Overseas Registration Examination

ORE Part 1 Format

Part 1 of the examination comprises two, 3-hour written papers, undertaken on a computer and is
made up of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) in the form of Extended Matching Questions
(EMQs) and Single Best Answer questions (SBAs).
Extended matching questions (EMQs)
Extended matching questions are grouped into themes. Each theme has a heading that tells you
what the questions are about.
Within each theme there are several numbered items. These are the questions and the problems
you have to solve. There are examples in the next section.
Begin by reading carefully the instruction that precedes the numbered items.
We recommend that you consider each of the numbered items and decide what you think the
answer is. You should then look for that answer in the list of options. If you cannot find the answer
you have thought of, you should look for the option which, in your opinion, is the best answer to the
problem posed.
For each numbered item, you can select only ONE of the options.

On occasions you may feel that more than one option offers a credible answer. In such
circumstances the examiners are looking for the single answer that is generally accepted to accord
with current best practice or clinical guidelines.
In each theme there are more options than items, so not all the options will be used as answers.
Alternatively a given option may provide the answer to more than one item. For example, for two
different scenarios the most likely diagnosis could be the same. In this case the option would be
used more than once.
The answers are NOT negatively marked and you are therefore advised to attempt all the
questions.

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
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Screen shot of first page.

The program has a bookmark feature with a button labelled B (Bottom left hand corner of the
screen). When a question is bookmarked, this feature will allow you to return to and review an
answer to a question during the examination, using the blue navigation arrows.

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org

Example EMQs
Example 1 appearances of oral tissue
The options provided below are diagnoses for conditions with characteristic appearances that may
be recognised when examining patients mouths. For each clinical scenario described choose the
single most likely diagnosis from the list of options.
Options list:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

Circumvallate papillae
Filiform papillae
Fordyce spots
Leukoedema
Leukoplakia
Lingual tonsils
Mandibular tori
Palatal tori

Clinical scenarios
1. Sebaceous glands visible as white or cream coloured spots up to 0.5mm diameter
usually present in the labial and buccal mucosa.
C
2. Bilateral raised red lumps, which enlarge during viral infections, at the lateral
borders of the base of the tongue.
F
3. A row of 8-12 pink/red lumps on the dorsum of the tongue at the junction of the
A
anterior two thirds and posterior third of the tongue.
4. A milky white translucent whitening of the oral mucosa, commoner in black races
D
which disappears on stretching the mucosa.
5. Bilateral bony hard swellings on the lingual aspect of the mandible in the premolar
regions.
G

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org

Example 2 Theme: current use of antibiotics

For each of the clinical scenarios described below, select the most appropriate course of
action/treatment for the patient from the options provided.
Options list:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

Amoxicillin 125mg tds. for 3 days

Amoxicillin 250mg tds. for 7 days
Amoxicillin 3g single oral dose
Azithromycin 500mg 3 days
Erythromycin 125mg bd for 10 days
Metronidazole 200mg tds for 3 days
No antibiotic required
Tetracycline 250mg qds. for 3 days

Clinical scenarios:
1. A 50-year-old man with a prosthetic heart valve requiring a tooth extraction. There
is no other relevant medical history.
G
2. A 23-year-old woman presents complaining of sore, red, bleeding gums and
halitosis with clinical evidence of loss of interdental papillae and systemic upset.
F
3. A 55-year-old diabetic man with tender buccal and lingual swelling and
lymphadenopathy, associated with a grossly carious mandibular molar tooth. He
is allergic to penicillin.
D
4. An uncooperative 5-year-old child attends, with swelling of the right side of the
face resulting from an abscessed tooth. There is no significant medical history.
A
5. A 30-year-old man presents with acute pericoronitis associated with a left
mandibular third molar tooth. He is pyrexic and has trismus.
F

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org

Single Best Answer questions (SBAs)

Single Best Answer questions are characterised by a question, which may be based on a clinical
scenario, followed by a set of usually five possible answers. You are asked to choose the most
appropriate answer from those provided.

Example SBAs
Example 1 A patient attends for an extraction of a lower molar tooth. Following the administration
of an inferior alveolar nerve block only, the patient complains of pain during the procedure.
Which one of the following nerves is the most likely to be responsible for the perception of this
pain?
Facial
Incisive
Long buccal
Marginal mandibular
Mental

Example 2
Which one of the following local anaesthetic agents (at the correct dosage) is the most likely to
provide the most prolonged analgesia?
Articaine
Bupivicaine
Lidocaine (lignocaine)
Mepivicaine
Prilocaine

Example 3 - A 51-year-old man with chronic periodontal disease complains of polyuria, thirst and
lethargy at his treatment review.
Which one of the following medical conditions is most likely to be associated with this history?
Angina
Cushings syndrome
Diabetes mellitus
Lymphoma
Tuberculosis

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org

Example 4 - A 4-year-old child experienced trauma to their upper deciduous incisors. Which one of
the following is the most likely permanent consequence for the developing incisors?
Dilacerated tooth
Enamel hypoplasia
Geminated tooth
Hutchinsons incisor
Turners tooth

ORE Part 1 - Content

The purpose of Part 1 is to test the candidates application of knowledge to clinical practice.
The ORE Part 1 consists of two papers testing candidates knowledge of:
Paper 1
Clinically applied dental science;
Clinically applied human disease;
Paper 2
All aspects of clinical dentistry, including law and ethics and health and safety.
For more detailed information on the possible topic areas, please refer to the learning outcomes.
You will see that some learning outcomes may be covered in either Paper 1 and/or in Paper 2.
For example the applied implications of anatomy for Prosthodontics or Oral Surgery may be
covered in Paper 1, while the relationship of clinical procedures to anatomical features may be
covered in Paper 2.
Similarly in relation to dental materials Paper 1 might look at clinical application from the science
viewpoint, while Paper 2 might relate clinical technique to the underlying science.

NOTE: Examples are provided to help familiarise candidates with the format of different
question types and we cannot vouch for the accuracy or currency of the content.

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General Dental Council, Overseas Registration Examination, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 3735 Email: examinations@gdc-uk.org www.gdc-uk.org