The new Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) being developed by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE) is expected to be implemented no sooner than August 2020.

According to the JCNDE, “The new test relies less on rote knowledge and information recall than the current NBDE examinations do, and instead it emphasizes the decision-making process relevant to the safe practice of dentistry through the integration of the basic sciences and dental and clinical science.”

What does this mean? It means that the exam will begin testing students on all subjects relating to the current Part I and II exams in a practical and likely, case-based format.

What are we doing to prepare for the new Integrated Boards? We are changing our assessments and approach to conform to the new testing standards. By helping our students to understand the new format and how to approach the content from the perspective of a practicing dentist is the key to understanding the new exam. This requires that students have a full of the content from both parts in order to apply it to the cases presented.

The content, though, has not changed. We will still be offering our modularized professor-driven content to help students build their knowledge base while working on new strategies and cases to help students transition to the new boards.