association released some questions regarding part 1 and part 2 NBDE. These are helpful and close to EE questions.
You can buy them from their website, eBay, a friend or just go to a dental library and borrow them.
3 Textbooks are available in dental schools’ libraries. No need to buy a particular thing. The reference textbooks list posted on ACFD website is recommended, if you need to cover some topics in depth.

*When I planned to write NBDE 2, I signed up for online Kaplan course for NBDE 2, it was helpful in making me more confident yet, personally, there was no direct connection between the course and the EE itself.

Topics from my past exams:
Dentistry is a big field and it is hard to cover all the materials that we may be asked in the exams. Thus, some topics are more important than others and knowing them well is really crucial. For sure, we are not allowed to distribute the exam questions because this will affect the exam integrity. Below are some of these topics that can direct you in your preparation:
· Chronology
· Salivary glands
· Innervations of the teeth and the surrounded soft tissues
· Hepatitis
· Pain killers and antibiotics
· Periodontitis

Pay attention to the universities’ deadlines, for 2010 program, when you write all exams in general. Below are the deadline plus the application fees, all in CAD.
1. UWO............starts Jan 1st, accept late applicants. $1,500.
2. UBC..............June , $ 400
3. U of T...........August 1st, $ 230
4. Manitoba.....August 30th, $100
5. Dalhousie.....September 1st, $ 70
6. McGill..........November 15th for applicants outside the province of Quebec, January 15th for Quebec residents.
7. Alberta........November 1st, $ 250