This NBDHE cheat sheet distills the JCNDE's dental hygiene board exam into a printable rundown of the facts examiners test most across all 350 items. 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 NBDHE toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
NBDHE exam at a glance
- Questions: 350 multiple-choice — 200 discipline-based + 150 case-based
- Time: About 9 hours — a single computer-based test day (7 hours 30 minutes of testing time)
- Passing score: Pass/Fail on a 49–99 scale; 75 is the minimum passing scale score
- Cost: ~$600 examination fee (dated anchor — verify at ADA.org/NBDHE)
- Administered by: JCNDE / ADA Department of Testing Services, delivered at Pearson VUE
What’s on the NBDHE cheat sheet
- Provision of Clinical DH Services (~115 items, discipline-based) — the process of care (ADPIE), gingivitis vs periodontitis, CAL vs probing depth, instrumentation, radiology, and prevention — the largest area.
- Scientific Basis for DH Practice (~61 items, discipline-based) — head and neck anatomy and the trigeminal nerve, tooth tissues, physiology, microbiology, pathology, and pharmacology including local anesthetics.
- Community Health / Research Principles (~24 items, discipline-based) — dental indices such as DMFT, program planning, biostatistics, validity vs reliability, and evidence-based practice.
- Case-Based Component (150 items) — 12–15 patient cases with histories, charting, and radiographs — how to read a case and apply every discipline to one patient.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load the clinical facts — Provision of Clinical Dental Hygiene Services is about 115 of the 200 discipline-based items, so drill perio, radiology, and prevention hardest.
- Burn in the traps the sheet isolates: gingivitis (no attachment loss, reversible) vs periodontitis (attachment + bone loss); CAL = probing depth + recession; STEEP angle = SHORT image, FLAT angle = LONG image.
- Read the sheet the morning of the exam to fix the memory hooks — passing scale score 75, trigeminal V2/V3 to the teeth, a 2% anesthetic = 20 mg/mL, water fluoridation ~0.7 ppm, syncope = supine + airway + oxygen.
- Pair every review pass with a short set of case-based questions — read the whole case, anchor on the medical history, then apply the process of care (ADPIE) so the 9-hour test day feels routine.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your NBDHE 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.
NBDHE cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the NBDHE cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no account and no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free NBDHE practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole dental hygiene board prep is at zero cost.
It condenses the highest-yield board facts into a fast reference: the trigeminal nerve and tooth tissues, the gingivitis-versus-periodontitis line, CAL versus probing depth, radiographic angulation errors, local-anesthetic dosing, fluoride and sealants, biostatistics, and how to work a patient case — organized by the JCNDE disciplines and the case-based component.
No — it is a cram and review layer, not full prep. The NBDHE is pass/fail on a 49–99 scale with 75 the minimum passing score, so use the sheet to lock in facts fast, then confirm readiness with timed, domain-weighted practice questions and full patient cases.
It is built from the JCNDE's published NBDHE test specifications and candidate guide and reviewed against them regularly. Fees, scheduling, and policies change, so always verify current details at ADA.org/NBDHE before you apply.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark this page so you can pull the sheet back up during your final week before the boards.
References
- 1.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. “National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE).” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. “NBDHE Candidate Guide.” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. “NBDHE Results & Scoring (scale 49–99, passing score 75).” JCNDE / ADA.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.Pearson VUE. “National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) Testing.” PearsonVUE.com, 2026. ↑
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