Anki is a flashcard program that uses spaced repetition. Instead of showing every card equally often, it schedules difficult material more frequently and delays material that you remember well. This makes it useful for retaining dental terminology, anatomy, tooth morphology, materials, and other CDT examination content over time.
The answer depends on the platform:
| Platform | Program | Cost model |
|---|---|---|
| Windows, macOS, and Linux | Anki desktop | Free and open source |
| Web browser | AnkiWeb | Free synchronization and browser access |
| iPhone and iPad | AnkiMobile | Paid official app; the purchase helps fund Anki development |
| Android | AnkiDroid | Free Android app linked from the official Anki site |
Prices and operating-system requirements can change. Use the official Anki download page to choose the correct current version.
Be careful with similarly named flashcard apps. Use links from the official Anki website so that you install Anki, AnkiMobile, or AnkiDroid rather than an unrelated product.
No. The browser flashcards, rapid reviews, term inventories, labeled figure reviews, and recall drills on DentalTechnology.org work without Anki.
Anki is optional. Use it when you want:
The easiest starting point is the free desktop program:
After the deck works on the computer, you can synchronize it to AnkiMobile or AnkiDroid.
A packaged Anki deck ends in .apkg and normally includes its note type, cards, and media.
.apkg file.Packaged CDT Anatomy decks will be offered after the complete deck and media pass technical review.
The current Anatomy download is a UTF-8 tab-separated file (.tsv). It contains six columns:
.tsv file.CDT::Comprehensive::Anatomy deck.The TSV contains Anki import directives for the tab separator, deck name, HTML handling, column names, and tags column. Anki uses those directives to create the required structure automatically. Do not pre-create a note type, add fields, or manually map columns for this file.
The stable ID remains part of the imported structure so each card can be traced to its source record.
Anki is most effective as a supplement to understanding. Read the study guide and AFM material first; do not memorize a card you do not understand.