This DANB CDA cheat sheet strips all three CDA component exams — General Chairside (GC), Radiation Health & Safety (RHS), and Infection Control (ICE) — down to the facts examiners reward, in one printable rundown. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Pair it with the rest of your free CDA toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
DANB CDA exam at a glance
- Structure: Three component exams — GC, RHS, ICE — all passed within 5 years
- Scored items & time: GC: 95 items / 75 min · RHS: 75 items / 60 min · ICE: 75 items / 60 min
- Passing score: Scaled 400 on each component (reported on a 100–900 range)
- Cost: ~$450 for all three together, or ~$270 per component — dated anchor; verify on the DANB application
What’s on the DANB CDA cheat sheet
- General Chairside Assisting (GC) — Chairside Dentistry (50%), Evaluation (17%), Patient Management & Administration (17%), and Dental Materials (16%) — tooth numbering, four-handed technique, and the restorative instrument sequence.
- Infection Control (ICE) — Prevention of Cross-contamination (34%), Process Instruments & Devices (26%), Prevention of Disease Transmission (20%), and Occupational Safety & Administration (20%) — PPE order, Spaulding, and sterilization monitoring.
- Radiation Health & Safety (RHS) — Purpose & Technique (50%), Radiation Characteristics & Protection (25%), and Infection Prevention & Control in imaging (25%) — paralleling vs bisecting, angulation errors, and ALARA.
How to use it in your final week
- Give General Chairside the most time — it's the broadest component (95 items), and Chairside Dentistry alone is 50% of it. Lock in the amalgam sequence (carrier → condenser → carver → burnisher) and Universal tooth numbering (1–32, starting upper-right).
- Burn the two most-confused pairs into memory: elongation vs foreshortening on RHS (too flat = too long, too steep = too short) and critical vs semicritical vs noncritical under Spaulding on ICE.
- Drill the fixed sequences the exams love: PPE don (gown → mask → eyewear → gloves) and doff (gloves → eyewear → gown → mask), plus the one-direction instrument-processing workflow.
- Read the sheet the morning of each appointment, then run one short timed practice set for that component so your pacing matches the 60–75 minute clock.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your DANB CDA practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
DANB CDA cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the DANB CDA cheat sheet downloads as a PDF for free, with no account or sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free CDA practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole prep stack costs nothing.
Yes. The sheet is split into three panels — General Chairside Assisting (GC), Infection Control (ICE), and Radiation Health & Safety (RHS) — because the CDA is earned by passing all three separate components within five years. Each panel condenses the highest-yield facts for that component's outline.
Each CDA component is reported on a scaled 100–900 range, and 400 is the passing standard on every one. The exams are computer-adaptive, so your result is a scaled score, not a raw percentage — the sheet loads the recall points that keep your adaptive path climbing.
It follows the current DANB component outlines, including the RHS and ICE versions effective March 12, 2025, and the GC version effective July 1, 2022. RHS reflects digital-radiography-only content, and infection control tracks current CDC and OSHA guidance.
Click the download button (or the preview card) at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so it's one tap away the morning of your GC, RHS, or ICE appointment.
References
- 1.Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). “CDA Exam & Component Exam Outlines (GC, RHS, ICE).” DANB, 2026. ↑
- 2.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings.” CDC, 2026. ↑
- 3.Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030).” OSHA, 2026. ↑
- 4.American Dental Association (ADA) / U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Dental Radiographic Examinations: Recommendations for Patient Selection and Limiting Radiation Exposure.” ADA / FDA, 2026. ↑
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