Passed the DANB Infection Control Exam last week with an 87%. I've been a dental assistant for 6 years so a lot of the material was familiar from daily practice, but the exam tests specific CDC guidelines and OSHA standards in a way that requires knowing the actual documents, not just general infection control habits. My first few practice sessions I was only hitting 71-73%, which was a wake-up call.
I studied for 7 weeks at about 45-60 minutes a day. Mosby's Dental Assisting Exam Review was my main resource for ICE-specific content. I focused heavily on the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings — the 2003 document still shows up in questions — and the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard. Knowing specific exposure control plan requirements and what's required vs recommended was important.
The sterilization and disinfection classification questions (critical, semi-critical, non-critical items) showed up multiple times. So did hand hygiene protocols and the specific situations where each type of handwashing is required. Don't assume you know this from work — the exam uses precise CDC language that's sometimes different from how things get communicated in an actual office.
Time wasn't an issue — I finished 20 minutes early and reviewed everything. The questions are mostly scenario-based: given this situation, what's the correct procedure? Knowing the reason behind protocols helps you reason through unfamiliar scenarios.
7 weeks at under an hour a day sounds very manageable. Did you do anything specific for the OSHA recordkeeping sections? That's where I'm weakest right now and I'm not sure how much emphasis it gets on the actual exam.
The Spaulding classification system is absolutely on the test and people trip up on the edge cases. Dental handpieces and their classification is a classic question type. Make sure you know exactly where everything falls.
The 2003 CDC guidelines PDF is free online and worth reading at least the executive summary and key recommendations sections. Some questions feel like they came directly from that document. It's dry reading but worth it.
Passed ICE a year ago and the scenario format is what makes it harder than it looks on paper. You really have to apply the standard rather than recall it. Experience in a real dental office helps but you still need to know the specific regulatory language.
Congrats on the pass! I'm in a similar boat, been assisting for four years and studying around a packed schedule with two kids at home. What worked for me was breaking it into 20-minute chunks during lunch breaks and doing a ton of practice questions at night. Honestly the sharps and exposure control stuff tripped me up at first because I thought I knew it from daily work, but the exam is really specific about OSHA protocols. I found the danb danb sharps safety exposure control practice test super helpful for getting comfortable with exactly how they phrase those questions.
Don't underestimate the CDC guidelines section. It's not enough to know the general idea, you need to know the actual categories and terminology they use. I failed a few practice sections before it clicked. Give yourself at least three weeks even if the material feels familiar.