Long post but I hope this helps someone. I failed the CBDH in October and again in January, and I genuinely thought I wasn't cut out for this. My scores were hovering around 68% both times and the passing threshold is 75%, so I wasn't even close. The thing that finally clicked for me was actually slowing down on the infection control and sterilization sections — I kept rushing through those because I thought I had them, but that's where I kept losing points.
What turned everything around was finding a solid CBDH practice test that actually mirrors the real exam format. I did timed sets of 50 questions every morning for about six weeks straight, then reviewed every wrong answer before bed. The study guide I ended up using broke down dental hygiene theory in a way that finally made the clinical application questions make sense. Honestly, I spent about 2-3 hours a day the last month before my third attempt.
Passed with an 81% last week. If you're in the middle of this grind right now, please don't give up. Happy to answer questions about specific topic areas or what resources I used.