This INBDE cheat sheet distills the JCNDE's Integrated National Board Dental Examination into a printable rundown of the facts examiners test most across the 10 Foundation Knowledge areas. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free INBDE toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
INBDE exam at a glance
- Questions: 500 multiple-choice items (~60% standalone, ~40% case-based)
- Sessions: Two days, six timed sections — Day 1 (~8 hrs 15 min) + Day 2 (~4 hrs 15 min)
- Result: Pass/fail (criterion-referenced); scale score 49–99, minimum passing 75
- Cost: $890 examination fee (+$435 processing for non-CODA candidates) — verify at jcnde.ada.org
- Administered by: Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE / ADA) at Prometric centers
What’s on the INBDE cheat sheet
- Anatomy, Physiology & Biochemistry (FK1, ~12%) — head and neck anatomy, trigeminal and facial nerve function, tongue innervation, and applied salivary physiology — the largest area.
- General & Oral Pathology (FK6, ~12%) — odontogenic cysts and tumors, the radiolucent jaw-lesion differential, and radiographic buzzwords — tied for the largest area.
- Genetics & Development (FK4, ~11%) — amelogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfecta, cleidocranial dysplasia, Gardner and Gorlin syndromes, and tooth anomalies.
- Microbiology (FK7, ~11%) — Streptococcus mutans and caries, the periodontal red complex, and biofilm-mediated disease.
- Pharmacology (FK8, ~11%) — local-anesthetic maximum-dose math, antibiotic prophylaxis, and analgesics — where most points are lost.
- Behavioral Sciences, Ethics & Law (FK9, ~11%) — the five ethical principles, informed consent, HIPAA, OSHA, and infection control.
- Research Methods & Biostatistics (FK10, ~10%) — study design, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and evidence-based dentistry.
- Immunology & Host Defense (FK5, ~9%) — innate versus adaptive immunity, the four hypersensitivity types, and saliva as a non-immune defense.
- Physics, Chemistry & Dental Materials (FK2–FK3, ~15% combined) — acid-base and critical pH, fluoride chemistry, and the restorative and impression materials.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load pharmacology: rehearse the local-anesthetic maximum-dose method (take the lowest of the 7 mg/kg weight limit, the 500 mg cap, and the epinephrine ceiling — 0.2 mg healthy, 0.04 mg cardiac) until it's automatic, because it's the area where candidates lose the most points.
- Drill the radiolucent jaw-lesion differential and radiographic buzzwords — check tooth vitality first (non-vital apical lucency = inflammatory), then ground-glass = fibrous dysplasia, sunburst = osteosarcoma, soap-bubble = ameloblastoma.
- Read the sheet the morning of Day 1 for a final pass on the memory hooks — the passing scale score of 75, antibiotic-prophylaxis indications, tongue innervation, and the red-complex periodontal pathogens.
- Pair each review pass with a short timed set of case-based practice questions to keep your patient-box pacing sharp across the two long testing days.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your INBDE 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.
INBDE cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the INBDE cheat sheet is 100% free to download as a PDF, with no sign-up required. It's part of Career Employer's free INBDE toolkit alongside the practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so you can review the highest-yield dental board facts without paying a cent.
The cheat sheet condenses the most-tested facts from all 10 Foundation Knowledge areas into a rapid reference: head and neck anatomy and cranial nerves, oral pathology and radiographic buzzwords, local-anesthetic maximum-dose math, antibiotic prophylaxis, microbiology of caries and periodontitis, the five ethical principles, and the biostatistics you must apply — organized the way the Domain of Dentistry weights them.
No — the INBDE is pass/fail with a scale score of 49 to 99 and a minimum passing score of 75, and about 40% of items are case-based, so you have to practice reading patient boxes, not just memorize facts. Use the sheet to lock in the high-yield recall, then build clinical reasoning with full, FK-weighted practice tests.
It's built from the JCNDE's current INBDE test specifications and Candidate Guide and reviewed against them regularly. Fees, weights, and policies change, so treat any number here as a dated anchor and verify the current details at jcnde.ada.org before you apply.
Click the download button — or the preview card — at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark this page so you can find it again for a final pass the morning of your first testing day.
References
- 1.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE). “Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE).” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE). “INBDE 2026 Candidate Guide.” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE). “INBDE Scores.” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.American Dental Association (ADA). “Antibiotic Prophylaxis Prior to Dental Procedures.” ada.org, 2026. ↑
- 5.American Dental Association (ADA). “Oral Analgesics & Local Anesthetics.” ada.org, 2026. ↑
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