The NBSHE (National Board Dental Hygiene Examination) is an exam used by all 50 state dental boards to fulfill the written exam requirement for dental hygienist licensure. The test is comprised of two parts: Part 1 deals mainly with scientific knowledge while Part 2 places a larger emphasis on clinical dentistry. If you need help preparing for either exam, Varsity Tutors can connect you with an experienced NBDHE tutor to help guide your study.
Since the content on each test is so different, your NBSHE tutoring sessions are likely to concentrate exclusively on the one you are preparing for. Here are some of the concepts you can expect to explore on Part I:
- Anatomic Sciences
- Biochemistry/Physiology
- Microbiology/Pathology
- Dental Anatomy/Occlusion
- 400 questions total
If you are preparing for Part II, your NBDHE prep is likely to include the following topics instead:
- Endodontics
- Operative Dentistry
- Oral Surgery
- Oral Diagnosis
- Orthodontics/Pediatric Dentistry
- Patient Management
- Periodontics
- Pharmacology
- Prosthodontics
- 500 questions total
Each Part is broken into Morning and Afternoon sessions lasting three and a half hours each. Including scheduled breaks and the optional tutorial and post-test survey, the total testing time is eight and a half hours. Your intellectual stamina is tested just as much as your content knowledge, so you may want to build your stamina up during NBDHE tutoring sessions. Your tutor may administer practice exams so that you know what testing for so long feels like before it counts.