DentAIstudy
Revision strategy

Best Way to Revise Dentistry in 2025

A modern, high-yield revision system built for today’s dental board exams.

Quick Answers

What is the best revision method in 2025?

A mix of spaced repetition, active recall, and targeted AI summaries—never passive rereading.

How many hours should I revise per day?

Consistent 2–4 focused hours with clear blocks beats random 8-hour cramming sessions.

What should I focus on for board exams?

High-yield lists, flows, OSCE patterns, and viva phrases that examiners use repeatedly.

How can AI actually help?

AI can structure topics, generate questions, and compress chapters, while you focus on understanding and recall.

1. Why old revision methods are not enough

Reading the same chapter again and again is slow and fragile. You feel busy but retention is low, especially across subjects like endo, perio, prostho, OS, and ortho.

2025 revision needs three things: smart selection of content, active recall, and spacing across time.

2. The 2025 revision triangle

Three pillars for dental board revision

1. High-yield content only – definitions, lists, steps, classic cases, and guidelines.
2. Active recall – questions, OSCE stems, flashcards, viva drills.
3. Spaced repetition – revisiting topics at increasing intervals (1 day, 3 days, 7 days, etc.).

You can still keep your textbooks and notes—but you revise through questions and structures, not through passive reading.

3. Building a weekly revision map

Instead of “study everything”, give each week a clear structure:

  • Core days: 3–4 days focused on main subjects (endo, perio, prostho, OS, orthodontics).
  • Systems day: revise antibiotics, pharmacology, medical emergencies, radiology.
  • Exam day: OSCE circuits, MCQ blocks, and viva drills.
  • Light day: flashcards, simple review, and planning for next week.

You touch each subject regularly without burning out, which is key for ORE, ADC, NBDE/INBDE, MFDS, and NDEB.

4. Turning chapters into active recall

Simple conversion workflow

1. Pick one topic (e.g. “Periapical pathology” or “Mandibular fractures”).
2. Ask: “What would an examiner ask?” – definitions, classifications, indications, steps, complications.
3. Turn each into a question: “Define…”, “List…”, “Describe the management of…”.
4. Use these questions to test yourself before looking at the textbook or AI answer.
5. Mark weak questions to revisit after 1–3 days.

The goal is not to cover every page—it is to be able to answer exam-style prompts confidently.

5. Using AI safely and effectively in 2025

AI is powerful if you use it as a structure generator, not a replacement for textbooks.

  • Let AI summarise a chapter into headings and bullet lists.
  • Ask it to create OSCE stations and viva questions from those lists.
  • Compare the AI output with your standard references (textbooks/guidelines).
  • Correct and annotate the AI notes—that process deepens your learning.

You stay responsible for clinical accuracy; AI just speeds up organisation and question creation.

6. Example: One-day high-yield revision plan

Sample 3-hour block

1. 60 min – Core topic: Endo mishaps → AI summary → your corrections → 10 flashcards.
2. 45 min – OSCE focus: 3 short stations (pain, swelling, consent).
3. 30 min – Viva drills: quick questions on treatment planning and antibiotics.
4. 45 min – Spaced review: yesterday’s flashcards + one old topic (e.g. perio staging).

Even on a busy day, this kind of block keeps your brain in “exam mode” without needing 8 free hours.

7. How DentAIstudy fits into your 2025 revision

DentAIstudy is designed to sit in the centre of this triangle: content selection, active recall, and spacing.

  • Converts topics into short, structured notes matched to exam patterns.
  • Generates flashcards, OSCE flows, and viva questions from the same material.
  • Lets you build a personal bank of high-yield prompts for each subject.
  • Helps you revise in 15–30 minute blocks instead of waiting for “perfect” long study days.

Try Study Builder →

References

  • Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2013;14(1):4-58.
  • Karpicke JD, Roediger HL. The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science. 2008;319(5865):966-968.
  • Murphy RJ, Gray SA, Straja SR, Bogert MC. Student learning preferences and teaching implications. J Dent Educ. 2004;68(8):859-866.
  • Henzi D, Davis E, Jasinevicius R, Hendricson W. North American dental students’ perspectives about their clinical education. J Dent Educ. 2006;70(4):361-377.