FAQ

Questions People Actually Ask

About eligibility, the exams themselves, what the product does, and what it costs.
Where an answer belongs to DANB rather than to us, it says so.

Before you register

Eligibility and Getting Started

These rules belong to DANB. We describe their shape because people ask; check their pathway pages for the version that applies to you.

Every exam and credential named on this page belongs to DANB®. AccelaStudy AI is an independent study product and is not affiliated with them.

Am I eligible to take these exams?
DANB sets eligibility, not us. Broadly there are two routes: graduating from an accredited dental assisting program, or documented on-the-job work experience. Which route you qualify under, and how much experience counts, are DANB’s rules and they can change — read their pathway pages before you pay an exam fee.
I learned this job at the chair, not in a program. Can I still certify?
That is a first-class case here, not an exception. DANB maintains a work-experience route precisely for assistants who trained on the job, and the product is built for that candidate: experience shows up as credit in the calibration rather than as questions you sit through. What experience does not automatically cover is the vocabulary and the arithmetic, and those are exactly what the drills and the graded math target.
Do I need CPR or BLS certification?
Yes — DANB requires current CPR or BLS certification, and we do not provide it. It is hands-on training and it has to come from a provider that does it in person. Book it early; it is the requirement most often discovered late.
Which credential should I go for?
If you are starting out, NELDA is the on-ramp and CDA is where most people are heading — and two of CDA’s three components are the two you would already hold. In an orthodontic practice, COA. If preventive or restorative functions are what your practice actually delegates, CPFDA or CRFDA. If you have become the person the practice asks about infection control, CDIPC. Every path is in the same subscription, so changing your mind costs nothing but the decision.
When should I start studying?
Most people give a single component four to six weeks and a CDA window eight to twelve. Start by setting your target date in Autopilot and telling it how many minutes a day you genuinely have — it will tell you whether that date is realistic, which is more useful than a generic study calendar. If it is not realistic, better to find out now than in week ten.
What do the exams cost?
Exam fees are paid to DANB and are separate from a subscription here. This product is preparation; registration, scheduling and fees are all DANB’s.

How they run

The Exams

Question counts, times and delivery are published by DANB for each component.

What is the 60-day CDA window?
The CDA is made of three component exams — Radiation Health and Safety, Infection Control and General Chairside. You can take them as one 245-question appointment, or separately; taken separately, DANB requires all three to be completed within a 60-day window. It is DANB’s rule and DANB can change it, so confirm the current version with them — but plan around it, because it is the thing most likely to turn one failed component into three exams taken again.
Can I take them from home?
Most components are delivered either at a Pearson VUE test center or by remote proctor, and remote is how a large share of candidates now test. The exception is Orthodontic Assisting, which is in person only. The product has a remote-proctor practice mode, so practice can match how you will actually test.
How is it scored? What is a passing score?
Each component is computer-adaptive and reported as a scaled score from 100 to 900, with 400 as the pass line. It is not a percentage and does not convert into one — which is why a bank telling you “you got 78% correct” cannot honestly tell you whether you would pass.
What happens if I fail a component?
You retake that component — you do not restart the credential. DANB sets the waiting period and the retake fee, so check their current policy. On our side nothing is lost: your profile keeps everything you had proven, and the plan restarts aimed at what the attempt exposed rather than at the whole syllabus again.
Is the radiography exam still about film?
No. Radiation Health and Safety has been digital-radiography only since 2022. If a study guide is spending chapters on film processing, it predates the change and it is teaching you material the exam does not ask about.
How long are the exams?
They range from 50 questions in 40 minutes to 140 questions in 105 minutes, and the combined CDA appointment is 245 questions in 195 minutes. The full table is on The Exams, and every simulation in the product runs at its own component’s real numbers.

What you get

The Product

One subscription, every credential path, and rather more than a question bank.

What makes this different from a practice-test bank?
Two things a bank structurally cannot do. It drills the procedural half of the job — sequencing, tray setups, relabeling, radiographic technique — and it grades your dental math step by step instead of marking the final number. Add to that: the questions are chosen against a live picture of what you know, rather than handed to everyone in the same order.
How many practice questions are there?
The question does not really apply. Practice exams are composed fresh rather than replayed from a fixed set, so you cannot exhaust them and you cannot memorize your way to a score that will not survive test day.
Does it cover every component exam?
All thirteen: Radiation Health and Safety, Infection Control, General Chairside, Anatomy, Morphology and Physiology, Orthodontic Assisting, Coronal Polish, Sealants, Topical Fluoride, Impressions, Restorative Functions, Temporaries, CDIPC and DISIPC. And all seven credential paths that are built from them.
If I already passed a component, do I have to study it again?
No. What you have proven carries forward — Radiation Health and Safety and Infection Control from NELDA into CDA, Infection Control into COA and CDIPC, Sealants from CPFDA into CRFDA. The plan for the next credential starts from what is genuinely missing.
Is there dental hygiene content?
Not at launch. This product is dental assisting certification — the DANB component exams and credential paths. Anything beyond that will be described here when it ships and not before.
Does this give me continuing-education credit?
No. Everything here is study material for the certification exams. Continuing-education credit has to come from a provider recognized for it, and we are not one.
Is it accessible?
Built to WCAG 2.1 Level AA throughout — full keyboard navigation, screen reader support, a high-contrast theme beyond dark mode, reduced-motion support, and accessible alternatives for every activity format including the drag-and-drop ones. The accessibility statement has the detail.
What platforms does it run on?
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, iPadOS and Android, in light and dark mode.

Money

Billing

$29/mo month to month, or $23/mo on annual billing.

Can I cancel any time?
Yes, in one click from your account. Paid access runs to the end of the period you have already paid for, and nothing renews after that. A prep window is usually two or three months — pay for those and stop.
Is there a free trial?
A 7-day free trial, per product. And Dental Infection Control Fundamentals is free permanently, with no subscription and no card, which is a better way to judge the product than a week of hurry.
What is free, exactly?
The Dental Infection Control Fundamentals course, in full, on the same adaptive engine as everything paid. Not a sample and not a preview. Details here.
Does subscribing here include other AccelaStudy AI products?
No. Each product in the family is an independent subscription — no bundles, no stacking, no surprises.
When can I subscribe?
At launch in November 2026. Join the waitlist and you will hear the day it opens; nothing is charged before then.

One boundary worth repeating. AccelaStudy AI Dental is an independent study product. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Dental Assisting National Board, the DALE Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Eligibility, exam content, fees, scheduling and certification itself are DANB’s.

Still Have a Question?

Join the waitlist and ask — the reply comes from a person. Launching Monday, November 16, 2026.

Join the Waitlist

Trademark Notice

DANB®, CDA®, COA®, CPFDA®, CRFDA®, NELDA®, CDIPC®, RHS®, ICE®, and DISIPC™ are trademarks of the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. AccelaStudy AI is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by DANB; the marks are used here for nominative identification of the exams and credentials only.

AccelaStudy® and Renkara® are registered trademarks of Renkara Media Group, Inc. All third-party marks are the property of their respective owners and are used for nominative identification only.